7th Grade ALPs Curriculum Overview

The 7^th grade emphasis is on the life sciences.

Our yearlong study is a back yard bird watch that starts in October and continues until April. Each student will be required to observe and collect data on the birds in their backyard once a month. This data will be recorded and shared with the class.

We start the year by studying the environment in the Environmental Science textbook. This includes the River Watch project we do for the Indiana DNR. We will get back to environmental sciences in the spring.

Then we move on to the study of organisms and how they are classified by using the Bacteria to Plants and the Animals textbooks. This includes and in depth study of the animal kingdom. Each student will research an animal of their choosing and learn to write in a technical format.

Next we move to a more traditional study of biology in the Cells to Heredity textbook. This includes studying cell structure & function, using math skills to evaluate the probabilities of inherited genes, and the study of genetic diseases. Our largest project is genetic disease research paper.

In the spring we will return to the study the environment and use the knowledge we have learned to examine man’s impact on the Earth’s systems. This includes another River Watch project for the Indiana DNR.