UNIT 1: Diversity of Materials in the Environment

Overview

This set of five modules on the Diversity of Materials in the Environment

provides many opportunities for students to increase their understanding of solutions,
substances and mixtures, elements and compounds, acids and bases, and metals
and nonmetals, through engaging them in scientific inquiry.

There is a wide range and variety of materials on Earth. These include

natural materials, those that have been made from other materials (processed or
manufactured), and those which make up living things. In Grade 7, the development
of ideas about materials begins with awareness of solutions, which students often
encounter everyday as liquid mixtures. Further awareness of materials in terms of
the components they are made of—substances, elements, compounds are taken up
in Modules 2, 3, and 5. Students will also study the properties of a special group of
compounds—acids and bases in Module 4.

These concepts will be encountered by the students in the contexts and life
situations that they are most familiar with. It is important to recognize that the
teaching of the concepts covered in this set of modules focuses more on the ‘macro’
view (the tangible and visible). Science education research recommends that
concepts be taught, initially, at the macro level only. Explanations at the
‘submicroscopic’ level (atomic or molecular level) could be shared in appropriate
doses enough to be processed by the students. The use of chemical symbols and
equations are reserved for higher grade levels much later. The experiences gained
through different activities in each module will allow students to transform the
information they obtain into a form that is usable to them in their own personal and
community context.

The development of the modules veers away from teaching science that is
textbook-centered to that which incorporates interactive and inquiry-based learning
experiences. Inquiry is essential in learning science. When students are engaged in
inquiry, they describe objects and phenomena, “identify questions that can be
answered through scientific investigations; design and conduct a scientific
investigation; use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret
data; develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence;
think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and
explanations; recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions;
communicate scientific procedures and explanations; and use mathematics in all
aspects of scientific inquiry” (The National Science Education Standards, U.S.
National Research Council, 2000. p.19).

Research has shown that the use of inquiry and investigative skills develop
with age. In this set of modules, the students will apply the inquiry skills they learned
in earlier grades. They will plan and carry out simple science investigations. Each
student will be able to participate first-hand in looking for evidence to answer
questions they have posed at the beginning. They will have opportunities to gather