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).
Nitrate and dissolved O₂ measured, then tied to a cycle.
The student traces an atom through a cycle out loud (Page 4).
Test readings, flux estimate, and disruption claim kept distinct.
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 run the tests and justify what they reveal about the cycle. 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 four cycles | ||
| Carbon cycle | C cycle | Moves through photosynthesis, respiration, oceans, and fossil fuels |
| Nitrogen cycle | N cycle | N₂ gas is unusable until fixed; then nitrified and denitrified |
| Phosphorus & water cycles | P cycle / hydrologic cycle | Phosphorus has no major gaseous reservoir, but dust transports it; water changes state and location |
| Stores, flows & disruption | ||
| Reservoir | pool; store | Where an element sits (atmosphere, ocean, soil, rock) — a store, not a flow |
| Flux | amount per time | Movement across a boundary; concentration alone is not a mass flux |
| Nitrogen fixation | N₂ → usable N | Biological (bacteria) or industrial (Haber–Bosch) |
| Eutrophication | nutrient over-enrichment | Fertilizer runoff feeds algae, then decomposition strips oxygen |
| Dissolved oxygen | DO | Affected by respiration, temperature and mixing; a low reading does not uniquely identify a cause |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon reservoirs and transformations | Confuses carbon with energy. | Names major carbon pathways. | Traces photosynthesis, respiration, ocean exchange and combustion; completes a consistent carbon-stock ledger. |
| Nitrogen transformations | Treats N₂ as usable by all organisms. | Names fixation with prompting. | Distinguishes fixation, assimilation, ammonification, nitrification and denitrification, including industrial nitrogen inputs. |
| Phosphorus, water and Earth drivers | Confuses cycles and their drivers. | Describes individual pathways. | Connects tectonics, sunlight, gravity and wind/rain-shadow geography to cycles; distinguishes phosphorus dust transport from a gaseous reservoir. |
| System boundaries and budgets | Mixes stocks, flows or boundaries. | Balances a ledger with help. | Computes a storage change with compatible units, explicit boundaries and uncertainty bounds. |
| Cycle-flux measurement and inference | Treats concentration as a flux. | Reads a kit result with guidance. | Demonstrates approved measurement or data handling, combines concentration with flow, and limits source attribution to the evidence. |
| 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 boundary was chosen and whether nitrate is reported as N or as NO₃. Require flow and duration before accepting a mass-load claim.
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: _________________________
Integration is reported separately and cannot lower the science grade or block a science demonstration pass. Science and practical criteria determine that pass.
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carbon reservoirs and transformations | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Nitrogen transformations | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Phosphorus, water and Earth drivers | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | System boundaries and budgets | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Cycle-flux measurement and inference | 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.