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 07 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Calculate storage, flow, mixing or heat at the agreed level.
Defend the new-channel/mixing transfer and limits (Page 4).
Retain freshwater categories, units, sources and model assumptions.
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 defend what the supplied model shows. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| The water cycle | ||
| Water cycle | hydrologic cycle | More than evaporation and rain — includes transpiration and groundwater |
| Transpiration | plant water loss | Water vapor released by plants; part of the cycle, easily forgotten |
| Groundwater | water in saturated rock or sediment | Most liquid fresh water is groundwater; most total fresh water is stored in ice |
| Oceans, tides & salinity | ||
| Ocean current | surface / deep current | Driven by wind, density, and Earth's rotation; moves heat, not just water |
| Tide | lunar tide | Caused by the Moon and Sun's pull, not by the wind |
| Wave | surface wave | Energy moving through water, not the water itself — not a current |
| Salinity | dissolved-salt content | Set by evaporation and freshwater input; not a fixed number |
| The ocean system | ocean–climate link | Currents, evaporation, and climate move as one connected system |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water stores and flow | Confuses total fresh water, liquid storage or discharge. | Names categories but needs help with denominators or flow units. | At the agreed level, distinguishes frozen/fresh/saline stores and calculates supplied storage fractions or subsection discharge/bounds. |
| Ocean quantities | Confuses salt mass, concentration or heat flux. | Calculates with help but omits a denominator or model limit. | At the agreed level, defends salt mass/mixing or reference heat flux with units and limits; explains what drives ocean circulation. |
| Waves, tides & salinity | Confuses waves with currents or thinks tides are caused by wind. | Links tides to the Moon in general but not to its position, or treats salinity as fixed. | Relates tides to the Moon and Sun, distinguishes waves from currents, and explains what sets ocean salinity. |
| The ocean as a system | Treats the ocean as a still reservoir disconnected from weather and land. | Links the ocean to weather loosely but cannot connect currents, evaporation, and climate. | Connects ocean circulation, the water cycle, and climate into one moving system. |
| Water-model reasoning | Calls the worksheet a water test or safety result. | Reads the supplied model but overstates what it shows. | Defends the fresh channel/mixing transfer and distinguishes a model from practical measurement or a potability assessment. |
| 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 quantities are stocks, flows, concentrations or heat rates. No sampling or ingestion is assigned. These calculations do not demonstrate practical measurement or establish safe drinking water.
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 | Water stores and flow | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Ocean quantities | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Waves, tides & salinity | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | The ocean as a system | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Water-model reasoning | 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.