Science
Course: Pre-AP Seventh Grade
Unit: Flow of Energy and Changes in Matter
TEKS/Prerequisites
Guiding
Questions/
Specificity
Flow of Energy
7.5c– diagram the flow of
energy through living
systems, including food
chains, food webs, and energy
pyramids.
(Supporting Standard)
Guiding Questions
- What is a living
system?
- How does energy flow
through a food chain?
- How does energy flow
through an energy
pyramid?
- How are food chains,
food webs, and energy
pyramids related and
differentiated?
Teacher Note:
Students should already
be familiar with the
concept of food chains,
food webs, and energy
pyramids. The energy
transfer is what we are
stressing.
-Student creates their
own energy pyramid
using an ecosystem of
their choice. They must
identify where each
organism belongs in the
pyramid.
Revised Spring 2016
Sample
Assessment
Designated Grading Period: 2nd Grading Period
Days to teach: 23 days (3-5 Days Per TEKS)
Vocabulary
Instructional
Resources/
Strategies/ELPS
Weblinks
Which of the following
would cause an increase
in the number of
deer in a population?
Living System
Food Chain
Food Web
A the development of a
housing
neighborhood in the
deer habitat
B a decrease in the
number of predators
of the deer
C an increase the
number of days of
drought
D competition with other
animals that eat
grass and
surrounding shrubs
Energy Pyramid
Producer
Consumer
(primary,
secondary,
tertiary)
Decomposer
Herbivore
Omnivore
Carnivore
Predator
Prey
Trophic Level
Activities/Labs:
- Flow of Energy
Through an
Ecosystem
- What Are Some
Parts of a Food
Chain and Food
Web?
- Building a Food
Web
- Ecosystem
Roundhouse
Exemplar Lesson
Flow of Energy
TEKS 7.5C
The Flow of Energy
Through Plants and
Animals
http://www.ftexploring.co
m/me/me2.html
ELPS Strategies
http://ritter.tea.state.t
x.us/rules/tac/chapter
074/ch074a.html
3B: List/Sort/Label
4F:
Manipulatives/Video
s
3E: PerspectiveBased Activities
Resource: STEMscopes:
https://n11052d40706.acce
leratelearning.com/login
Simarities and Differences
of Living Things
http://regentsprep.org/rege
nts/biology/units/organizati
on/living.cfm
Google Drive: Middle
School Science
Science
Course: Pre-AP Seventh Grade
Unit: Flow of Energy and Changes in Matter
TEKS/Prerequisites
Guiding
Questions/
Specificity
7.6a – identify that organic
compounds contain carbon
and other elements such as
hydrogen, oxygen,
phosphorous, nitrogen, or
sulfur;
(Supporting Standard)
Guiding Question:
Can the student
identify organic
compounds as those
made of carbon?
Can the student
identify those
carbon-based
organic compounds
which also contain
nitrogen, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen,
phosphorous, and
sulfur?
Teacher Notes:
Use the acronym
SPONCH to
promote retention;
emphasize the
element of carbon
-Student identifies the
chemical properties in
different items and
explains why the item
is or is not organic.
Revised Spring 2016
Sample
Assessment
Which of the following
compounds would be
considered organic?
A. Salt (NaCl)
B. Carbon Dioxide
(CO2)
C. Carbon
Monoxide (CO)
D.Sucrose (C12H22O11)
Designated Grading Period: 2nd Grading Period
Days to teach: 23 days (3-5 Days Per TEKS)
Vocabulary
Instructional
Resources/
Strategies/ELPS
Weblinks
Inorganic
compounds
Organic
compounds
Resource: STEMscopes:
https://n11052d40706.acce
leratelearning.com/login
Identifying Organic
Compounds
Organic Molecules
Compound
Element
Which element is NOT
required in order for
the compound to be
considered organic?
A. Carbon
B. Oxygen
C. Hydrogen
D. Flourine
Constructing Organic
Compounds
Activities/Labs
SPONCH Graphic
Organizer
Compare and
Contrast organic
compounds and
inorganic compounds
ELPS
SE/Strategies:
Link:
http://ritter.tea.state.t
x.us/rules/tac/chapter
074/ch074a.html
4F: visuals
3J: Graphic
Organizer
http://www.chemistryland.com/
ElementarySchool/BuildingBloc
ks/BuildingOrganic.htm
Science
Course: Pre-AP Seventh Grade
Unit: Flow of Energy and Changes in Matter
TEKS/Prerequisites
Guiding
Questions/
Specificity
7.6b-- distinguish between
physical and chemical
changes in matter in the
digestive system.
(Supporting Standard)
Guiding Question:
How are food
substances
physically and
chemically changed
in digestion to
produce necessary
energy to sustain
life?
Specificity:
Discuss the
difference between
a physical and
chemical change.
Example: physical
changes can be
reversed, evidence
of color change,
temperature
change, etc.
Teacher Notes:
Revised Spring 2016
Sample
Assessment
1.Which of the
following is a chemical
change that takes place
in the digestive system?
A. Undigested material
is expelled from the
body.
B. Water is separated
from solids.
C. Starches are broken
down into sugars.
D. Sugar is dissolved
and absorbed into
the bloodstream.
Designated Grading Period: 2nd Grading Period
Days to teach: 23 days (3-5 Days Per TEKS)
Vocabulary
Instructional
Resources/
Strategies/ELPS
Weblinks
Physical Change
Chemical
Change
Matter
Digestive
System
Physical and Chemical
Changes in Digestion
Stations
Exemplar Lesson
Physical and Chemical
Changes in Digestion
TEKS 7.6B
Google Drive: Middle School
Science
A Pizza’s Journey in the
Digestion System
Rags to Riches
Interactive Human
2. It's Friday night. Peter
and his friends decide to go
out for pizza following a
football game. Which of
the following is an example
of mechanical digestion on
the pizza?
A. bile emulsifying the
fats from the cheese in
the small intestine.
B. using the teeth to chew
a slice of pizza into
small pieces.
C. gastric juices in the
stomach digesting the
pepperoni.
D. saliva in the mouth
digesting the pizza
crust
Resource: STEMscopes:
https://n11052d40706.acce
leratelearning.com/login
Physical vs Chemical Properties
Game Show: “Rags to Riches”
http://www.quia.com/rr/722332.
html
Adventures of
Marshmallow Man
It’s Digestion Baby Lab
ELPS SE/Strategies:
Link:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/
rules/tac/chapter074/ch07
4a.html
4K: Entry Journals
4F: visuals/video
3J: Graphic Organizer
Review: Physical or Chemical
Change
http://www.quia.com/quiz/3039
80.html
Magic School Bus: “For Lunch”
video
Science
Course: Pre-AP Seventh Grade
Unit: Flow of Energy and Changes in Matter
TEKS/Prerequisites
Guiding
Questions/
Specificity
7.7b-- illustrate the
transformation of energy
within an organism such as
the transfer from chemical
energy to heat and thermal
energy in digestion.
Guiding Question:
How does energy
go from chemical
to heat in
digestion?
Teacher Notes:
Include a brief
review of all types
of energy
transformations
such as thermal,
electrical, kinetic,
potential
-Students elaborate
on how different
sources of chemical
energy(food) are all
converted into
thermal energy.
Some food will
create more energy
than others.
Revised Spring 2016
Sample
Assessment
1. When living things
use chemical reactions to
break down food, some
of the energy is
transformed into:
A. waste
B. heat
C. light
D. sound
2. Which of the
following is the correct
definition of chemical
energy?
A. energy resulting from
the flow of charged
particles
B. energy of an object
due to the random
motion of its atoms and
molecules
C. produced from the
splitting of atoms
D. energy stored in
chemical bonds of
molecules
Designated Grading Period: 2nd Grading Period
Days to teach: 23 days (3-5 Days Per TEKS)
Vocabulary
Instructional
Resources/
Strategies/ELPS
Weblinks
Transfer
Heat Energy
Thermal Energy
Digestion
Energy
Transformation in
Digestion Lab
Resource: STEMscopes:
https://n11052d40706.acce
leratelearning.com/login
Exemplar Lesson:
Transformation of
Energy
TEKS 7.7B
Google Drive: Middle
School Science
Organism
Conversion Station
Lab Activity
Liver and Potato Lab
ELPS
SE/Strategies:
Link:
http://ritter.tea.state.t
x.us/rules/tac/chapter
074/ch074a.html
4E: Concept
Attainment
3E: PerspectiveBased Activities
Flashcards
http://quizlet.com/3397625
/7th-science-unit-6-reviewbiochemistry-flash-cards/
Virtual Energy
Transformations
http://www.glencoe.com/si
tes/common_assets/science
/virtual_labs/E04/E04.html
Science
Course: Pre-AP Seventh Grade
Unit: Flow of Energy and Changes in Matter
TEKS/Prerequisites
Guiding
Questions/
Specificity
7.6c-- Recognize how large
molecules are broken down
into smaller molecules such as
carbohydrates can be broken
down into sugars
Guided Question:
Identify that large
molecules are
chemically broken
down into smaller
molecules.
Teacher Notes:
Digestion is defined
as the chemical
break down of large
molecules into
small molecules. It
should not be
confused with
“eating/consuming
food”.
- Students
analyses how
carbohydrates,
lipids, and
proteins are
broken down to
be used by the
body in
different ways.
Revised Spring 2016
Sample
Assessment
Designated Grading Period: 2nd Grading Period
Days to teach: 23 days (3-5 Days Per TEKS)
Vocabulary
Instructional
Resources/
Strategies/ELPS
Weblinks
1. During digestion,
chemical changes in the
body break down
carbohydrates into
which of the following?
A. sugars
B. proteins
C fats
D. inorganic substances
Molecule
2. Table sugar is made of
a molecule called glucose.
Plants can link glucose
molecules together to
form larger molecules
called carbohydrates.
What happens to the
carbohydrates in a plant
when they are eaten by an
animal?
A. The animal's digestive
system expels the
carbohydrates as waste.
B. The animal's digestive
system breaks down the
carbohydrates into sugars.
C. The animal's blood
stream carries the
carbohydrates to the muscle
cells.
D. The animal's teeth
break the carbohydrates
into sugars.
Protein
Cracker Lab
Micromolecule
Carbohydrate
Lipid
Nucleotide
Fats
Sugar
Organic Compound
Lab
Cracker Activity
http://peer.tamu.edu/curric
ulum_modules/OrganSyste
ms/module_2/howweknow
.htm
Resource: STEMscopes:
https://n11052d40706.acce
leratelearning.com/login
A Pizza’s Journey in
the Digestion System
Exemplar Lesson
Breaking Down of
Large Molecules
TEKS 7.6C
Google Drive: Middle
School Science
Rags to Riches
Physical vs Chemical Properties
Game Show: “Rags to Riches”
http://www.quia.com/rr/722332.
html
ELPS Strategies:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rul
es/tac/chapter074/ch074a.ht
ml
4F: visuals
3J: Graphic Organizer