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 03 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Calculate gradient, horizons or transport at the agreed level.
The student ties each landform to the process that made it (Page 4).
Retain units, denominators, changed variables and fresh transfer.
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 interpretation's limits. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Weathering | ||
| Physical weathering | mechanical breakdown | Breaks rock apart without changing what it is (frost wedging, abrasion) |
| Chemical weathering | breakdown that alters the rock | Changes the rock's makeup (dissolving, rusting); dominates in warm, wet climates |
| Frost wedging | ice-crack weathering | Water freezes in cracks and pries rock apart — physical |
| Abrasion | grinding by sediment | Wind-, water-, or ice-carried grains wear surfaces down |
| Erosion & deposition | ||
| Erosion | pickup and transport of sediment | Carries weathered material away — not the same as weathering |
| Deposition | dropping of sediment | Happens where the agent slows and loses energy |
| Sediment load | material a current carries | Faster water carries larger grains; slowing drops the biggest first |
| Agents of erosion | water, wind, ice, gravity | Each one shapes distinctive landforms |
| Soil & landforms | ||
| Soil horizon | a layer in a soil profile | O/A/B/C from the top down; each forms differently |
| Soil profile | the full vertical soil column | Built by weathering, climate, and time — not inert dirt |
| Delta | sediment fan at a river mouth | A deposition landform where a river meets still water |
| Deep time | the vast scale of geologic time | Slow processes reshape whole landscapes given enough of it |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical & chemical weathering | Cannot tell physical weathering from chemical, or thinks rock does not really change. | Names both kinds but cannot give an agent or example for each. | Distinguishes physical from chemical weathering, names the agent driving each, and predicts which dominates in a given climate. |
| Transport quantities | Confuses flow, concentration and mass flux. | Converts quantities with help but calls all transport local erosion. | At the agreed level, interprets or calculates supplied suspended flux, retaining units and the transport-versus-erosion distinction. |
| Soil profile | Cannot identify the profile denominator. | Calculates fractions but confuses thickness and composition. | At the agreed level, calculates horizon fractions and explains soil-forming factors without inferring age from thickness alone. |
| Landscape gradient | Confuses rise, run or scale. | Calculates a gradient but mislabels percent or angle. | At the agreed level, defends the scaled transect, percent gradient or slope angle and its model limits. |
| Model evaluation | Treats the supplied cases as a controlled field experiment. | Notices one changed variable but overlooks others. | Identifies changed variables, incoming sediment and missing controls; does not claim practical stream-table performance from data. |
| 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 what changed between the two supplied transport cases. A flux is not automatically local erosion; a data analysis does not demonstrate practical stream-table control or require excavation.
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 | Physical & chemical weathering | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Transport quantities | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Soil profile | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Landscape gradient | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Model evaluation | 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.