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).
Run the activity; track what survives and breeds each round.
The student explains how the population changed and why (Page 4).
Each round's survivors, the pattern, and the conclusion 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 activity and explain the biology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptation & survival | ||
| Adaptation | helpful trait | A feature that helps an organism survive and reproduce — not something it chooses to grow |
| Variation | natural differences | Small differences between members of one species; the raw material selection works on |
| Environment | habitat, surroundings | The living and non-living things an organism must survive among |
| Survival & reproduction | living long enough to have young | Selection is not just surviving — it is passing traits to the next generation |
| Change over time | ||
| Natural selection | survival of the fittest | Variation + survival + reproduction over many generations; no one changes their own body on purpose |
| Fossil | preserved remains or trace | Evidence of past life; shows how living things have changed over long times |
| Tree of life | branching diagram | Evolution branches like a tree — not a ladder from “lower” to “higher” |
| Species | one kind of organism | A group whose members can breed and produce offspring like themselves |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptations & survival | Thinks an animal changes its own body on purpose to fit in. | Names an adaptation but can’t say how it helps survival. | Explains how an adaptation helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. |
| Variation within a species | Thinks all members of a species are exactly the same. | Notices differences but doesn’t connect them to survival. | Explains how natural differences within a species can make some individuals more likely to survive. |
| Natural selection | Believes traits an animal builds in its lifetime get passed on. | Describes survival but skips inheritance, reproduction or denominators. | Uses inherited variation, survival and offspring counts to explain population-frequency change under stated model conditions. |
| Evidence & the tree of life | Pictures evolution as a ladder from “lower” to “higher” animals. | Uses fossils as evidence but still ranks species as more or less advanced. | Uses fossils and shared traits as evidence and describes evolution as a branching tree. |
| Lab technique (natural-selection simulation) | Runs the simulation without tracking what survives. | Collects data but can’t explain the pattern it shows. | Runs a natural-selection simulation, records each round, and explains how the population changed. |
| 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 mechanism is there: real evolution needs survival and reproduction over many generations. Ask “who survived and had more offspring, and did that trait get more common?”
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 | Adaptations & survival | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Variation within a species | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Natural selection | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Evidence & the tree of life | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (natural-selection simulation) | 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.