REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA

OMUSATI REGIONAL COUNCIL

DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND CULTURE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
REACHING OUT FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND IMPROVED LEARNERS PERFORMANCE

GRADE 7

NATURAL SCIENCE AND HEALTH EDUCATION

TEACHERS GUIDING NOTES

NSHE Grade 7 Guiding Notes, Omusati Education Directorate Page 1

 Remarks to the teachers

1. Do not photocopy the entire document and give to the learners.

2. Ensure all competencies are addressed on the guiding notes and should all
be taught.
3. Most picture are lacking, try to provide learners with pictures.
4. Follow the regional NSHE year plan.
5. Ensure practical investigations/ projects, topic tasks and tests are given as required.
6. Teachers should not be bounded to the guiding notes only, they should explore more
from different resources

This guiding note was developed with compliments of Regional facilitators (thank you for your time,
hard work and dedication towards a Namibian child).

Sincerely Yours
Wendy Amakali
SEO: NSHE
Omusati Region: Professional Development Division

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 TERM 1

LIVING ORGANISMS
are;
 Plants
 Animals

Characteristics of living organisms

List and define the characteristics of all organisms

 Growth
 Feeding
 Reproduction
 Movement
 Respiration
 Excretion
 Sensitivity

movement Feeding

Growth Reproduce

Define the following characteristics

Sensitivity – is the ability of living organism to respond to different stimuli.
Feeding- is the ability of organisms to take in food.
Movement- is the ability of organisms to change position using their body parts.
Reproduction- is the ability of organisms to make young ones like themselves.

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Growth – to increase in size
Respiration – is the process by which energy is released from food.
Excretion- is the process of getting rid of waste products from the body.

Discuss the importance of these characteristics for the survival of the

organisms.

Movement
 Help organisms to move away from dangers
 To move from one place to another to search for food & water

Reproduction
 Help organisms to have offspring
 Help organisms to maintain population

Sensitivity
 Help organisms to take necessary action
 Help organisms to respond to the stimuli

Growth
 Help organisms to develop into adult capable of reproduction

Respiration/Breathing
 Help organisms to release energy in order to grow, move and reproduce

Excretion
 Help organisms to get rid of waste products from their body

Feeding
 To provide nutrients to the body.

Describe sensitivity as the important principal for survival?

 Is the ability of living organisms to respond to stimuli.

or
 Is the ability of living organisms to detect changes and make appropriate responses.

Key identification

Scientist came up with a simple key identification to identity unknown and different organisms

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Identify given organisms using a simple key

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NSHE Grade 7 Guiding Notes, Omusati Education Directorate Page 6
PLANTS

Plants are divided into

 Flowering plants
 Non-flowering plants

Example of flowering plants

 Maize
 Beans
 Pumpkins etc

Example of non-flowering plants

 Mosses
 Ferns
 Welwitchia mirabilis

Identify the structure of non-flowering plants

Mosses Ferns

conifers

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Difference between flowering and non-flowering plants

Describe the differences and similarities between flowering and non flowering
plants

The differences are shown in the table below

Flowering plant Non-flowering plants

 They bear flowers  They bear cones
 Have proper and visible parts  Most of them do not have proper and
visible parts.

Similarities between flowering and non-flowering plants

 All have green leaves

 Both contains chlorophyll

Function of plant structure

Describe the functions of plant structures (flowering and non-flowering plant)

Roots:
 to hold the plant in the soil
 To absorbs water and mineral from the soil
 Help to stop soil erosion

Stems:
 Give the plant structure

Leaves:
 To make food for the plant in a process called photosynthesis
 Respiration take place in leaves

Flowers
 Attract insect and birds with their sweet nectar and bright colours
 Pollination takes place in flowers.
 To carry out reproduction

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Function of fibrous and tap roots

Describe the functions of fibrous and tap roots

 To hold and anchors the plant to the ground

 To absorb water and minerals from the ground.
 To prevent/control soil erosion
- Fibrous roots absorb water near the surface
- Tap roots take water deep underground

Adaptation of Welwitschia mirabilis in Namibia

Describe the adaptation of Welwitschia mirabilis in Namibia

 It has only two leaves which have millions of stomata that absorbs drop of water from the
fog.
 Its leaves have large surface area to collect the moisture.
 Tap roots absorb underground water.
 Grow slowly to store nutrients

What is diffusion?

 Is the random movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of lower
concentrations.

Importance of diffusion for living organisms

Discuss the importance of diffusion for living organisms

 Help living organisms to get material they need to stay alive.

E.g. to take in the necessary gas.
 Help living organisms to excrete the waste products out of their body.
 It helps to get energy into the blood.

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ANIMALS
Variation among animals
Are divided in to:

1. Vertebrate – animals with backbone

2. Invertebrate- animals without backbone

Five groups of vertebrate

 Reptiles
 Birds
 Mammals
 Fish
 Amphibians

NB: Revise grade 5 & 6 work as outlined- one added feature of animals with backbones and
two added features for animals without backbones.

Explain the criteria used to classify each animal group

(Check in Solid textbook page 132 as well)

Characteristic of reptiles

 Have hard scale on their bodies

 Lay eggs that are protected by shells

Characteristics of mammals

 Their bodies covered with hair or fur.

 Give birth to young ones alive and feed them with milk.

Characteristics of birds

 Their bodies covered with feathers.

 They have a beak or bill, but no teeth.

Characteristic of fish

 Their bodies covered with scales

 They use gills to breath

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Characteristic of amphibians

 They live both in water and on land

 They use their lungs, skin and gills to breathe

INVERTEBRATE

 Insects

Characteristic of insects

 Their bodies divided into head, a thorax (chest) and an abdomen.

 Some have two feelers and four wings
 Their bodies have an external shell called an exoskeleton.

Describe the life cycles of a local insect and a mammals

Life cycle of insects

 Most insects lay eggs that they develop outside the body of their mothers.
Eg. Silver fish (fish moth)

 Other insects hatch from the egg and, as they grow, their shape change. This is called
metamorphosis
Eg. Butterflies
Moths

Life cycles of mammals

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Mammals give birth to live babies. The fertilised egg grows in the womb of their mother for several
months. The babies suckle (drink milk from their mothers’ breasts) and are protected by the adult
until they are able to look after themselves.
Most mammals have hair or fur but some babies are born without fur or hair, then it grows later.
Describe how a fish and an insect (as selected in their locality) are adapted to
their environment

Adaptation of fish to their environment

 Has streamlined body that help in swimming.

 Their bodies covered with scales. To protect the fish from bacteria
 They has fins for movements
 Lay large number of eggs to ensure survival
 Gills to breath

Adaptation of insect to their environment

 It has a hard, tough exoskeleton (that resists water loss)

 Have wings to fly.

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 ENVIRONMENT
ECOSYSTEM

Terminologies

.
Explain the following terms

Terms The Meaning

Ecosystem -All plants and animals living in the same area

Habitant -Natural environment of plant or animal

species -Kind or group of animal or plant
Community -All the plants and animals in an ecosystem

Population -Number of plants or animals you find in an ecosystem

- (A number of a certain individual type of living organisms living in a
place.)

Study the structure and make up of your ecosystem

It is very important to know what your own ecosystem is made up of. We should look at all the
things found around us both biotic and a biotic factors.

List the different ecosystems commonly found in Namibia

 Savanna ecosystem
 Desert ecosystem
 Sea and coastal ecosystem

Describe the characteristic of each ecosystem in terms of living and non-living

organisms.
Ecosystems Living organisms Non-living organisms
Savannah  It consists of lots of animals such  It consists of stones
as: /soil,water, high
Lion,zebra,giraffe,cattle,goats,elephantsetc temperature,more
 It consists of lots of plants such as rainfalletc
:Mopane tree ,Marula
treeMango,Mahangu,etc

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 Desert  It consists of few animals such as  It consists of
:beetles,gemsbok,birdsetc dunes,rocks,sand,
 It consists of few plants such as: little rainfall ,High
!Nara plant,quiveretc temperature etc

Sea  It consists of few plants such as:  Low rainfall,fog,

zoo plankton,Sea algae etc water,sand high-
 It consists of lots of animals such as low temperature
:Fish,birds,sealscrubs,snailsetc etc.

Outline the interrelationship of organisms in the ecosystem

 Plants are the producers and source of energy for all organisms in the ecosystem.
 All Herbivores feed directly from plants
 All carnivores feed on herbivores
 All omnivores get their food from the plants and other animals
 Most plants get minerals from soil and animal dugs and remains.

The impacts of human activities on the environment.

Most of the activities we do can have serious effects to our environment. These effects can be
having positive or negative impacts.

Human activities which have positive impacts on the environment

 Planting trees
 Controlling hunting
 Conservation of soil
 Conservation of water
 Practicing control ploughing
 Controlling grazing

Human activities which have negative impacts on the environment

 Illegal hunting (poaching)

 Over grazing
 Overfishing
 Densification
 Driving on dunes
 Burning rubbish
 Noise pollution
 Soil pollution
 Water pollution

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Describe how human activities influence the health and wellbeing of people in
the community?

Polluted air causes people to suffer from lung diseases.

Deforestation reduces the level of oxygen which may lead to lung diseases.
Water pollution contaminate and this cause illness to people when they eat them.
Deforestation and rubbish burning can increase the level of CO2 in air which can cause skin
diseases.

Energy flow

Describe the energy flow through living organisms within the chosen local
environment (food chain, food web).

 This is all about the transfer of energy from one organism to the other.

Remember plants are the only producers of energy in every ecosystem.

NB: energy flows from the producers to primary consumers (herbivores) to secondary consumers
(carnivores) and / Omnivores to decomposers (tertiary consumers).
All these happen in an order called a food chain and food web.

Food chain (Check in Lets do textbook Pg159)

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Food web

Discuss the importance of energy flow through an ecosystem.

 It help to transfer energy from one organism to the others organism.

 It ensures survival of organisms in the ecosystem
 It also helps to control animal populations.

CONSERVATION OF SOIL

This has to do with protecting and caring of the top soil.

List ways of conserving soil.

 Do mulching
 Plant more trees
 Use compost to maintain soil fertilities
 Plough across the slopes
 Avoid overgrazing
 Avoid deforestation
 Practice crop rotation

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PRACTICAL INVESTIGATION
Investigate and report on practices of soil conservation as found on their
environment.

Describe ways of conserving soil

 Keep few animals to avoid overgrazing

 Fill up open holes with rubbish to avoid soil erosion
 Plants more trees to help preventing soil erosion
 Do not pollute soil with chemicals, oil etc.
 Build fire breaks to prevent the spread of bush fires
 Avoid cutting down trees to prevent deforestation

Discuss the importance of conserving soil

 It prevent soil erosion

 It helps maintain soil fertility
 It improve crop production
 It also maintain soil structure
 It helps soil to protect plants from harm.

AIR POLLUTION

Describe sources of air pollution

 Wood smoke (from cooking fires & burning bush)
 Smoke (from electric power stations and mine smelting station)
 Car exhaust fumes ( from cars)
 Mica dust
 Cigarette smokes
 Digestive gasses
Distinguish between human-made and natural air pollution

Natural Pollution
 This type of air pollution is caused by natural process.
Human-made air pollution
 This type of air pollution that is caused by people.

Natural pollution Human-made air pollution

E.g-Digestive causes E.g-Smoke from power station

-Smelling animal carcass -Car exhaust fumes
- Volcanoes - Wood smoke
-Mica dust

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Explain how sustained exposure to polluted air could affect human lungs

 It causes lung irritation

 It cause more coughs
 It can cause asthma and bronchitis
 It can cause rungs to produces more mucus
 It also causes alveoli from being elastic

Name controls and regulations against air pollution and suggest ways to prevent
the harmful effects.

 Rubbish may not be burnt in municipal areas.

 Approvals for new factories and industries should be given when safely measures are in
place.
 Vehicles must always be in good working order to prevent excessive production of exhaust
fumes.
 Rubbish should be buried
 People should use alternative sources for lighting and cooking apart from wood

Outline global warming as one of the effects of increasing air pollution

 It is the increase of temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.
 Weather pattern will chance
 Summer will get hotter and it will rain more
 Corps will be affected
 Sea levels will rise causing flood

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 AIR

AIR AROUND US

HUMAN BODY

Physical Development

Explain physical changes which occur in pre-adolescent boys and girls.

In boys:
-Male parts enlarged.
-Testes produce sperm and testosterone.
-Grow beards and chest widen.
-Voice deepens.

In girls:
-Hips widen.
-Body gives shape.
-Breasts grow bigger.
-Ovaries start to produce eggs and oestrogen hormone.
-Start menstruation.

Both boys and girls:

-Grow hair under arms and around private parts.
-Grow taller quickly.
-Develop pimples and acnes.
-The skin becomes oily and produces more sweats.

Identify the different structures in male and female reproductive systems

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State the functions of the various parts of the male and female reproductive
systems

The male reproductive system

Bladder: Store urine
Urethra: Enables sperm to pass through penis
Penis: Inserts sperm into vagina during sexual intercourse
Testis: Organ that produce sperm and testosterone
Scrotum: Holds the two testes
The female reproductive system
Fallopian tubes/oviducts: Enables ova/eggs to move from the ovaries to the uterus
-Fertilization usually takes place here
Uterus/womb: Holds the developing foetus/baby
Ovaries: Produce ova/eggs and oestrogen
Vagina: Receives sperm during sexual intercourse
: Functions as a birth canal
: Where a menstrual blood passes through /leaves the body
Cervix :To open & close the entrance to the uterus.
-Stops the germs from entering the womb/uterus

Different systems of the human body

Identify and label the systems of the human body

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Describe the basic functions of each system

BODY SYSTEMS FUNCTION

Digestive system Take in, digest and absorb food.

Respiratory system Take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide

Excretory system Move waste out of the body
Circulatory system Carries /move blood, salt, water and Oxygen
in blood to all parts of the body.

Support system It gives support, protect the body and allows

movement.

Nervous system Allow the body to react to stimuli in our

surroundings. Send messages to the brain

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 when information is received by touching,
smelling seeing, hearing or tasting.

Reproductive system Allow males and females to produce babies

Explain the importance of these systems for human existence.

 The body systems work together, to ensure the survival of the human being and do all
important processes.

DIGESTION

Define the term digestion

 Digestion is the process of breaking down food substances into soluble substances that
can feed the body.

Describe the different forms of digestion

1. Mechanical digestion
 Is when food is made smaller by the teeth the churning motion of muscles
 This is when food is broken down into smaller pieces to make it easier to swallow.
Enzymes are not involved in this process.

2. Chemical digestion
This is the when food is broken down into soluble substances and enzymes are involved and
each enzymes causes the break-down of one specific food, e.g. proteases digest protein into
amino acids.

Discuss the importance of chewing food.

 It enable the enzymes to work on food
 Chewing food properly make it easier for the rest of digestive form to perform its
functions.
 To makes it easier to swallow food.

Enzymes

Define the term enzymes.

 Enzymes are the biological catalysts (proteins) which speed up or slow down a reaction
but do not get used up during the reaction.

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State the end products of starch, fat and protein digestion.

Nutrients End product

Starch/Carbohydrates glucose/simple sugars

Protein -> amino acids

Fat fatty acids and glycerol

EXCRETION

Identify the different excretory organs

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Identify and label the different structures of the kidney.

Name the substance removed from each organ.

Skin – Sweat
Lungs – Carbon dioxide
Kidneys – Urine

NERVOUS SYSTEM AND DRUGS

Identify the human nervous system from the diagram.

The central nervous system

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The peripheral nervous system

Identify the reflex arc

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Explain the basic function of the reflex arc
-It protects the nervous system and causes the quick reaction ti happen without involving the
brain.

Describe the influence of drugs on the nervous system.

- Weakening problem solving ability (memory and judgement)
- Dull the brain
- Cause confusion
- Cause permanent memory loss
- Cause collapses of respiratory system and circulatory system (etc)
-Hallucination
- Dulling of pain
-Sleepiness
-Cause the body to tremble uncontrollably
-Alcohol slow down a person reaction time

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