This packet is everything a parent or guide needs to assess Unit 05 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 running reflex and sensory tests and tracing the signal through a reflex arc.
By the end of the Nervous System & Senses unit, a student should be able to:
Six criteria, each judged Not yet / Approaching / Mastered (Page 3).
Elicit reflexes and run sensory tests on a partner.
The student traces the signal through the reflex arc (Page 4).
Test setup, response, and interpretation 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 run the test and defend the pathway the signal takes. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neuron & signal | ||
| Neuron | nerve cell | Dendrites in, axon out; the cell body integrates |
| Action potential | nerve impulse | The electrochemical signal that travels down the axon |
| Synapse | synaptic gap | Neurotransmitter carries the signal across; travels one way |
| Myelin | myelin sheath | Insulating wrap that speeds the signal along the axon |
| Pathways & senses | ||
| CNS | central nervous system | Brain and spinal cord |
| PNS | peripheral nervous system | Nerves outside the CNS; carries signals to and from it |
| Reflex arc | (none) | Receptor → sensory neuron → integration → motor neuron → effector |
| Special senses | (none) | Vision, hearing, smell, taste, balance — each has its own receptor |
| Criterion | Not yet | Approaching | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuron structure & the nerve signal | Cannot label a neuron's main parts or say what a nerve signal is. | Labels dendrites, cell body, and axon but cannot explain how the signal travels along the axon. | Labels the neuron and explains the action potential as an electrochemical signal traveling down the axon, at the level of ions crossing the membrane. |
| Synapses & neurotransmission | Thinks the signal jumps directly from one neuron into the next. | Knows a gap exists but cannot describe how the signal crosses it. | Explains the chemical synapse — a neurotransmitter released across the gap to the next neuron — and why signals travel one way. |
| CNS & PNS: brain and spinal cord | Cannot separate the central from the peripheral nervous system or locate the major brain regions. | Divides CNS from PNS but confuses the major brain regions or their jobs. | Distinguishes CNS from PNS, locates the major brain regions and the spinal cord on a model, and states what each region does. |
| Reflex arcs & the special senses | Cannot trace a reflex or name the special senses. | Names the parts of a reflex arc but cannot put them in order, or names the senses without their receptors. | Traces a signal through a reflex arc in order — receptor, sensory neuron, integration, motor neuron, effector — and links each special sense to its receptor. |
| Lab technique (reflex & sensory testing) | Cannot elicit a reflex or run a sensory test cleanly. | Gets a response but cannot control the stimulus or read the result consistently. | Elicits a reflex with proper technique, runs a sensory-response test, and interprets what the response reveals about the pathway. |
| 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 tracing the pathway: not just naming the parts of a reflex arc, but putting them in order from receptor to effector. Ask “what fires first, and what does it reach next?”
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 | Neuron structure & the nerve signal | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 2 | Synapses & neurotransmission | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 3 | CNS & PNS: brain and spinal cord | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 4 | Reflex arcs & the special senses | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (reflex & sensory testing) | 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.