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.
Student lessons, data, and worked answers: Unit 02 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Use density, bounds and independent properties at the agreed level.
Defend the limited-key comparison and new-card transfer (Page 4).
Retain calculations, point-count denominators, sources and limits.
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 calculate and justify the reference-based inference. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mineral properties | ||
| Streak | color of the powder | The powder color — more reliable than the surface color |
| Hardness | Mohs scale; scratch resistance | Ranked 1–10; a harder mineral scratches a softer one |
| Luster | metallic / non-metallic shine | How the surface reflects light; not the same as color |
| Cleavage | breaks along flat planes | Flat, repeatable planes vs. fracture (an irregular break) |
| The rock families | ||
| Igneous rock | cooled from magma or lava | Intrusive (slow, coarse) vs. extrusive (fast, fine) |
| Sedimentary rock | cemented sediment; layered rock | Often layered; the family that can hold fossils |
| Metamorphic rock | reworked by heat & pressure | Changed in the solid state, not melted |
| Mineral vs. rock | one substance vs. an aggregate | A mineral is one composition; a rock is made of minerals |
| The rock cycle | ||
| Rock cycle | rocks change form over time | Any rock can become any other; not a fixed one-way path |
| Weathering | breakdown of rock at the surface | Produces the sediment sedimentary rock is made from |
| Cementation | sediment glued into rock | The step that turns loose grains into sedimentary rock |
| Acid test | fizz with dilute acid | Carbonate minerals like calcite fizz — a quick ID check |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral properties and density | Guesses identity from color or miscalculates density. | Calculates density but needs help using independent properties. | At the agreed level, calculates density or bounds and defends a limited-key identification using supplied independent properties. |
| The three rock families | Cannot sort a specimen into igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic. | Names the families but cannot say how each one forms. | Classifies a rock into its family and explains the process — cooling, cementing, or heat and pressure — that produced it. |
| The rock cycle | Thinks rocks are permanent and unchanging. | Recites the cycle as a loop but cannot trace a real pathway. | Traces how any rock can become any other through melting, weathering, deposition, and metamorphism, with time and energy as the drivers. |
| Minerals versus rocks | Confuses a mineral with a rock or count with mass. | Finds proportions but omits the sampling denominator. | At the agreed level, calculates rock-image point fractions and explains why they are not mineral mass fractions. |
| Reference analysis method | Invents properties or unsafe tests. | Uses the reference key but incompletely records evidence. | Retains source, property records and limitations; distinguishes supplied evidence from practical specimen handling. |
| 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. |
Ask which properties discriminate in the supplied key and whether density bounds overlap. No chemical or destructive tests are assigned. A worksheet is not evidence of practical testing skill.
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 | Mineral properties and density | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | The three rock families | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | The rock cycle | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Minerals versus rocks | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Reference analysis method | 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.