Unit Plan 8 (Grade 7 Science): Energy in Organisms
Grade 7 life science unit where students model how food molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to release energy and support growth in organisms.
Focus: Explain how food molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to support growth and release energy for cellular processes.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Science (Life Science — Matter & Energy in Organisms)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students connect what they know about cells, growth, and body systems to how food actually powers life. They explore how food is made of molecules that can be broken apart and rearranged in chemical reactions, creating new molecules and releasing energy used by cells. Using particle diagrams, simple reaction models, and real-world examples (eating, exercising, growing), students build models and explanations aligned to MS-LS1-6 and MS-LS1-7 showing how matter and energy flow in organisms.
Essential Questions
- What is food at the molecular level, and how is it different from just “stuff we eat”?
- How are food molecules rearranged during chemical reactions inside organisms?
- How does rearranging food molecules release energy that cells can use for growth, movement, and other processes?
- How can we use models and scientific explanations to describe what happens to food after it enters the body?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Describe food in terms of molecules (e.g., carbohydrates, fats, proteins) made of atoms that can be rearranged.
- Construct particle-level models showing that in a chemical reaction, bonds are broken and formed, and atoms are rearranged into new molecules.
- Develop a cellular respiration model (conceptual) that shows how food molecules and oxygen are rearranged to form new molecules and release energy.
- Explain how released energy from food supports cellular processes such as growth, repair, movement, and maintaining body temperature.
- Write a scientific explanation (CER) that uses evidence to describe how food molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to support growth and energy use in organisms.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (NGSS-based custom)
- MS-LS1-6 — Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of food molecules in chemical reactions that rearrange atoms to form new molecules.
- Students use particle diagrams and reaction models to show that matter is conserved and molecules are rearranged.
- MS-LS1-7 — Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions to release energy for cellular processes.
- Students create and refine models of cellular respiration (matter in, matter out, energy flow) in the context of everyday activities.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can describe food as molecules made of atoms, not just as “stuff” we eat.
- I can show, with a model, that chemical reactions rearrange atoms into new molecules.
- I can model how food and oxygen are used in a cellular reaction that releases energy and forms new molecules.
- I can explain how the energy from food helps cells grow, repair, and do work.
- I can write a scientific explanation using evidence and reasoning to show how food molecules are rearranged for growth and energy.