This packet is everything a parent or guide needs to assess Unit 08 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 building a scale model or phase demonstration and defending what it shows.
By the end of the Astronomy & Earth in Space unit, a student should be able to:
Six criteria, each judged Not yet / Approaching / Mastered (Page 3).
Build a scale model or phase demonstration; defend what it shows.
The student explains why axial tilt causes the seasons (Page 4).
The setup, the observation, and the conclusion 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 build the model and defend what it does and does not show. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Earth's motions | ||
| Axial tilt | obliquity | The cause of seasons — not distance to the Sun |
| Rotation | spin on its axis | Gives day and night; not the same as revolution |
| Revolution | orbit around the Sun | Gives the year; one trip takes about 365 days |
| Season | not a distance effect | Set by tilt changing how directly sunlight strikes |
| The Earth–Moon–Sun system | ||
| Moon phase | lunar phase | From the Moon's position, not Earth's shadow |
| Eclipse | solar / lunar eclipse | When the bodies line up; different from a phase |
| Solar system | Sun + orbiting bodies | Ordered and enormous — planets are tiny at true scale |
| Orbit | orbital path | The elliptical path a body follows, worked out by Kepler |
| Criterion | Not yet | Approaching | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | Thinks seasons come from Earth's distance to the Sun. | Names axial tilt but still explains seasons by distance. | Explains that axial tilt, not distance, changes how directly sunlight strikes each hemisphere. |
| Moon phases | Thinks Moon phases come from Earth's shadow. | Links phases to the Moon's motion but still invokes Earth's shadow. | Explains phases from the Moon's position relative to Earth and Sun, and separates them from eclipses. |
| The Earth–Moon–Sun system | Cannot relate day, year, phases, and eclipses to motion. | Connects some motions but confuses rotation with revolution. | Relates rotation, revolution, tilt, and the Moon's orbit to day, year, seasons, phases, and eclipses. |
| The solar system & scale | Has no sense of the sizes and distances involved. | Orders the planets but not their true scale. | Describes the solar system's structure and the vast scale of sizes and distances between bodies. |
| Lab technique (scale / phase modeling) | Cannot set up or read a scale model or phase demonstration. | Builds the model but misreads what it shows. | Builds a scale model or phase demonstration and defends what it does and does not show. |
| 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 tilt, not distance: a student who explains seasons by how directly sunlight strikes has it. Ask “if distance caused seasons, why is it summer in Australia when it’s winter here?”
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 | Seasons | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 2 | Moon phases | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 3 | The Earth–Moon–Sun system | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 4 | The solar system & scale | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (scale / phase modeling) | 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.