All Subjects in Grade 7 in the MATATAG Curriculum: Complete List, Weekly Time Allotment, and What Changed from K to 12
Every June, the same question lands in parent group chats and faculty rooms: what are all subjects in Grade 7 supposed to be now? The list looks familiar — Filipino, English, Math, Science — but MATATAG quietly rearranged a lot underneath: how long each subject runs, how often it meets, and how much content a teacher must cover. If your child is entering junior high, or you’re a Grade 7 teacher fixing your class program, this is the page to bookmark.
Grade 7 matters more than most people realize. It was one of the first grade levels DepEd moved to MATATAG, back in School Year 2024–2025, so the program is now on its third school year. Below: the complete list with the weekly time allotment, what each subject covers, and what changed from K to 12.
The Complete List: All Subjects in Grade 7 in the MATATAG Curriculum
Grade 7 is the opening year of Key Stage 3 — junior high school. Under MATATAG, a Grade 7 learner takes eight learning areas, all meeting every school day — itself a big change from the old setup. The class program also carries two more blocks: the National Mathematics Program (NMP) on most days and Homeroom Guidance (HGP) once a week.
| Learning Area | Minutes per Day | Sessions per Week | Minutes per Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filipino | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| English | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| Mathematics | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| Science | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| Araling Panlipunan | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| MAPEH (Music, Arts, PE, and Health) | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education) | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| Values Education | 45 | 5 | 225 |
| National Mathematics Program (NMP) | 30 | 4 | 120 |
| Homeroom Guidance Program (HGP) | 45 | 1 | 45 |
| Total class time | 390 minutes a day (Mon–Thu) · 405 minutes on Friday | ||
One name on that list confuses parents every year: Values Education. If you went through junior high yourself, you knew this slot as Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP). Same values-formation learning area, renamed and reworked under MATATAG — the junior high counterpart of GMRC in the elementary grades. Nothing was removed; the label and the guide changed.
Grade 7 Was in the First Batch: When the Shift Happened
DepEd rolled MATATAG out in phases under DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2024, the policy guidelines for the revised K to 10 curriculum. Grade 7 was in the first wave, with Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 4, in SY 2024–2025. Grades 2, 5, and 8 followed in SY 2025–2026; Grades 3, 6, and 9 shifted in SY 2026–2027; and Grade 10 completes the rollout in SY 2027–2028.
What does that mean in real terms? The first MATATAG Grade 7 class — kids who were twelve and thirteen in 2024 — is in Grade 9 this school year. For Grade 7 advisers, the guides, exemplars, and grading rules are the settled system now.
One more thing worth knowing: SY 2026–2027 runs on DepEd’s new three-term calendar instead of the old four quarters. The subjects stay the same all year; only the pacing calendar changed.
What Each Grade 7 Subject Actually Covers
Here’s what learners do inside each of those eight classrooms.
Filipino and English: The Language Pair
Both language subjects meet daily, and both lean harder on real communication than on memorized rules. Filipino works through pakikinig, pagsasalita, pagbasa, at pagsulat using Filipino literary texts — stories and poems many parents will recognize, now taught with fewer, deeper competencies. English in Key Stage 3 is organized around text types — literary, informational, academic, transactional — so Grade 7 is where students stop just answering questions about a story and start writing pieces with a real audience and purpose.
Mathematics and Science: The Daily Workout
Mathematics gets the heaviest support of any Grade 7 subject: the regular 45-minute class plus the 30-minute National Mathematics Program block four days a week — DepEd’s answer to weak numeracy scores, and protected time schools aren’t supposed to borrow for other activities. The subject itself builds the algebra and geometry foundations high school stands on. Science is integrated, rotating through matter, living things, force and energy, and earth and space, with simple investigations replacing the copy-the-definition style many of us grew up with.
Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, and Values Education
Araling Panlipunan grounds learners in Philippine and Asian history and geography. MAPEH keeps its four components — Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health — usually rotating by quarter, so a learner might do folk dance in one quarter and first aid in another. Values Education, the renamed EsP, handles decision-making, responsibility, and respect for others head-on; teachers say it’s the subject learners underestimate — until report card day, because it’s graded like every other learning area.
TLE: Exploratory, On Purpose
TLE is the subject parents most often misunderstand. In Grades 7 and 8, learners are not yet specializing. They work through the basic and common competencies of all four components — ICT, Agriculture and Fishery Arts, Family and Consumer Science, and Industrial Arts — getting a working taste of each before the focused tracks open in Grades 9 and 10. Our MATATAG TLE curriculum guide breaks down what each strand covers from Grades 4 to 10.
How the Grade 7 School Week Is Timed
The standard schedule — DepEd calls it Option A — is the table above: every learning area at 45 minutes a day, five days a week, HGP once a week. It comes from DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2024, and most public schools used it in the first MATATAG year.
It didn’t stay the only option for long. Teachers pointed out, loudly, that eight daily subjects plus program blocks make for a very long day in double-shift schools. So DepEd issued DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2024, adding flexibility in SY 2024–2025. Under Option B, schools may use uniform periods of 50, 55, or 60 minutes: English, Mathematics, Science, and Values Education still meet five times a week, while Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, and TLE meet four times, and HGP stays weekly. Schools may also propose their own combination, provided learners get at least five and a half hours of daily contact time, weekly subject minimums are met, and the division superintendent approves.
That’s why two Grade 7 students in different towns can describe different schedules and both be right — check which option the school adopted before assuming a mistake. Building a class program yourself? Our complete MATATAG time allotment guide has the official minutes for every grade level, Kindergarten to Grade 10.
What Changed from K to 12 Grade 7
If you finished junior high under K to 12, the Grade 7 subject names will look almost identical — and that sameness hides the real changes. The subjects mostly stayed. The load, the clock, and the content inside them did not.
| Point of Comparison | K to 12 Grade 7 (Old) | MATATAG Grade 7 (Now) |
|---|---|---|
| Learning areas | 8 subjects, including Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP) | Same 8 slots; EsP is now Values Education |
| Typical period length | About 60 minutes; not all subjects met daily | 45 minutes per subject, all subjects daily (Option A) |
| Content load | Full competency list — widely criticized as congested | Decongested guides; fewer competencies, taught for mastery |
| Math support | None built into the schedule | National Mathematics Program block, 30 minutes, 4 days a week |
| Homeroom guidance | Advisory time, often informal | Homeroom Guidance Program in the official class program, 45 minutes weekly |
| Scheduling flexibility | Fixed national allotment | Options A, B, or an approved local combination (DO 012, s. 2024) |
The deepest change is the one you can’t see in a table: decongestion. DepEd’s review found the old curriculum asked teachers to cover far more competencies than the school year could honestly hold, so MATATAG trimmed the lists hard and told teachers to teach what remained properly. A Grade 7 Science teacher today covers fewer topics than in 2019 — and is expected to actually finish them, experiments included. We compared the two curricula in full in our MATATAG vs K to 12 comparison.
What genuinely stayed the same? The eight-subject skeleton of junior high, the grading rhythm parents know (now fitted into the three-term calendar), and Grade 7’s role as the bridge from guided elementary work to independent secondary study. The adjustment is real, but it’s about pace and depth — not a different school.
Making Grade 7 Work: Notes for Teachers and Parents
For Teachers
- Protect the NMP block. Once it becomes the default make-up period for school programs, the numeracy gains it was built for disappear. Keep it regular and sacred.
- Plan across subjects, not inside them. Eight daily periods fragment the day. Quick coordination before a performance task can stop three big deadlines landing in the same week.
- Use the decongested guide as permission to slow down. If a class hasn’t mastered a competency, the guides expect you to stay with it. Mastery is the point now, not coverage.
- Remember your Grade 7s are twelve. They came from rooms where one teacher handled everything; eight new teachers is the hidden curriculum of the first term. Teach the routine, not just the content.
For Parents
- Ask for the class program early. One page tells you which scheduling option the school uses, when each subject meets, and who’s teaching it.
- Expect eight sets of requirements. A TLE project, a MAPEH performance task, and a Math quiz can collide in one week. A shared calendar at home prevents most Sunday-night emergencies.
- Don’t dismiss Values Education and MAPEH as “minor.” They’re full learning areas with real grades — learners who treat them as free periods feel it on the report card.
- Watch the first term, not the first week. Almost every new Grade 7 student wobbles at the start. What matters is whether routines — notebooks per subject, deadlines written down, bag packed the night before — are set by the end of Term 1.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many subjects are there in Grade 7 under the MATATAG curriculum?
Eight learning areas: Filipino, English, Mathematics, Science, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, TLE, and Values Education. The program also adds an NMP block four days a week and Homeroom Guidance once a week.
Is Grade 7 already using the MATATAG curriculum?
Yes. Grade 7 was in the first phase of the rollout in SY 2024–2025, with Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 4. Its guides are the settled system now, not a pilot.
How many minutes is each subject in Grade 7?
Under the standard Option A schedule, every learning area gets 45 minutes a day, five days a week — 225 minutes per subject per week. DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2024 lets schools shift to 50-, 55-, or 60-minute periods with adjusted frequency instead.
What happened to Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP)?
It became Values Education. The learning area didn’t disappear — MATATAG renamed it and issued a revised guide, making it the junior high counterpart of GMRC in the elementary grades.
Is Grade 7 TLE already specialized?
No. Grades 7 and 8 cover the common competencies of all four TLE components — ICT, Agriculture and Fishery Arts, Family and Consumer Science, and Industrial Arts. Selected core competencies and stronger entrepreneurship work come in Grades 9 and 10.
What is the NMP block in my child’s schedule?
NMP is the National Mathematics Program, a 30-minute block held four days a week. It’s scheduled time for numeracy intervention and enrichment — practice, problem-solving, and catching up on shaky foundations.
Conclusion
All subjects in Grade 7 under MATATAG come down to a familiar list with an unfamiliar engine: eight learning areas — Filipino, English, Mathematics, Science, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, TLE, and Values Education — taught daily in 45-minute periods, and built on decongested guides that trade coverage for mastery. If you’re a teacher, get the class program right first and the rest of the year gets easier. If you’re a parent, learn the eight names and the weekly rhythm, and you’ll understand your child’s school week better than most. Grade 7 is the front door of junior high; walk in knowing the layout.
Sources & References
- Department of Education. DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2024 — Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum.
- Department of Education. DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2024 — flexible implementation guidelines (scheduling options and weekly minimum minutes).
- SunStar Manila. “DepEd allows schools to adjust class schedules” — report on DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2024.
- Philippine Daily Inquirer. “DepEd launches recalibrated K to 10 curriculum, to start in SY 2024-2025” — phased implementation schedule.
- GMA News Online. “Educ panel chair to DepEd: Not all subjects need to be taught daily.”
- Department of Education. MATATAG Curriculum portal and official curriculum guides, deped.gov.ph.
