Use these targets, vocabulary, rubrics, examples, and score sheet with the instructor's approved lesson and procedure. This is an assessment companion, not a complete lesson or safety authorization.
By the end of the Clam or Squid unit, a student should be able to:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Open the specimen and locate, name, and explain real structures — watched live.
The student explains why each structure does its job (Page 4 anchors).
Careful observations of the external and internal structures kept distinct.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both perform the technique cleanly and locate, name, and explain the structures on the actual specimen. Each student has three tokens per term; each token retries one rubric criterion. Approved accommodations, equipment failures, and approved absences are handled separately and do not consume these tokens.
Accept listed synonyms; use the distinction column to resolve near-matches.
| Canonical answer | Accepted synonyms | Common confusion / discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| Shell & body wall | ||
| Shell / valves | the two halves (clam) | The hard outer covering; a clam’s two halves are its valves |
| Mantle | body wall | The tissue layer that secretes the shell and lines the cavity |
| Foot | muscular foot | The muscular organ for digging or anchoring; not a leg |
| Adductor muscles | shell-closing muscles | Hold the valves shut; cut them to open a clam |
| Water & movement | ||
| Siphons | incurrent / excurrent tubes | Draw water in and push it out; not the gut |
| Gills (ctenidia) | ctenidia | Feathery structures for gas exchange and filter feeding |
| Funnel | siphon (squid) | The squid’s jet nozzle; drives jet propulsion |
| Arms & tentacles | appendages (squid) | Squid has eight arms and two longer tentacles |
| Gut & squid-only parts | ||
| Gut | digestive tract | The digestive tube; distinct from the feathery gills |
| Pen | gladius | The squid’s stiff internal support; the reduced “shell” |
| Ink sac | ink gland | Stores ink the squid releases to escape; squid only |
| Beak | jaws (squid) | The hard mouthpart at the center of the arms; squid only |
The split between Proficient and Mastery is the real specimen over the label: naming an organ from memory is not the same as pointing to it on the tray. Ask the student to find the gills and say what they do; the answer should match the feathery structure in front of them.
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instrument handling & safe technique | Forces the shell open or slashes through the mantle, destroying the soft parts inside. | Opens the shell or mantle with reminders but still cuts too deep and nicks the organs. | Holds each instrument the right way and opens the shell or mantle with shallow, controlled cuts that spare the soft parts, safely for both the student and the specimen. |
| Careful exposure & observation of the mantle cavity | Tears into the mantle cavity and disturbs the organs before looking at them. | Opens the mantle cavity roughly but disturbs the gills or gut before observing their layout. | Opens the mantle cavity cleanly along the correct line and observes the arrangement of structures before disturbing anything. |
| Locating & naming external structures | Cannot point to the shell or mantle, the foot, or the siphons. | Finds a few external parts with prompting but confuses the foot, siphons, or (for a squid) the arms and tentacles. | Locates and names the external structures on the specimen — shell or valves, mantle, foot, and siphons; or for a squid the mantle, arms, tentacles, funnel, and eyes. |
| Locating & naming internal structures | Guesses at the organs or names the wrong ones once the specimen is open. | Finds the larger organs but cannot reliably distinguish the gills from the gut or trace the adductor muscles. | Locates and names the internal structures on the specimen — gills (ctenidia), gut, and adductor muscles; or for a squid the pen, ink sac, and beak. |
| Explaining structure & function (and specimen care) | Cannot say what a structure does, and lets the specimen dry out or handles it carelessly. | Explains one or two structures' functions but not the rest, and keeps the specimen moist only when reminded. | Explains why key structures do their jobs — the gills drawing oxygen from water as the clam filter feeds, the squid’s funnel driving jet propulsion — while keeping the specimen moist, handling it respectfully, and cleaning up afterward. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Makes no supported connection between the source and the science. | Uses the source but needs help connecting evidence, writing, or limitations to the science. | Independently connects History, Reading, and Writing using a cited source, appropriate evidence, a limitation, and a scientific explanation. |
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastery and Developing actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Instrument handling & safe technique | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Careful exposure & observation of the mantle cavity | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Locating & naming external structures | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Locating & naming internal structures | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Explaining structure & function (and specimen care) | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | Dev / Prof / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________
Tokens left this term after this session (choose one): ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ None left
Dev = Developing · Prof = Proficient · Mast = Mastery · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.