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 07 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Glands and gonads identified on models or prepared slides — observed live.
The student names a hormone and its target aloud (Page 4 anchors).
Contemporaneous record — sketch, hormone noted beside each gland, canonical vocabulary throughout.
Judge each criterion as Developing, Proficient, or Mastery, not by adding points. Mastery requires identifying the structure and explaining its function using factual anatomical terms, not slang or euphemism. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Endocrine glands | ||
| Pituitary gland | hypophysis | Anterior: hypothalamic/feedback control; posterior: releases hypothalamic ADH/oxytocin |
| Thyroid gland | (none) | T3/T4 regulate metabolism; gland lies beside the trachea |
| Adrenal gland | suprarenal gland | Above kidney; cortex includes cortisol/aldosterone secretion; medulla releases catecholamines |
| Pancreas (endocrine) | islets of Langerhans | Insulin and glucagon regulate blood sugar; separate from its digestive role |
| Hormone action | ||
| Hormone | chemical messenger | Blood-borne signal; response requires matching receptors |
| Target tissue | target cell | The tissue a hormone affects — not every cell responds |
| Negative feedback | departure-reducing response | Opposes a departure in either direction; positive feedback can occur briefly in an ovarian cycle |
| GnRH / FSH / LH | distinct regulatory signals | GnRH supports pituitary FSH/LH; gonadotropins have different gonadal targets |
| Estradiol / progesterone / inhibin | distinct gonadal signals | Steroids vary with phase; inhibin chiefly limits FSH. Assay scales differ |
| Reproductive anatomy | ||
| Ovary | (none) | Female gonad; produces ova and secretes estrogen and progesterone |
| Uterus | womb (informal) | Muscular organ where a fertilized egg implants; endometrium is its lining |
| Testis | testicle (informal) | Male gonad; produces sperm and testosterone |
| Gamete | haploid reproductive cell | Typical completed gamete: 23 chromosomes; chromosome count differs from chromatid/DNA count |
| Fertilization / implantation | distinct events | Combining gamete contributions / later attachment in uterine lining |
| Cleavage / gastrulation | distinct developmental processes | Cell divisions / germ-layer formation; a sequence is not a personal calendar |
| Half-life | halving interval | Constant only for the stipulated first-order, no-new-secretion model; not a dosing instruction |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endocrine glands & hormone sources | Cannot locate glands or distinguish synthesis from release. | Pairs some hormones/glands but needs help with targets or hypothalamic/pituitary roles. | Locates major glands and pairs hormones with sources/targets, distinguishing hypothalamic synthesis from posterior-pituitary release and endocrine from exocrine pancreatic function. |
| Hormone action & feedback | Confuses feedback targets or equates all hormone assay scales. | Names a loop but needs help with feedback signs, targets, or quantitative assumptions. | Explains receptor-dependent response and GnRH/FSH/LH/gonadal feedback; defends assigned recurrence, decay, or within-assay signal calculations with sampling and model limits, not treatment doses. |
| Reproductive anatomy & pathways | Cannot distinguish gonads, ducts, or implantation site. | Names some structures but needs help with transport order or function. | Identifies the selected testicular/ovarian reproductive structures with factual anatomical terms, tracing gamete routes and distinguishing fertilization from implantation without personal comparisons. |
| Gametes, cycles & development | Confuses gametes or development, or treats sampled peaks as exact personal event dates. | Names events but needs help relating supplied signals to phase mechanisms and variability. | Distinguishes chromosome/chromatid counts and developmental sequences; interprets supplied gonadal time series and phase mechanisms at the declared level without a universal calendar or personal reproductive predictions. |
| Lab technique (gland / gonad ID) | Cannot bring a slide into focus or identify a gland on a model. | Names a gland or gonad but cannot point to the features that justify the call. | Identifies an endocrine gland or gonad on a model or prepared slide and defends the ID with two visible distinguishing features. |
| 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. |
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.
Judge one criterion at a time. Ask “which hormone does this gland release, and what does it target?” A gland name alone is Proficient; Mastery connects gland, hormone, and target. Coach reproductive vocabulary toward anatomical terms rather than penalizing the first informal word.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Endocrine glands & hormone sources | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Hormone action & feedback | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Reproductive anatomy & pathways | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Gametes, cycles & development | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (gland / gonad ID) | 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.