Texas TEKS 7.5.B

Science7th GradeRecurring themes and concepts

The Standard

identify and investigate cause-and-effect relationships to explain scientific phenomena or analyze problems

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify what changed and what happened as a result. They gather evidence, compare outcomes, and consider whether another factor could explain the pattern.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can name a likely cause and its measurable effect in an investigation or scenario. They use data to support the link and identify variables that should be controlled.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume that events occurring together prove that one caused the other. They may reverse the cause and effect or ignore uncontrolled variables and alternative explanations.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: One bean plant receives fertilizer and grows 4 centimeters taller than an unfertilized plant. Name the suspected cause, observed effect, and one limitation of the evidence.

Lesson moves

Change ramp height for a toy car, measure travel distance, and graph how the changed height affects the car's motion.
Discuss whether carrying an umbrella causes rain or whether both are linked to a forecast, then defend the claim with evidence.
Sort scenario cards into cause, effect, coincidence, or unclear, then challenge a partner to name the evidence needed.
Use school absenteeism and flu data to decide whether the pattern supports a causal claim and what other factors may matter.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 7.5.B, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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