This packet is everything a parent or guide needs to assess Unit 07 at home — learning targets, the answers that count as correct, the mastery rubric, calibration examples, and a clipboard score sheet. No multiple-choice test: the student shows mastery by running a selection simulation and explaining the mechanism with the misconceptions corrected.
By the end of the Natural Selection unit, a student should be able to:
Six criteria, each judged Not yet / Approaching / Mastered (Page 3).
A bean / beak selection run — data collected over generations.
The student explains the mechanism in their own words (Page 4).
Generation data, graph, and interpretation kept distinct.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Not yet, Approaching, or Mastered — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both run the simulation and justify the biology behind it. A student carries three tokens per term; one token buys a re-do of one criterion on another day, so a single bad afternoon never sinks the unit.
Accept any answer in the synonyms column — they are pre-approved as equivalent. The third column flags the confusions that look close but are not yet, so you can coach precisely.
| Canonical answer | Accepted synonyms | Common confusion / discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| The mechanism | ||
| Natural selection | survival of the fitter | Acts on populations over generations, not on individuals in a lifetime |
| Fitness | reproductive success | Surviving and reproducing — not strength alone |
| Adaptation | heritable advantageous trait | A trait that spreads because it aids reproduction; not a goal |
| Variation | heritable differences | Must be heritable to matter for selection |
| Evidence & populations | ||
| Homologous structures | shared ancestry structures | Same origin, different use; vs analogous (same use, different origin) |
| Hardy–Weinberg | H–W equilibrium | A null model — deviation signals evolution is happening |
| Speciation | new species forming | Reproductive isolation, often after a barrier divides a population |
| Phylogeny | evolutionary tree | Branch points are common ancestors, not “descended from” living tips |
| Criterion | Not yet | Approaching | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanism of natural selection | Cannot state how selection works. | Names some pieces; misses heritability or time. | Explains variation, heritability, differential survival, and time. |
| Evidence for evolution | Offers none or only belief. | Cites one line of evidence. | Cites multiple independent lines of evidence. |
| Hardy–Weinberg reasoning | Cannot use the model. | Plugs numbers in but cannot interpret them. | Uses H–W to test whether a population is evolving. |
| Speciation & phylogeny | Cannot read a tree or define a species. | Reads a tree but misinterprets branch points. | Describes speciation and reads a phylogenetic tree correctly. |
| Common misconception correction | Holds the misconception (individuals evolve / need drives change). | Spots the error but cannot fix the reasoning. | Corrects the misconception and states the right mechanism. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Treats the science as isolated facts. | Names a link to history, reading, or writing but cannot defend it. | Connects the unit across History · Reading · Writing and defends why it matters. |
The split between Approaching and Mastered is mechanism over intention: selection has no goal and acts on populations. Listen for “needed to,” “wanted to,” or “tried to” — those signal the misconception still in place.
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastered and Not yet actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanism of natural selection | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 2 | Evidence for evolution | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 3 | Hardy–Weinberg reasoning | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 4 | Speciation & phylogeny | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 5 | Common misconception correction | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | NY / Appr / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________ Tokens remaining: ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ 0
NY = Not yet · Appr = Approaching · Mast = Mastered · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.