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 08 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Draw and calculate at the agreed readiness level.
The student explains why axial tilt causes the seasons (Page 4).
Retain scale, central mass, angle assumptions 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 defend the diagram and model 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons geometry | Attributes seasons to distance alone or misreads angles. | Calculates noon altitude with help but overstates heating. | At the agreed level, defends noon altitude or sine projection, tilt and day length without treating noon flux as daily temperature. |
| Moon phases | Thinks Moon phases are Earth's shadow falling on the Moon. | Says phases come from the Moon's position but confuses them with eclipses. | Explains phases from the Moon's position relative to Earth and Sun, and distinguishes them from eclipses. |
| The Earth–Moon–Sun system | Cannot relate day, year, and the motions that produce them. | Names rotation and revolution but mixes up what each causes. | Connects Earth's rotation and revolution and the Moon's orbit to day, year, phases, and tides. |
| Orbital quantities | Confuses distance scale, semi-major axis or period. | Calculates with help but omits units or central mass. | At the agreed level, defends scale, Kepler period or bounds using semi-major axis, AU/years and the stated mass assumption. |
| Scale and phase model reasoning | Cannot label the model or distinguish it from observation. | Explains geometry but omits a limitation. | Defends a labeled diagram and fresh orbital/altitude transfer without claiming solar viewing, practical telescope skill or a forecast. |
| 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 distance and central mass enter Kepler's relation, and why noon projection is not daily energy. No solar viewing is assigned; calculations do not demonstrate practical telescope operation.
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 | Seasons geometry | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Moon phases | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | The Earth–Moon–Sun system | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Orbital quantities | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Scale and phase 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.