Shelly's Science Spot | Curriculum | Hackensack Middle School

The seventh grade Life Science curriculum at Hackensack Middle School covers the following units:

First Days	Let's get to know one another.	Facebook "Getting to Know You" activity: Blank Facebook Page, Teacher Example, Student Activity Sheet Textbook Scavenger Hunt
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The Scientific Method	How do we learn about living things?	So Many Scientists Scientific Method Flow Chart Project: Scientific Method Comic Strip Lab: M&M Lab Simpsons Controls & Variables SpongeBob Scientific Method SpongeBob Lab Safety Review "Shelly Says" Lab Safety Poster Characteristics of Living Things Web (Blank) Characteristics of Living Things Web (Completed) Don't believe that plants move? Take a look at these time-elapsed clips from TeachersDomain.org The Martian and the Car Laboratory Safety PowerPoint Weekly Article Questions: The Power of Placebo
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The Cell	The cell is the most basic unit of life.	A1.1 Cell Theory PowerPoint A1.1 Cell Theory PowerPoint (Blanks) A1.1 Check Your Reading Redi-Pasteur Chart Francesco Redi Comprehension Questions Microscope Part Chart Label The Microscope Microscope Application Questions Lab: Introduction to the Compound Light Microscope Cell Organelles PowerPoint Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes Cell Part Chart Label the Animal Cell Cell Project: Create a visual comparison of a plant and animal cell, identifying the structures and their function. Description and Rubric included. Cell Organelle Memory: Print the pdf on card stock, laminate and cut up for a great organelle/function review game Animal and Plant Cell diagrams: used in conjunction with the traditional venn diagram Macromolecule Chart Lab: Investigating Oil and Water Cell Membrane Questions Photosynthesis-Cellular Respiration Feedback Loop Lab: Investigating Fermentation How Do Cells Release The Energy From Glucose? blank flowchart - completed as cellular respiration and fermentation are explored How Do Cells Release The Energy From Glucose? completed flowchart Passive Transport worksheet used with class discussion and 2 demonstrations: Smelly Balloons (place a dropper-full of extract in a latex balloon and blow up - scent will diffuse through the latex) Raisin Osmosis (soak raisins in water overnight to demonstrate the movement of water across a membrane. Save un-hydrated raisins for comparison) Active Transport worksheet used with class discussion and simulation on ClassZone.com Weekly Article Questions: From Stem Cell to Any Cell Zap! Erasing Memory A Change in Leaf Color Catching Some Rays
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Classification of Living Things	How do we organize the different groups of living things?	Activity: Classifying Classroom Objects Scientific Naming PowerPoint Scientific Naming PowerPoint (Blanks) The 6 Kingdom Hand (email me for directions....fabulous lesson published in ScienceScope February 2007) Flinn Activity: Classifying Living Things Data Table , Key to the Kingdoms of Life (I modified what Flinn provided) and Directions/Post Lab Questions Project: Classification Poster Weekly Article Questions: What's New?
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Diversity of Life	From simplest to most complex, what are the distinguishing characteristics of members of each of the 6 kingdoms?	Archaea/Bacteria/Viruses Section C1.1 Cloze Outline Archaea Graphic Organizer Bacteria Graphic Organizer/ Good and Bad Bacteria Lab: Mega Multiples of Microbes Lab: Where Can We Find Bacteria? Bacteria in History: Yersinia pestis and the Bubonic Plague Virus outline YouTube clips: T4 Virus infecting a bacteria, Bacterial exponential growth, Bacteria growth Lab: How Viruses Travel Movie: Outbreak (Rated R for language; TNT plays an edited version every so often). Accompanying worksheet Project: Build-A-Virus Project: Bacterial/Viral/Protist Cereal Box Project Description and Rubric Weekly Article Questions: No One Thanked Him Protista Protist Graphic Organizer Protist Diagrams Amoeba & Euglena Reading Comprehension Weekly Article Questions: Discovery of giant roaming deep sea protist provides new perspective on animal evolution and questions Fungi Multicellular Organisms: 2.1 Cloze Outline Fungi Graphic Organizer "What Is Mold, Anyway?" Reading Comprehension Fungi Station Worksheet Station 1: Mushroom reading comprehension with structural observation of mushrooms Station 2: Video clip from TeachersDomain.org on the discovery of penicillin (QuickTime) Station 3: exploratory observing the results of combining water, yeast and sugar in one balloon covered bottle and just water and yeast in the other :) and :( Fungi T-chart Science in the News: Black Fungus Found in Chernobyl Eats Harmful Radiation Weekly Article Questions When Fungi and Algae Marry and questions Plantae Plant Characteristics Graphic Organizer Label the Plant Parts Worksheet Tracing Back Worksheet Lab: Celery Experiment Lab: Photosynthesis Station Worksheet Station 1: Observing stomata from a lettuce leaf under the microscope Station 2: Diagramming photosynthesis Station 3: Observing transpiration in a plant (plastic bag place over leaf) C3.2 Cloze Outline C3.3 Reading Questions C3.4 Reading Questions Comparing Gymnosperms and Angiosperms Worksheet Fruits, Vegetables and Spices Worksheet Animalia - Invertebrates Invertebrate Frayer Model Invertebrate Taxonomy Lab: Sponge Observation (natural vs. synthetic sponges) C4.1 Reading Questions Discovering Symmetry C4.2 Cnidarian Note Sheet Science in the News: "Pollution Killing World's Coral Reefs" with comprehension questions Worm Phyla Comparison Chart Worm Interview Questions to accompany The Yuckiest Site on the Internet (retyped from middleschoolscience.com) Worm Web Activity to accompany All About Earthworms Earthworm Dissection and PreLab Questions Mollusk Graphic Organizer C4.3 Mollusk/Echinoderm Comparison Chart Label the Mollusk: Land snail, Squid YouTube clips: Octopus escapes out of one-inch hole, Starfish tube feet Arthropod Power Point YouTube clips: Tarantula molting, Wolf spider with babies Science in the News: "Ants In Action" (Odyssey Magazine, 4/07) with accompanying comprehension questions Lab: Unidentified (Flying) Arthropods - Students travel through 12 stations identifying the class to which the Arthropod in the picture belongs Project: Fear Factor Check out 2008's ickily excellent student work: Chelsea Yaritsa Morgan Jonathan Scott Project: Arthropod Invasion! Weekly Article Questions Coral Reefs: The Changing of the Guard Unlikely Minds: Why the Octopus Has a Brain Rather Than a Shell The Case of the Disappearing Bees Animalia - Vertebrates Vertebrate Taxonomy C5.1 Fish Graphic Organizer Fish Groups Chart PowerPoint: Salmon Life Cycle Science in the News: "Slime" (Muse Magazine) with accompanying comprehension questions C5.2 Amphibian Graphic Organizer Science in the News: "Warning From the Golden Toad" (Muse Magazine) with comprehension questions Preparation for frog dissection: Frog sandwich directions Frog sandwich packet Frog Dissection C5.2 Reptile Graphic Organizer Science in the News: "Creature From the Black Lagoon" (Odyssey Magazine) with comprehension questions C5.3 Birds Reading Questions Activity: Bird Beak Adaptations - students will predict what the diet of selected birds consists of based on the shape and structure of their beaks YouTube clip: Bird sounds from the lyre bird C5.4 Mammal Graphic Organizer Activity: Sorting mammals into their 12 groups based on observable characteristics Worksheet Pictures Comparing Mammalian Gestational Periods - discussion with explanatory pictures in PowerPoint BBC's "Life" Video Questions Plants Insects Fish Birds Reptiles and Amphibians Mammals Primates
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Genetics	Why do living things resemble their parents?	A3.1 Check Your Reading Questions Phases of the Cell Cycle Cell Cycle PowerPoint - Interphase, Mitosis and Cytokinesis Cell Cycle PowerPoint Blanks Interactive Mitosis Tutorial YouTube clips: The Stages of Mitosis, Mitosis in Real Time Interactive Meiosis Tutorial Mitosis-Meiosis Comparison A4.1 PowerPoint - Living Things Inherit Traits in Patterns A4.1 PowerPoint Blanks Genetics Practice Problems Punnett Square Practice Activity: Smiley Face Genetics Student Activity Sheet Student Conclusion Sheet Movie: Gattaca (Rated PG-13) Great depiction of what society may become when you neglect the power of the human spirit, rather focusing on genetic composition. Accompanying worksheet A5.3 Reading Questions
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Ecology	How do living things interact with and affect their surroundings?	D1.1 Ecosystems Graphic Organizer Food Chain ~ Food Web ~ Energy Pyramid PowerPoint handout Food Chain ~ Food Web ~ Energy Pyramid PowerPoint handout with teacher notes Interpreting a Food Web Resources graphic organizer Science In The News: "Poop Power!" (Odyssey Magazine) with accompanying comprehension questions Activity: Chocolate Chip Mining D3.1 Graphic organizer Science In The News: "Oil Spill" (Science News Magazine) with accompanying comprehension questions
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Geology	The Rock Cycle	Igneous Rock Questions Lab: Classifying Igneous Rocks Sedimentary Rock Cloze Outline Sedimentary Rock Questions Lab: Classifying Sedimentary Rocks Metamorphic Rock Cloze Outline Metamorphic Rock Questions Lab: Classifying Metamorphic Rocks Rock Groups Flow Chart Rock Cycle Diagram Rock Cycle Diagram (Blank) Rock Cycle Interactive Animation Lab: Sugar Rock Cycle
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ChangeOverTime (Evolution)	How and why have living things changed since their first appearance on Earth?	Geologic Timeline Geologic Timeline Student Worksheet B1.1 Cloze Outline Evolution of the Car Lab: Monstrous Mutations Virtual Field Trip: Take a Trip With Charles Darwin

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c.tiboldo@hackensackschools.org
Last updated on October 17, 2011