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7th Grade Take-Home Practice

Proportions everywhere, rational numbers, equations, circles, probability and arguing from sources.

Ages 12–13

What this year is really about

Grade 7 is one idea wearing many costumes: proportionality. Scale drawings, percent change, similar figures, unit rates and probability are all the same reasoning.

Thirty to forty minutes, mostly independent. Ask them to teach you one thing each session — it's the fastest way to find out what they don't actually understand.

📚 21 topics⏱️ 35 min a day🖨️ No printing needed
🎒 All 21 take-homes🗓️ The weekly rotation✅ End-of-year checklist⬇️ Download the PDF

A week that doesn't become a second school

35 minutes a day, one strand at a time. Skipping a day is fine — skipping the same strand every week is what causes gaps.

  1. Monday

    Proportions & percent

    Three problems, one from real life — a bill, a sale, a recipe.

  2. Tuesday

    Reading

    One article, name the purpose and structure, and one bias check.

  3. Wednesday

    Equations & rational numbers

    Five problems including negatives, checked by substitution.

  4. Thursday

    Writing

    One argument paragraph with a cited, credible source.

  5. Friday

    Science, geometry or history

    One investigation or one construction, plus weekly planning.

Take it off the screen

The whole 7th Grade pack as a PDF — every topic, every check, every activity, with tick boxes and a date line so you can see what you have actually run. Free, no signup, and it works offline once it's saved.

Or just one subject

📖 Reading

Decoding, fluency, and understanding what was actually said.

3 topics this year

✏️ Writing

Getting a thought out of the head and onto the page so a stranger understands it.

3 topics this year

🔢 Math

Number sense first, then the procedures that ride on top of it.

8 topics this year

🔬 Science

Noticing, predicting, testing — and being willing to be wrong out loud.

3 topics this year

🌍 Social Studies

Maps, communities, history, and why people who were there disagree.

2 topics this year

🧭 Study & Life Skills

Attention, organisation, and the habits that decide whether the rest lands.

2 topics this year

Every 7th Grade topic, and what to do about it

Run the two-minute check first. If it passes, move on — you have just saved an evening. If it doesn't, the take-home underneath it is the fix.

0 of 21 done
  • 📖 Reading

    Author's purpose and how a text is built

    Can do: Identifies whether a text informs, persuades or entertains, and how its structure serves that purpose.

    Why it matters

    Purpose determines how to read something. A child who reads an advert like a textbook is defenceless against it.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Reads everything as neutral information, missing that structure itself is a persuasive choice.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    Give an article. "What's it for? Why did they open with that story instead of the statistic?"

    Solid looks like: Purpose named, and a structural choice linked to it.

    20 minutes
  • 📖 Reading

    Comparing how different media tell the same story

    Can do: Compares an article, a video and a social post on one event and analyses what each format changes.

    Why it matters

    Most information they consume is not text. Applying reading skills to video and social media is where the actual risk is.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Applies critical reading to school texts and none of it to a video feed.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "How would this story be different as a 30-second clip? What would have to be cut?"

    Solid looks like: Recognises that format forces selection, and names what would go.

    25 minutes
  • 📖 Reading

    Analysing longer texts and sustained argument

    Can do: Follows a theme or argument across a whole book or long article and traces its development.

    Why it matters

    Grade 7 assessments move to whole-text questions. Chapter-level comprehension is no longer enough.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Can discuss individual chapters but not how an idea develops across the book.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    About a book they've finished: "How did that idea change from the beginning to the end?"

    Solid looks like: Traces a development with examples from at least two points.

    Ongoing while reading a book
  • ✏️ Writing

    Arguing from credible sources

    Can do: Builds an argument on evidence from sources they've evaluated, and explains why each source is trustworthy.

    Why it matters

    An argument is only as good as its evidence. Sourcing is now assessed directly, and it's the habit that protects them from being fooled.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Cites whatever appeared first, including sources with an obvious commercial interest in the claim.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Where did this evidence come from? Why should a reader trust them?"

    Solid looks like: Names the source and gives a reason — expertise, independence, method.

    25 minutes
  • ✏️ Writing

    Citing properly and writing in your own voice

    Can do: Quotes, paraphrases and cites correctly, and knows exactly where the line is.

    Why it matters

    Plagiarism penalties start being real. More importantly, paraphrasing is a comprehension test that copying skips entirely.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Changes a few words and believes that's a paraphrase, or uses AI output as their own without understanding it.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    Give a paragraph. "Paraphrase this and cite it."

    Solid looks like: Genuinely restructured, same meaning, with the source named.

    20 minutes
  • ✏️ Writing

    Precision — saying exactly what you mean

    Can do: Chooses precise words, cuts filler, and varies sentence structure deliberately.

    Why it matters

    Vague writing hides vague thinking. Precision is the fastest visible improvement available at this age.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Sentences padded with "really", "a lot of", "kind of" and "the fact that" — length mistaken for quality.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    Take a paragraph of theirs. "Cut it by a third without losing meaning."

    Solid looks like: Meaningfully shorter and clearer.

    15 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Proportional relationships and the constant of proportionality

    Can do: Recognises proportionality in tables, graphs and equations, and identifies k in y = kx.

    Why it matters

    It is the central idea of the year and the direct ancestor of slope, gradient and linear functions in Grade 8.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Calls any increasing relationship proportional, including ones with a starting fee.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Is this proportional?" with two tables, one with a fixed fee. "What's k in each?"

    Solid looks like: Only the one through the origin, with k identified as the constant ratio.

    25 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Percent in the real world — tax, tip, interest, markup

    Can do: Solves multi-step percent problems including successive changes and finding the original amount.

    Why it matters

    This is the maths of adult life. It's also where the deepest intuition failures live — most adults get successive percentages wrong.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Adds percentages that shouldn't be added, and can't reverse a percentage change.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "A $80 item, 25% off, then 8% tax. Final price? A jacket cost $60 after 25% off — what was it before?"

    Solid looks like: $64.80 and $80.

    25 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    All four operations with negatives, fractions and decimals

    Can do: Adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides any rational number confidently, including mixed forms.

    Why it matters

    From Grade 7 on, negatives appear inside every other topic. Slow or unreliable arithmetic here costs marks everywhere else.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Sign errors, especially subtracting a negative and multiplying two negatives, and freezing when a fraction is negative.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "−3 − (−7)? −2/3 × 3/4? −0.5 ÷ 0.25?"

    Solid looks like: 4, −1/2, −2.

    20 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Multi-step equations and inequalities

    Can do: Solves equations with brackets and variables on both sides, and inequalities including the flip rule.

    Why it matters

    It's the algebraic engine for everything after. The inequality sign flip is the single most-forgotten rule in middle school.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Forgets to flip the inequality when multiplying or dividing by a negative, and mishandles brackets.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Solve 3(x − 2) = 2x + 5. Then solve −2x > 8."

    Solid looks like: x = 11, and x < −4 with the flip.

    20 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Scale drawings and similar figures

    Can do: Uses a scale factor to convert between drawing and reality, and knows what happens to area.

    Why it matters

    It's proportionality made visual, and the area trap — doubling the sides quadruples the area — surprises almost everyone.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Doubles the sides and expects the area to double.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "A 1:50 plan shows a 6 cm wall. How long is it really? If you double every side of a rectangle, what happens to the area?"

    Solid looks like: 3 m, and area ×4.

    30 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Circles — circumference, area and where pi comes from

    Can do: Uses the circumference and area formulas correctly and knows which is which.

    Why it matters

    The formulas get swapped constantly. Measuring pi themselves is what makes the difference stick.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Uses 2πr for area, and squares the diameter instead of the radius.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "A circle with radius 5 — circumference and area?"

    Solid looks like: About 31.4 and about 78.5, with the right units.

    25 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Surface area and volume of solids

    Can do: Finds surface area and volume of prisms, cylinders and composite solids.

    Why it matters

    It's where geometry meets real design questions — packaging, capacity, materials — and where units get tested properly.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Mixes up which needs squaring and which cubing, and loses the units.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "A cylinder radius 3, height 10 — volume and surface area?"

    Solid looks like: About 283 cubic units and about 245 square units, with units stated.

    30 minutes
  • 🔢 Math

    Probability, sampling and why one survey isn't enough

    Can do: Calculates simple and compound probabilities, and understands why sample size and selection matter.

    Why it matters

    Probability is where intuition is most reliably wrong, and sampling is how every statistic they'll ever be shown was produced.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Believes in the gambler's fallacy — that a coin is "due" — and thinks a survey of their friends represents everyone.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Five heads in a row. What's the chance of heads next? Why can't I survey this class to predict a national election?"

    Solid looks like: Still one half, and a real point about biased or unrepresentative samples.

    30 minutes
  • 🔬 Science

    Atoms, molecules and chemical reactions

    Can do: Explains that reactions rearrange atoms rather than creating or destroying them, and identifies evidence of a reaction.

    Why it matters

    Conservation of mass and rearrangement is the core of chemistry, and it's the idea that makes balancing equations sensible later.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Thinks new atoms are made in a reaction, and can't distinguish a chemical change from a physical one.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Where do the atoms in a burnt log go? Name three signs a chemical reaction happened."

    Solid looks like: Into gases and ash, nothing destroyed; gas, colour change, temperature change, new substance.

    25 minutes
  • 🔬 Science

    Heredity, genes and natural selection

    Can do: Explains how traits are inherited and how selection changes a population over generations.

    Why it matters

    Natural selection is the most misunderstood idea in biology — the individual-versus-population distinction is where it goes wrong.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Thinks individuals adapt during their lifetime and pass on the change — the giraffe-stretched-its-neck version.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Did giraffes get long necks by stretching? Explain what actually happened."

    Solid looks like: Variation existed, longer-necked ones survived and reproduced more, the population shifted.

    30 minutes
  • 🔬 Science

    Human impact on ecosystems and resources

    Can do: Evaluates evidence about a human impact and proposes a solution with real trade-offs.

    Why it matters

    It's the science they'll vote on. Reasoning about trade-offs beats memorising a list of environmental problems.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Reaches for slogan solutions with no consideration of cost, feasibility or who bears the burden.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Name one real trade-off in switching a country to renewable energy."

    Solid looks like: A genuine cost — storage, land use, jobs, upfront capital — not just "it's expensive".

    30 minutes
  • 🌍 Social Studies

    Trade, empires and the exchange of ideas

    Can do: Explains how trade networks moved goods, ideas and disease, and how that reshaped societies.

    Why it matters

    It shows history as connection rather than as a sequence of separate countries, which is how the modern world actually works.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Studies each civilisation in isolation with no sense of contact between them.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Name three things that travelled along trade routes besides goods."

    Solid looks like: Ideas, religion, technology, language, disease.

    30 minutes
  • 🌍 Social Studies

    Supply, demand and why prices move

    Can do: Explains how supply and demand set prices, and predicts the effect of a shock.

    Why it matters

    Prices are the most visible economics in a child's life, and understanding them defuses a lot of confusion about the news.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Thinks prices are set arbitrarily by greed alone, with no mechanism behind them.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "A frost destroys half the coffee crop. What happens to the price, and why?"

    Solid looks like: Supply falls, price rises, with the mechanism stated.

    25 minutes
  • 🧭 Study & Life Skills

    Beating procrastination with structure, not willpower

    Can do: Starts unpleasant work by shrinking the first step and using timed blocks.

    Why it matters

    Procrastination is mostly avoidance of an unpleasant feeling, not laziness. Structural fixes work; being told to try harder does not.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    Three hours of low-grade avoidance produces one hour of poor work and a bad evening for everyone.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    Watch when homework actually starts relative to when it was supposed to.

    Solid looks like: Starts within ten minutes of the planned time, most days.

    25 minutes
  • 🧭 Study & Life Skills

    Digital footprint and being decent online

    Can do: Thinks about permanence and audience before posting, and knows how to respond to conflict online.

    Why it matters

    By thirteen most children have real social accounts. The decisions are being made now, whether or not they're being discussed.

    What it looks like when it's wobbly

    No sense of permanence or context collapse, and conflict is escalated at speed with an audience watching.

    ⏱️ Two-minute check

    "Who could see this in five years? What would you do if someone posted something untrue about you?"

    Solid looks like: Real awareness of permanence, and a de-escalating plan.

    20 minutes

When to ask for help instead of practising harder

Home practice fixes most gaps. These are the ones where a conversation with the teacher — or an assessment — is worth more than another month of trying. Raising them early is not an overreaction; waiting a year rarely helps.

  • Sign errors with negatives persist all year and undermine every other topic.
  • Cannot solve a multi-step equation reliably by June.
  • Reads assigned texts but cannot analyse purpose or evaluate a source.
  • Written work is still unstructured, or leans on copied and unattributed material.
  • Persistent avoidance of homework combined with low mood — treat as wellbeing first, academics second.

By the end of 7th Grade

Tick these off through the year. Anything still open in the spring is exactly what the summer is for.

  • Identifies proportional relationships in tables, graphs and equations and finds k.
  • Solves multi-step percent problems including reversing a change.
  • Operates fluently with all rational numbers including negatives.
  • Solves multi-step equations and inequalities with the flip rule.
  • Uses scale factors and knows how area and volume scale.
  • Applies circle, surface area and volume formulas correctly with units.
  • Reasons about probability and why samples can mislead.
  • Writes an argument built on sources they have evaluated and cited.
  • Starts work on time using timed blocks rather than willpower.

Want the written practice as well?

Everything on this page is free and needs nothing printed. If you also want worksheets to work through, the 7th Grade packs cover the same topics on paper.

7th Grade Packs

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Frequently Asked Questions

What topics does a 7th Grade child cover?

21 across 6 strands: Reading (3), Writing (3), Math (8), Science (3), Social Studies (2), Study & Life Skills (2). Every topic on this page names the skill, why it matters, what struggling with it looks like, a two-minute check, and one activity you can run at home tonight.

How much home practice does a 7th Grade child actually need?

About 35 minutes a day at ages 12–13 — and it works better split into two short goes than done as one long session. Thirty to forty minutes, mostly independent. Ask them to teach you one thing each session — it's the fastest way to find out what they don't actually understand.

How do I know which 7th Grade topic to work on?

Run the two-minute check on each topic rather than guessing. It tells you what a solid answer looks like, so you can tell in a couple of minutes whether a topic needs work or is already done. Start with whichever check fails, not with the first topic on the page.

Can I download or print the 7th Grade take-homes?

Yes — there is a free PDF on this page. Download the full 7th Grade pack (all 21 topics with their checks, activities and tick boxes), the one-page two-minute check sheet, or a single subject on its own. No signup, and the activities themselves still only need things a normal home already has.

When should I be worried rather than just practising?

There is a "when to ask for help" section on this page listing the specific signs that mean a conversation with the teacher is worth more than more home practice. Those are the ones to act on early — waiting a year rarely helps.

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