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 05 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Read a seismic and volcanic map; classify the boundary.
The student explains the driving forces behind the motion (Page 4).
Map, boundary call, and reasoning 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 make the boundary call and defend the driving forces behind it. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boundaries & their features | ||
| Divergent boundary | spreading boundary | Plates pull apart; mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys form |
| Convergent boundary | colliding boundary | Plates collide; subduction or continental collision |
| Transform boundary | sliding boundary | Plates grind past; shallow earthquakes, no volcanism |
| Orogeny | mountain building | Folding, faulting, and uplift raise a range at convergence |
| Crust cycling & the driving engine | ||
| Seafloor spreading | ridge accretion | New crust at ridges; magnetic stripes and seafloor age record it |
| Subduction | slab descent | Dense oceanic slab dives at a trench; volcanic arc behind it |
| Mantle convection | mantle flow | Heat-driven flow in the mantle; drags plates but is not the only force |
| Ridge push & slab pull | plate-driving forces | Gravity forces — ridge push shoves, slab pull drags the sinking slab |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plate boundaries & their features | Cannot tell divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries apart. | Names the three boundary types but misreads which features mark each. | Classifies a boundary from its landforms, earthquakes, and volcanism, distinguishing divergent, convergent, and transform. |
| Seafloor spreading & subduction | Treats the ocean floor as fixed and ageless. | Describes spreading or subduction but not how they balance. | Explains how new crust forms at ridges and old crust returns at trenches, using seafloor age and magnetic stripes as evidence. |
| The driving engine | Says plates move but cannot say why. | Names mantle convection but omits ridge push and slab pull. | Explains plate motion through mantle convection, ridge push, and slab pull, and weighs their relative roles. |
| Orogeny & mountain building | Equates horizontal convergence with vertical mountain growth. | Names uplift but omits erosion or structural context. | Explains folding, faulting, and uplift; evaluates assigned net-elevation models without equating convergence with vertical growth. |
| Plate-boundary maps & relative motion | Cannot orient the map or compare station positions. | Calculates speed but ignores direction or boundary orientation. | Uses map evidence and relative vectors to distinguish normal and along-boundary motion, with units and limits on extrapolated timescales. |
| 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 evidence drives the call: a deep, inclined band of earthquakes with a volcanic arc means convergence with subduction. Ask “which features told you the boundary type, and what force is moving that plate?”
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 | Plate boundaries & their features | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Seafloor spreading & subduction | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | The driving engine | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Orogeny & mountain building | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Plate-boundary maps & relative motion | 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.