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Science 7 — Course Syllabus

MATATAG Curriculum · Key Stage 3 · School Year 2026–2027

Learning Area Science
Grade Level Grade 7
Key Stage Key Stage 3 (Grades 7–10)
Time Allotment 45 minutes daily · 5 days a week · 3 terms
Prerequisite Science 6 (Key Stage 2 exit standard)
Curriculum Basis MATATAG K to 10 Curriculum (DepEd, August 2023)
Calendar Basis DO No. 009, s. 2026 — three-term school calendar
Assessment Basis DO No. 015, s. 2026 — revised classroom assessment and grading
Medium of instruction English

The three-term school year

Term Months Weeks
Term 1 June – September 1 – 11
Term 2 September – December 12 – 22
Term 3 January – April 23 – 33

1. Course Description

Science 7 opens Key Stage 3, and two things change at once.

The domains are renamed. Materials becomes Science of Materials, Living Things becomes Life Science, Earth and Space becomes Earth and Space Science. Only Force, Motion, and Energy keeps its name. This is a change of vocabulary, not of content — the same four strands run from Grade 3 to Grade 10.

And the year turns on models. Quarter 1 competency 1 is recognize that scientists use models to explain phenomena that cannot easily be seen or detected, and the whole quarter is that sentence being cashed out: the particle model of matter, drawn, used, and pushed until it says something surprising. Grade 6 explained changes of state by whether the material survived. Grade 7 explains them by what the particles are doing, which is a different kind of explanation and a harder one to hold honestly.

The rest of the year: cells and the microscope; forces, motion and heat; and faults, earthquakes, tsunamis and the Sun's influence on Philippine weather. The Quarter 4 content is not abstract here — PHIVOLCS FaultFinder is named in the guide by name, and a learner is asked to assess the earthquake risk to their own community.

2. Grade Level Standard

Quoted verbatim from the MATATAG Science Curriculum Guide (DepEd, August 2023, page 24).

Grade 7 — At the end of Grade 7, learners use models to describe the Particle theory of matter. They use diagrams and illustrations to explain the motion and arrangement of particles during changes of state. They explain the role of solute and solvent in solutions and the factors that affect solubility. They demonstrate skills to plan and conduct a scientific investigation making accurate measurements and using standard units. Learners describe the parts and functions of a compound microscope and use this to identify cell structure. They describe the cell as the basic unit of life and that some organisms are unicellular and some multicellular. They explain that there are two types of cell division, and that reproduction can occur through sexual or asexual processes. They use diagrams to make connections between organisms and their environment at various levels of organization. They explain the process of energy transfer through trophic levels in food chains. Learners use systems to analyze and explain natural phenomena and explain the dynamics of faults and earthquakes. They identify and assess the earthquake risks for their local communities using authentic and reliable secondary data. They use national and local disaster awareness and risk reduction management plans to identify and explain to others what to do in the event of an earthquake and/or tsunami. Learners explain the cause and effects of secondary impacts that some coastal communities may experience should a tsunami be produced by either a local or distant earthquake. Learners identify and explain how Solar energy influences the atmosphere and weather systems of the Earth and that these are the dominant processes that influence the climate of the country. Learners employ scientific techniques, concepts, and models to investigate forces and motion, and describe their findings using scientific language, force diagrams, and distance-time graphs. They use their curiosity, knowledge and understanding, and skills to propose solutions to problems related to motion and energy. They use scientific investigations to describe the properties of heat energy. They apply their knowledge and problem-solving skills in everyday situations and explore how modern technologies may be used to overcome current global energy concerns.

Key Stage 3 Standard

Quoted from page 21:

At the end of Grade 10, the learners demonstrate scientific, environmental, and technological and engineering literacies that would lead to rational choices on issues confronting them... they recognize that the central feature of an investigation is that if one variable is changed, the effect of the change on another variable can be measured.

3. Content Domains

3.1 The three content strands — what the learner does

Strand What it is at Grade 7
Performing scientific inquiry skills The five-part investigation the guide names — aim, materials, method, results, conclusion — with accurate measurement in standard units.
Understanding and applying scientific knowledge The particle model; solutions and solubility; cells and levels of organisation; forces, motion and heat; faults, earthquakes and solar energy.
Developing and demonstrating scientific attitudes and values Proper handling of equipment, named in Quarter 1 competency 12, and the disposition to treat a model as a set of claims rather than a picture.

3.2 The four discipline-oriented domains — renamed at this grade

Grades 3–6 Grades 7–10 Grade 7 coverage
Materials Science of Materials Models; the particle model and changes of state; investigation procedure; solute, solvent, solubility; acids, bases and salts with litmus.
Living things Life Science The compound microscope; plant and animal cells; mitosis and meiosis; sexual and asexual reproduction; levels of organisation; trophic levels.
Force, Motion, and Energy Force, Motion, and Energy Balanced and unbalanced forces; free-body diagrams; distance and displacement; speed and velocity; distance–time graphs; heat, temperature and heat transfer.
Earth and space Earth and Space Science Faults; earthquakes; magnitude and intensity; tsunamis; disaster readiness; solar energy, the tilt of the Earth, breezes, monsoons and the ITCZ.

3.3 One quarter, one domain — and the order changes here

Quarter Grades 3–6 Grade 7
1 Materials Science of Materials
2 Living Things Life Science
3 Force, Motion, and Energy Force, Motion, and Energy
4 Earth and Space Earth and Space Science

Grade 7 happens to keep the elementary order while renaming the domains. Grades 8, 9 and 10 do not — the four junior-high grades form a 4 × 4 Latin square, so Grade 8 opens on Life Science, Grade 9 on Force, Motion and Energy, and Grade 10 on Earth and Space Science. See science-spine.md §2, and CG page 28.

4. Content Map

Every entry is quoted from the official curriculum guide (DepEd, August 2023, pages 46–50), committed at docs/research/source/.

Performance tasks here are the guide's, not this syllabus's — page 17 requires one per quarter and supplies the tasks.

CG Quarter 1 — Science of Materials

Taught in Term 1, weeks 1–8

Content Use of models · The Particle model and changes of state · Planning, following, and recording scientific investigations · Solutions, solubility, and concentration
Content standards 1. Scientists use models to explain phenomena. 2. The particle model explains the properties of solids, liquids, and gases and the processes involved in changes of state. 3. Diagrams and flowcharts are very useful in demonstrating and explaining the motion and arrangement of particles during changes of state. 4. There are specific processes for planning, conducting, and recording scientific investigations. 5. The properties of solutions such as solubility and reaction to litmus determine their use.
Learning competencies 1. recognize that scientists use models to explain phenomena that cannot be easily seen or detected; 2. describe the Particle Model of Matter as "All matter is made up of tiny particles with each pure substance having its own kind of particles."; 3. describe that particles are constantly in motion, have spaces between them, attract each other, and move faster as the temperature increases; 4. use diagrams and illustrations to describe the arrangement, spacing, and relative motion of the particles in each of the three states of matter; 5. explain the changes of state in terms of particle arrangement and energy changes: a. solid → liquid → vapor, and b. vapor → liquid → solid; 6. follow appropriate steps of a scientific investigation which includes: a. aim or problem, b. materials and equipment, c. method or procedures, d. results including data, and e. conclusion; 7. make accurate measurements using standard units for physical quantities and organize the collected data; 8. identify the role of the solute and solvent in a solution; 9. express quantitatively the amount of solute present in a given volume of solvent; 10. demonstrate how different factors affect the solubility of a solute in a given solvent, such as heat; 11. identify solutions found at home and in school that react with litmus indicator, as acids, bases, and salts; and 12. demonstrate proper use and handling of science equipment.
Performance standard By the end of the Quarter, learners recognize that scientists use models to describe the particle model of matter. They use diagrams and illustrations to explain the motion and arrangement of particles during changes of state. They demonstrate an understanding of the role of solute and solvent in solutions and the factors that affect solubility. They demonstrate skills to plan and conduct a scientific investigation making accurate measurements and using standard units.
Performance task (from the guide) Design and carry out an investigation to determine the amount of salt in a sample of seawater.

CG Quarter 2 — Life Science

Opens in Term 1 (weeks 9–11); completed in Term 2 (weeks 12–16)

Content Science equipment: the compound microscope · Plant and animal cells · Cellular reproduction · Levels of biological organization · Trophic levels and the transfer of energy
Content standards 1. Familiarity and proper use of a compound microscope are essential to observe cells. 2. The organelles of plant and animal cells can be identified using a compound microscope. 3. Cells are the basic unit of life and mitosis and meiosis are the basic forms of cell division. 4. Fertilization occurs when a male reproductive cell fuses with a female reproductive cell. 5. Sexual reproduction is the basis of heredity. 6. The level of biological organization provides a simple way of connecting the simplest part of the living world to the most complex. 7. Identifying trophic levels helps understand the transfer of energy from one organism to another.
Learning competencies 1. identify the parts and functions, and demonstrate proper handling and storing of a compound microscope; 2. use proper techniques in observing and identifying the parts of a cell with a microscope such as the cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, and chloroplasts; 3. recognize that some organisms consist of a single cell and some of many cells; 4. differentiate plant and animal cells based on their organelles; 5. recognize that cells reproduce through two types of cell division, mitosis and meiosis, and describe mitosis as cell division for growth and repair; 6. explain that genetic information is passed on to offspring from both parents by the process of meiosis and fertilization; 7. differentiate sexual from asexual reproduction in terms of number of parents involved and similarities of offspring to parents; 8. use a labelled diagram to describe the connections between the levels of biological organization from cells to the biosphere; 9. describe the trophic levels of an organism as levels of energy in a food pyramid; and 10. use examples of food pyramids to describe the transfer of energy between organisms from one trophic level to another.
Performance standard By the end of the Quarter, learners demonstrate understanding of the parts and function of a compound microscope and use this to identify cell structure. They recognize that the cell is the basic unit of life. They explain that there are two types of cell division, and that reproduction can occur through sexual or asexual processes. They use diagrams to make connections between organisms and their environment at various levels of organization.
Performance task (from the guide) Create a visual representation, such as poster, model, or e-poster, explaining the trophic level in a chosen ecosystem.

CG Quarter 3 — Force, Motion, and Energy

Opens in Term 2 (weeks 17–22); completed in Term 3 (weeks 23–24)

Content Balanced and unbalanced forces · Motion: displacement and velocity · Distance-Time graphs · Identifying and controlling variables · Heat transfer
Content standards 1. Scientists and engineers analyze forces to predict their effects on movement. 2. Vectors differentiate the concepts of speed and velocity. 3. Graphing motion provides more accurate predictions about speed and velocity. 4. The particle model explains natural systems and processes. 5. Scientists and engineers conduct innovative research to find solutions to the current global energy crisis by seeking renewable energy solutions.
Learning competencies 1. identify that forces act between objects and can be measured; 2. identify and describe everyday situations that demonstrate balanced forces and unbalanced forces; 3. draw a free-body diagram to represent the relative magnitude and direction of the forces; 4. identify that when forces are not balanced, they can cause changes in the object's speed or direction of motion; 5. explain the difference between distance and displacement in relation to a reference point; 6. distinguish between speed and velocity using the concept of vectors; 7. describe uniform velocity and represent it using distance-time graphs; 8. explain the difference between heat and temperature; 9. identify advantageous and disadvantageous examples of conduction, convection, and radiation; 10. explain in terms of the particle model the processes underlying convection and conduction of heat energy; and 11. gather information from secondary sources to identify and describe examples of innovative devices that can be used to transform heat energy into electrical energy.
Performance standard By the end of the Quarter, learners employ scientific techniques, concepts, and models to investigate forces and motion and represent their understanding using scientific language, force diagrams, and distance-time graphs. They use their curiosity, knowledge and understanding, and skills to propose solutions to problems related to motion and energy.
Performance task (from the guide) Develop a 2–4 page brochure for parents or leaders in your community to inform them about modern technologies that can be used sustainably to transform heat into electricity in the local community.

CG Quarter 4 — Earth and Space Science

Taught in Term 3, weeks 25–33

Content System models · Earthquakes · The Sun's influence on Earth
Content standards 1. Rapid movements along normal, reverse or strike-slip faults cause earthquakes. 2. The damage or effects on communities depend on the magnitude of and distance from an earthquake. 3. Sunlight is the Earth's external source of energy. 4. Solar energy influences the atmosphere and weather patterns. 5. The revolution, rotation, and the tilt of the Earth explain the patterns of day and night and the seasons.
Learning competencies 1. classify geological faults according to the angle of the fault plane and direction of slip; 2. use models or illustrations to explain how movements along faults generate earthquakes and identify which types of faults are most likely to occur in the Philippines and explain why; 3. describe how the effects of earthquakes on communities depend on their magnitude; 4. use the PHIVOLCS FaultFinder or other reliable information source to identify where the nearest fault system is located from their community and assess the risk of earthquakes to their local community; 5. make models of fault scenarios to illustrate the epicenter of an earthquake from its focus, the intensity of an earthquake from its magnitude, and how underwater earthquakes may or may not generate tsunamis; 6. refer to the local disaster readiness plans to demonstrate what to do during and after an earthquake; 7. explain how earthquakes result in tsunamis that devastate shoreline communities; 8. describe procedures that the authorities have in place to alert communities of pending tsunamis; 9. explain how energy from the Sun interacts with the atmosphere; 10. make a physical model or use drawings to demonstrate how the tilt of the Earth relative to its orbit affects the intensity of sunlight absorbed by different areas over a year; 11. explain, using models, how the tilt of the Earth affects the changes in the length of daytime; and 12. explain how solar energy contributes to the occurrence of land and sea breezes, monsoons, and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
Performance standard By the end of the Quarter, learners appreciate the value of using systems to analyze and explain natural phenomena and demonstrate their understanding in explaining the dynamics of faults and earthquakes. They are confident in identifying and assessing the earthquake risk for their local communities using authentic and reliable secondary data. They use the country's disaster awareness and risk reduction management plans to identify and explain to others what to do in the event of an earthquake.
Performance task (from the guide) A. Design, test, and evaluate a model house that can withstand a model earthquake. B. Design, test, and evaluate a model of an innovative house that can adapt to the different weather conditions in the country.

5. Term-by-Term Scope and Sequence

Quarter blocks Q1 → weeks 1–8 · Q2 → 9–16 · Q3 → 17–24 · Q4 → 25–33
The last week of each block the quarter's performance task, per guide page 17
Within a block the guide's own competency order, adjacent competencies merged where natural — marked ⊕

⚠️ The week mapping is this repository's, not DepEd's. A school's approved Budget of Work replaces every week number below; none has been obtained. The quarter-to-domain assignment is DepEd's and is reproduced exactly.

Term 1 — June to September

Week Focus CG source Artifacts in this repo
1 Why scientists use models at all Q1 · 1 —
2 ⊕ The Particle Model stated and what particles are always doing Q1 · 2–3 —
3 Arrangement, spacing and motion in the three states Q1 · 4 —
4 Changes of state in terms of particles and energy Q1 · 5 ✔ Full set — lesson plans, slides, game, offline activities, worksheets, wall chart
5 ⊕ The five steps of an investigation and measuring in standard units Q1 · 6–7 —
6 ⊕ Solute and solvent and expressing concentration quantitatively Q1 · 8–9 —
7 ⊕ What affects solubility and acids, bases and salts with litmus and handling equipment Q1 · 10–12 —
8 Quarter 1 performance task — how much salt is in seawater? Q1 · PT —
9 The compound microscope: parts, handling, storing Q2 · 1 —
10 Finding the parts of a cell Q2 · 2 —
11 ⊕ Unicellular and multicellular and plant against animal cells Q2 · 3–4 —

End-of-term block — Term 1 examination, remediation, reporting.

Term 2 — September to December

Week Focus CG source
12 Mitosis and meiosis Q2 · 5
13 ⊕ How genetic information passes on and sexual against asexual reproduction Q2 · 6–7
14 Levels of organisation, cell to biosphere Q2 · 8
15 ⊕ Trophic levels and energy transfer between them Q2 · 9–10
16 Quarter 2 performance task — a trophic-level representation for a chosen ecosystem Q2 · PT
17 ⊕ Forces act between objects and balanced against unbalanced, in daily life Q3 · 1–2
18 Free-body diagrams Q3 · 3
19 What unbalanced forces do to speed and direction Q3 · 4
20 ⊕ Distance and displacement and speed and velocity Q3 · 5–6
21 Uniform velocity on a distance–time graph Q3 · 7
22 ⊕ Heat against temperature and conduction, convection, radiation Q3 · 8–9

End-of-term block — Term 2 examination, remediation, reporting.

Term 3 — January to April

Week Focus CG source
23 ⊕ Convection and conduction in particle terms and heat-to-electricity devices Q3 · 10–11
24 Quarter 3 performance task — a community brochure on heat-to-electricity technology Q3 · PT
25 Normal, reverse and strike-slip faults Q4 · 1
26 How fault movement generates an earthquake Q4 · 2
27 ⊕ Magnitude and its effects and PHIVOLCS FaultFinder and local risk Q4 · 3–4
28 Fault models: focus and epicentre, magnitude and intensity, tsunami or not Q4 · 5
29 ⊕ The local disaster readiness plan and how earthquakes cause tsunamis Q4 · 6–7
30 Tsunami alerts, and what a coastal community does Q4 · 8
31 ⊕ Solar energy and the atmosphere and the tilt and sunlight intensity Q4 · 9–10
32 ⊕ The tilt and the length of daytime and breezes, monsoons and the ITCZ Q4 · 11–12
33 Quarter 4 performance task — an earthquake-resistant model house, or a weather-adaptive one Q4 · PT

End-of-term block — Term 3 examination, closing activities, reporting.

Coverage check

CG quarter Competencies Teaching weeks PT week Where
Quarter 1 12 7 8 Term 1, weeks 1–8
Quarter 2 10 7 16 Term 1 weeks 9–11; Term 2 weeks 12–16
Quarter 3 11 7 24 Term 2 weeks 17–22; Term 3 weeks 23–24
Quarter 4 12 8 33 Term 3, weeks 25–33
Total 45 29 4 33 weeks

All 45 CG competencies are placed. None is taught twice, and none is dropped.

6. Assessment and Grading

Per DO No. 015, s. 2026, for a Key Stage 3 core learning area: Written Works 20% · Performance Tasks 50% · Examinations 30%.

Transmutation is a year switch. SY 2026–2027 uses an adjusted table in which a raw 70 transmutes to a passing 75; from SY 2027–2028 transmutation is removed.

⚠️ Reported, not read. Two independent search passes returned the same split. Confirm before computing a real grade.

What Grade 7 assessment has to add

A model is assessed by what it forbids, not only by what it draws. A learner can produce three correct particle diagrams and still believe that particles swell when heated, that a single particle can melt, and that the gaps contain air. Every key in assessment.md therefore carries at least one item asking for something the model rules out, and those items are the ones flagged as diagnostic.

7. Learner Support

Provision What it looks like
Below-level Be the particles before drawing them. worksheet-remediation.html uses the class standing in a room and reaches paper only in task 3.
On-level The standard task with the diagram labelled for arrangement, spacing and motion — all three, every time.
Above-level Push the model until it breaks. Why does water expand when it freezes, when the model says cooling brings particles closer? That is a genuine exception and a genuinely good question.
Language All materials are in English. Particle, arrangement, spacing and vapour are said aloud before they are read.
Learners with additional needs Enlarged print, extended time, verbal instead of written response, a peer scribe. Every digital artifact is keyboard-operable and screen-reader labelled.
Absence and catch-up Every digital artifact is one file that copies to a phone or USB stick and runs offline.

8. Materials

No-cost / recycled — the default.

If available.

DepEd's Grade 7 equipment list is not held here. The guide names a compound microscope and litmus paper. A school without a microscope cannot do Quarter 2 competency 2 as written, and this repository will not pretend otherwise — offline-activities.md names what is possible without one and what is not. Red cabbage water is a genuine acid–base indicator and is not a compromise; a drawn cell is a drawing and is.

9. Curriculum Verification — Completed

Item Source Status
Grade level standard (§2) CG p. 24 ✅ Verbatim
Key Stage 3 standard (§2) CG p. 21 ✅ Verbatim
The domain renaming (§3.2) CG p. 19 ✅ Verified
Domain per quarter (§3.3) CG p. 28 ✅ Verified
Quarters 1 to 4 (§4) CG pp. 46–50 ✅ Verbatim
Performance tasks (§4) CG pp. 46–50 ✅ From the guide
Week mapping (§5) This repository ⚠️ Proposal — the Budget of Work is unobtained
Three-term calendar DO No. 009, s. 2026 ⚠️ Adopted, from reporting
Assessment weights (§6) DO No. 015, s. 2026 ⚠️ Adopted, from reporting

What opening the guide changed

Assumed Actually
The domains are the same four names all the way from Grade 3 Three of the four are renamed at Grade 7. Only Force, Motion, and Energy keeps its name.
Grade 7 Quarter 1 is atoms and elements Atoms are Grade 8 Quarter 2. Grade 7 is the particle model, which is deliberately less specific and is the right level.
Earthquakes are Grade 8 or 9 Faults, earthquakes and tsunamis are Grade 7 Quarter 4, with PHIVOLCS FaultFinder named in competency 4.
Heat and temperature are the same lesson They are competency 8, and the competency is explain the difference between them.

Part of the E-turo MATATAG artifact set. Companion files: lesson-plan.md · lesson-plan-ilaw.md · assessment.md · offline-activities.md · slides.html · game.html