Grade 7 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 7 science in the Saskatchewan Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Life Science: Interactions within Ecosystems (IE7.1–IE7.4): Relate key aspects of Indigenous knowledge to their understanding of ecosystems. Observe, illustrate, and analyze living organisms within local ecosystems as part of interconnected food webs… Evaluate biogeochemical cycles (water, carbon, and nitrogen) as representations of energy flow and the cycling of… (and 1 more outcome)
- Physical Science: Mixtures and Solutions (MS7.1–MS7.3): Distinguish between pure substances and mixtures (mechanical mixtures and solutions) using the particle model of… Investigate methods of separating the components of mechanical mixtures and solutions, and analyze the impact of… Investigate the properties and applications of solutions, including solubility and concentration.
- Physical Science: Heat and Temperature (HT7.1–HT7.3): Assess the impact of past and current heating and cooling technologies related to food, clothing, and shelter on… Explain how understanding differences between states of matter and the effect of heat on changes in state provide… Investigate principles and applications of heat transfer via the processes of conduction, convection, and…
- Earth and Space Science: Earth's Crust and Resources (EC7.1–EC7.3): Analyze societal and environmental impacts of historical and current catastrophic geological events, and… Identify locations and processes used to extract Earth's geological resources and examine the impacts of those… Investigate the characteristics and formation of the surface geology of Saskatchewan, including soil, and identify…
Easy ways to practise science at home
- Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?”
- Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives.
- Look up how a household machine works, such as a bike gear, a lamp or a fridge.
- Have your child draw and label a diagram of something they just learned.
What each unit covers
Ecosystems
Biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem, how they interact, and the limiting factors and carrying capacity that decide how many organisms an ecosystem can support.
Food Chains & Energy
Producers, consumers and decomposers, food chains and webs, how energy shrinks as it passes up a chain (about 10% each step), and what happens when part of a chain changes.
Cycles & Succession
How water, carbon and nitrogen are cycled through ecosystems, why cycling supports sustainability, and the difference between primary and secondary succession.
People & Ecosystems
How agriculture, harvesting and technologies affect ecosystems, such as monoculture, overfishing, invasive species and runoff, and ways to protect and restore balance. Includes reading simple data about an environmental measure.
Particles & Mixtures
The particle theory of matter, the states of matter, pure substances versus mixtures, and homogeneous versus heterogeneous mixtures.
Solutions & Separating
Solutes, solvents and solubility, what makes things dissolve faster, saturated and unsaturated solutions, concentration, why water is called the universal solvent, ways to separate mixtures, and some environmental effects of industrial separation.
Heat & Particles
Heat as energy linked to particle motion, temperature, expansion and contraction, changes of state, and the ways heat is generated (friction, electricity, burning, chemical reactions and the Sun).
Moving Heat
How heat is transmitted by conduction, convection and radiation, how the Sun's radiation heats different surfaces, and technologies such as insulation and double-pane windows that reduce heat loss.
Restless Earth
Earth's layers, plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes, fossils in rock layers, and the order of major events in Earth's 4.6-billion-year history. Includes how First Nations oral histories and scientific evidence together date the great 1700 earthquake.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Meeting is the goal for every outcome. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exemplary
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Saskatchewan report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 7 child with science?
Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?” Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 7 science in Saskatchewan?
The Saskatchewan Curriculum Grade 7 science units include ecosystems, food chains & energy, cycles & succession, people & ecosystems, particles & mixtures, solutions & separating.
Free printable Grade 7 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.