Tanzania Standard 7/Form 1 Curriculum - Biology

This curriculum outlines the Biology subject for Forms I-IV in the Tanzania General Education pathway. It aims to equip students with an understanding of living organisms, their functions, evolution, and interaction with the environment. The curriculum emphasizes developing biological literacy, ICT skills, and 21st-century skills like critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Form I

• Introduction to Biology: This topic covers the basic concepts of Biology, including its meaning, branches, terminologies, importance, and relationship with other disciplines.
• Cell Biology: Students learn about cell structure, types, and functions. Practical activities include preparing and observing plant and animal cells under a microscope.
• Plant Nutrition: This section focuses on nutrition in plants, including photosynthesis, leaf structure, and mineral requirements. Field visits and discussions are suggested learning activities.
• Classification of Living Things: Students explore the concept and systems of classification, including artificial and natural classification systems, and the rules of scientific naming.
• Biological Investigations: This section introduces basic skills for conducting biological experiments, including observation, measurement, and experimentation. Students carry out investigations related to photosynthesis and microscopic observation of cells. They also learn how to prepare and present reports on their findings.

Form II

• Nutrition in Humans and Ruminants: This topic covers nutrients, digestive systems, and processes in humans and ruminants.
• Transportation in Flowering Plants: Students learn about vascular tissues, absorption, movement of water and mineral salts, and transpiration.
• Transportation in Humans: This section focuses on the blood circulatory system, including the heart, blood, and blood vessels.
• Gaseous Exchange and Respiration: Students explore the mechanisms of gaseous exchange and respiration in mammals and plants.
• Biological Investigations: This section involves investigating food nutrients, transportation processes in plants, and conducting experiments to determine pulse rate and investigate aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Students also prepare and present reports on their investigations.

Form III

• Coordination in Plants and Animals: This topic covers coordination in plants (tropic responses) and animals (central and peripheral nervous systems, sense organs, and endocrine system).
• Excretion in Humans: Students learn about the mechanism of excretion in the human body, including the excretory system, organs, and products.
• Regulation in Humans: This section focuses on temperature and blood sugar regulation in the human body.
• Biological Investigations: Students investigate the process of nervous coordination, tropic responses in plants, and develop and carry out a simple research project in Biology.

Form IV

• Reproduction in Plants: This topic covers sexual and asexual reproduction, mitosis, meiosis, pollination, fertilization, and seed germination.
• Reproduction in Humans: Students learn about gamete formation, fertilization, pregnancy, and childbirth.
• Growth in Flowering Plants and Mammals: This section explores the mechanisms of growth, including mitosis, stages of growth, and factors affecting growth.
• Genetics: Students explore the basic tenets of genetics, including genetic materials, principles of inheritance, Mendelian and non-Mendelian inheritance, and variation.
• Biological Investigations: Students carry out investigations related to reproduction in flowering plants, investigate growth in flowering plants, and complete and submit a report for the research project started in Form III.