This packet is everything a parent or guide needs to assess Unit 03 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 the stream table, changing one variable, and explaining the erosion and deposition that result.
By the end of the Weathering, Erosion & Soil unit, a student should be able to:
Six criteria, each judged Not yet / Approaching / Mastered (Page 3).
Change one variable — slope or flow — and read the erosion and deposition.
The student ties each landform to the process that made it (Page 4).
The variable changed, the pattern observed, and the 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 tray and justify the pattern it produces. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Not yet | Approaching | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| Erosion, transport & deposition | Thinks landscapes are fixed and erosion is negligible. | Names the agents (water, wind, ice) but cannot link energy to what gets carried or dropped. | Relates the energy of a moving agent to the size of sediment it carries and explains where and why deposition occurs. |
| Soil formation & horizons | Treats soil as inert dirt with no structure. | Names the horizons but cannot say how they form. | Reads a soil profile top to bottom and explains how weathering, climate, and time build each horizon. |
| Landforms as evidence | Sees landforms as permanent and unrelated to any process. | Links a landform to an agent in general but not to a rate or timescale. | Reads a valley, delta, or dune as the signature of a specific process working over deep time. |
| Lab technique (stream table) | Runs water over the tray without controlling slope or flow. | Observes erosion but cannot connect it to a variable. | Controls slope and flow in a stream table and connects the erosion and deposition pattern to the variable changed. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Treats the science as isolated facts; makes no cross-domain connection. | Names a link to history, reading, or writing but cannot defend why it matters. | Connects the unit to its anchor across History · Reading · Writing (plus chosen electives) and defends why the connection matters. |
The split between Approaching and Mastered is process over picture: not just naming a landform, but tying it to the agent and the time that made it. Ask “what made this, and how long did it take?”
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 | Physical & chemical weathering | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 2 | Erosion, transport & deposition | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 3 | Soil formation & horizons | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 4 | Landforms as evidence | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (stream table) | 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.