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 04 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Identify metamorphic rocks and route a grain through the cycle.
The student defends the protolith and cycle path each rock records (Page 4).
Rock ID, inferred protolith, and the traced cycle path 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 name the rock and defend the protolith and cycle path it records. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Metamorphism | ||
| Metamorphism | change by heat & pressure | The rock stays solid — it recrystallizes, it does not melt |
| Recrystallization | solid-state regrowth | Minerals regrow larger or realign without the rock melting |
| Directed pressure | differential stress | Squeezing from one direction; aligns minerals into bands |
| Texture & grade | ||
| Foliation | banding / layering | Mineral alignment under directed pressure — not sedimentary layers |
| Non-foliated | unbanded | No alignment; e.g. marble, quartzite |
| Metamorphic grade | intensity of change | Rises with heat & pressure: slate → phyllite → schist → gneiss |
| Protolith | parent rock | What the rock was before metamorphism — limestone → marble |
| The rock cycle | ||
| Rock cycle | rock-forming loop | Any rock can become any other; not a one-way path |
| Marble | metamorphosed limestone | Non-foliated; protolith is limestone (a carbonate) |
| Quartzite | metamorphosed sandstone | Non-foliated; protolith is quartz sandstone |
| Gneiss | high-grade banded rock | Coarse light/dark bands; highest grade in the slate–gneiss series |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat & pressure without melting | Thinks metamorphism means the rock melted. | Names heat and pressure but not that the rock stayed solid. | Explains how heat and pressure recrystallize a rock in the solid state, short of melting. |
| Foliated vs non-foliated | Cannot tell banded from unbanded rock. | Labels foliation but cannot say what causes it. | Distinguishes foliated from non-foliated rock and explains foliation as mineral alignment under directed pressure. |
| Metamorphic grade & physical models | Confuses grade, depth, and texture. | Uses one texture as an exact pressure-temperature gauge. | Interprets the common pelitic grade sequence and assigned pressure/temperature calculations, accounting for composition and model limitations. |
| Protolith reasoning | Cannot say what a metamorphic rock started as. | Guesses a protolith without evidence. | Infers the protolith — limestone to marble, sandstone to quartzite, shale to slate — from texture and composition. |
| The rock cycle (lab) | Treats the three rock families as unrelated. | Names the rock cycle but cannot route a grain through it. | Traces a mineral grain around the full rock cycle, linking igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic paths. |
| 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. |
The split between Proficient and Mastery is the rock’s history: not just naming marble, but inferring it came from limestone and placing it in the cycle. Ask “what was this rock before, and where does it go next?”
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 | Heat & pressure without melting | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Foliated vs non-foliated | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Metamorphic grade & physical models | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Protolith reasoning | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | The rock cycle (lab) | 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.