science teacher's guide - DepEd Naga City

gather, analyze, and interpret data; develop descriptions, explanations,predictions, and models using evidence; think critically and logically to makethe relationships between evidence and explanations; recognize and analyzealternative explanations and predictions; communicate scientific proceduresand explanations; and use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry” (TheNational Science Education Standards, U.S. National Research Council, 2000.p.19).Research has shown that the use of inquiry and investigative skillsdevelop with age. In this set of modules, the students will apply the inquiryskills they learned in earlier grades. They will plan and carry out simple scienceinvestigations. Each student will be able to participate first-hand in looking forevidence to answer questions they have posed at the beginning. They will haveopportunities to gather and interpret data as well as draw conclusions basedon evidence they have gathered. They will perform fair tests by identifyingvariables to be changed, measured and controlled, and do repeat trials.The teacher needs to guide and intervene throughout the process ofinvestigation to improve the students‟ understanding of the concepts involved.Gradually, the students will gain more independence in looking for evidence toanswer questions as they move from guided inquiry to full investigations.It is hoped that through the use of inquiry, teachers will be able tofacilitate learning of science and assess each student‟s developingunderstandings and abilities. Some activities, by themselves, can be consideredas embedded assessment. There is also a pre/post test that should beadministered before and after all the activities in each module have beencompleted. The teacher needs to analyze the results of these tests. The pretestresults will indicate students‟ prior knowledge and alternative conceptions (ifany). The posttest results will show the extent of students‟ comprehension ofthe concepts and their capacity to demonstrate needed skills. The posttest canalso reveal students‟ misconceptions that need to be addressed in succeedingmodules.Grade 7 Science: MatterDiversity of Materials in the Environmentii