Lessons and Standards

7th Grade Summary 

Through the 7th-grade program, students gain an understanding of climate change, including its causes and the ways they can take action to combat it. The program fosters a belief that students can be science leaders and make a difference in the world.

During their visit to the Living Lab, students engage in interactive activities to explore carbon emissions and their sources. They participate in a game to understand how everyday devices, such as cell phones, contribute to carbon emissions. A scavenger hunt around the facility allows students to investigate how the Living Lab was designed to reduce energy use and carbon output. Key features include energy-efficient lighting, smart building design, and solar panels that power the facility.

Students also have the opportunity to meet a science leader who shares their career pathway. This interaction allows students to ask questions and reflect on their own potential to pursue a career in science.

In the afternoon, students explore renewable energy sources with a focus on wave energy, given their proximity to the coast. They design and build wave-powered turbines and work collaboratively to improve their efficiency. Through hands-on experimentation, students gain insight into how clean energy solutions can be one avenue to address climate change.

During the final classroom session, students learn practical ways to reduce their carbon footprint and lead more sustainable lives. They work with peers to analyze whether using a reusable water bottle is a truly sustainable choice. Additionally, they create reuseable cleaning products for their classroom, reinforcing the importance of reducing waste and emissions through everyday actions.

The 7th-grade program empowers students to understand climate change, explore solutions, and take meaningful steps toward sustainability.

NGSS Alignment:

Performance Expectations:

  • MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  • MS-ESS3-5. Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperature over the past century.

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

  • ESS2.D: Global Climate Change
  • ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem
  • ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions

Cross-Cutting Concept:

  • Cause and Effect – Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.
  • Systems and Systems models – Students understand that a system is a group of related parts that make up a whole and can carry out functions its individual parts cannot. They can also describe a system in terms of its components and their interactions.
  • Stability and Change – Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time.

Classroom Lessons:

Schedules

Additional Resources