Year 7 · Science
Students learn that scientific ideas and solutions can be investigated, tested and purposefully adapted. They apply knowledge of heat transfer and insulation to design a DIY Ice Cube Insulation Box, considering materials, surface area, volume, cost and efficiency. Across the strand, students plan, build, test, record results, create a graph and use evidence to improve their design.
Strand at a glance
The lesson sequence below comes from the complete strand guide.
Detailed strand guidance
Driving Question: How can STEM help us understand, change, and improve the things around us?
Students are introduced to the Year 7 theme of Improvisation & Adaptation. They learn that a solution does not have to remain the same and that purposeful changes can be made when a situation changes, a problem is discovered or new information becomes available.
Students explore the MSC Challenge Cycle: Investigate -> Change -> Test -> Improve. They also distinguish improvisation from adaptation and consider how the two can work together.
A quick paper aeroplane challenge asks students to choose one change, explain why they would make it and describe how they could test whether it worked. The key idea is: Change -> Reason -> Effect -> Test.
Driving Question: How would I investigate and adapt an insulation box to keep an ice cube frozen for longer?
Students apply the theme directly to Science through the DIY Ice Cube Insulation Box challenge. They learn that an ice cube melts because heat energy transfers from the surroundings into the ice, and that the purpose of the box is to slow this heat transfer.
Students consider:
Before building, students plan and sketch their design. They identify what they are changing, the science behind the choice, why the adaptation should help and how the design will be tested.
Students produce: Insulation Box Plan + Scientific Rationale The plan should show the intended design, main materials, purposeful adaptations and the proposed test.
Driving Question: Does our insulation box actually work?
Students build their first version and test whether it slows the melting process. The emphasis is on collecting useful evidence rather than simply deciding that a design looks successful.
Students check:
Students record their results in a table and create a graph. The project materials suggest comparing melt time with surface area or cost, helping students connect scientific evidence with design decisions.
Students produce: Prototype + Results Table + Graph The test should be fair enough for students to use the results as evidence when improving the design.
Driving Question: How could our insulation box work better?
Students use the evidence from testing to adapt and improve their insulation box. They are reminded that a good adaptation is not simply a change: it should have a purpose and be supported by evidence.
The improvement process follows: Change -> Purpose -> Evidence
Possible adaptations include changing materials, adding or removing layers, improving the lid, changing air gaps, using reflective lining, adjusting the size of the box or reconsidering the balance between cost and performance.
Students complete a final quality check to confirm that the box uses insulation, holds one ice cube safely, includes a meaningful adaptation, records results, includes a graph and considers surface area, volume, cost and efficiency.
Students produce:
Judging takes place after the full 200 minutes. The criteria reward scientific accuracy and understanding, quality of adaptation, testing and use of data, efficiency and problem solving, and clear design and explanation.
The final message is that a good scientist does not only ask whether something works. They also ask how it could work better.
Conceptual journey
The Strand in One Sentence: Students move from understanding purposeful adaptation, to applying heat transfer and insulation in a design, to testing that design fairly, and finally to using evidence to improve it.
ADAPTATION -> INSULATION -> TESTING -> IMPROVEMENT
The Science Strand therefore moves from the general Year 7 idea of purposeful change into a practical science challenge where students design, test and improve a solution using evidence.
Assessment evidence and skills
Across the four periods, students build a clear record of their scientific thinking and practical development:
The final project is judged after the full 200 minutes, with results able to contribute to Tutor Group Champions and Faculty Champions.
Across the strand, students practise:
| Category | Points |
|---|---|
| Scientific Accuracy & Understanding | 25 |
| Quality of Adaptation | 25 |
| Testing & Use of Data | 20 |
| Efficiency & Problem Solving | 15 |
| Design, Explanation & Presentation | 15 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
Judging takes place after the full allocated strand time so students can continue testing and improving until the end.
Curriculum source: Y7 Strand Guide.docx
