Seventh Grade Lesson Plans (101 results)

Here's how.

Science Buddies' seventh grade science projects are the perfect way for seventh grade students to have fun exploring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our seventh grade projects are written and tested by scientists and are specifically created for use by students in the seventh grade. Students can choose to follow the science experiment as written or put their own spin on the project.

For a personalized list of science projects, seventh graders can use the Science Buddies Topic Selection Wizard. The wizard asks students to respond to a series of simple statements and then uses their answers to recommend age-appropriate projects that fit their interests.

Two Eyes Are Better Than One

Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-8th

Why do humans have two eyes? In this simple activity students will discover the concept of parallax and start discussing depth perception. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. [Clarification Statement: Examples of structures could include thorns, stems, roots, colored petals, heart, stomach, lung, brain, and skin.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to macroscopic structures within plant and animal systems.]
4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on systems of information transfer.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the mechanisms by which the brain stores and recalls information or the mechanisms of how sensory receptors function.]

Bending Plant Roots with Gravity

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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How do plants know which way is up or down? How does this affect which direction their roots will grow? In this lesson plan, your students will investigate how changes in a plant's environment, like the direction of gravity, affect the shape of its growing roots over a period of several days. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

How Big is Big? Understanding Scale in Nature

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

Some organisms, like whales and redwood trees, are so large that it's hard for us to picture just how big they are! In this lesson, students practice mathematics and computational thinking to create scale models of themselves, and then apply these skills to create models of other large organisms. This activity works best when stretched out over three (or more) class periods. Read more

Investigate Alien Genetics

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

In this lesson, students will model how traits are passed on from parents to their offspring by creating baby aliens based on their parents' traits. As students compare the physical features of their alien families, they will be able to make the connection between an organism's genotype and phenotype. Students will also learn the difference between dominant and recessive traits. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS3-2. Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-8th

In this interactive lesson, students will use kinesthetic techniques to model Earth's orbit around the Sun for a year. Read more

Model the Rock Cycle with Crayons

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

Can one type of rock turn into another type of rock? In this lesson plan, your students will explore the rock cycle and model it using crayons. Can they turn a sedimentary "rock" made from crayon shavings into a metamorphic rock? What about an igneous rock? Try this lesson to find out! Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.

A Roundabout Way to Mars

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

Students explore orbit transfers and, specifically, Hohmann transfers. They investigate the orbits of Earth and Mars by using cardboard and string. Students… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.

Black in the Spotlight

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

How does light interact with matter? In this fun hands-on lesson, you students explore how different materials transmit, absorb and/or reflect light. They create their own experiments to demonstrate these phenomena and use a phones' built-in light sensor and Google's Science Journal app to add quantitative data to their arguments. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.

Flowers Seeking Pollinators

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-7th

In this activity, students learn about plant reproduction and use real data to construct explanations about which flowers are the most attractive to different pollinators. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-LS1-1. Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
MS-LS1-4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants, respectively.

How Gene Mutations Change Your Ability to Taste

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

Explore genetic variation through the world of taste in this problem-solving lesson plan. Working both individually and collaboratively, students figure out what kind of tasters they are, what this means about their own genetics, and how genetic mutations can lead to functional differences. This activity provides a hands-on, personalized opportunity to learn about how genotypes and phenotypes align. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS3-1. Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
MS-LS3-2. Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

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