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 02 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Use the five science criteria and selected learning level.
Label supplied data separately from actually observed, approved skills.
Use a changed dataset or assumption, not recitation of the answer key.
Report source-linked writing separately; it cannot block a science pass.
Judge each criterion Developing, Proficient or Mastery from its stated evidence. A supplied-data result does not certify an unobserved practical skill. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Phytoplankton / zooplankton | photosynthetic plankton / animal-like consumers | Roles, not single taxonomic groups; mixotrophs combine roles. |
| Holoplankton / meroplankton | lifelong / temporary plankton | Larvae may later settle or swim actively. |
| Gross / net primary production | GPP / NPP | NPP subtracts producer respiration only. |
| Net community production | gross minus all community respiration | Mixed light-bottle change is not NPP. |
| Respiration | oxidation supporting ATP production | Occurs in producers in light and dark. |
| Microbial loop | DOC → bacteria → protist consumers | Returns some carbon to larger food-web pathways. |
| Remineralization | organic to inorganic nutrients | Matter cycles; useful energy dissipates as heat. |
| Viral shunt | lysis returning cell carbon to DOM | Not measured by net-count data. |
| Biological pump | export of organic carbon to depth | Export is not all permanent sequestration. |
| Concentration / rate | cells/L / mass per volume per time | A standing stock is not production. |
| Subsampling factor | concentrate volume/analyzed volume | Then divide by original water volume. |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plankton types & classification | Treats plankton as one taxon. | Separates producers and consumers but confuses life stages. | Classifies producer/consumer roles and holo/meroplankton, including photosynthetic bacteria and mixotrophic exceptions. |
| Primary production & respiration | Confuses oxygen stock with production. | Explains photosynthesis but omits respiration. | Calculates light/dark net community, respiration and gross rates; distinguishes NPP and states bottle assumptions. |
| Nutrients, upwelling & blooms | Assumes equal growth everywhere. | Names a limiting resource without context. | Links light, nutrients, grazing and stratification to blooms; distinguishes chlorophyll stock from production rate. |
| Microbial loop & biological pump | Omits bacteria or claims energy is recycled. | Traces a food chain but misses dissolved carbon. | Balances DOC, bacterial/protist production and respiration; explains remineralization, viral shunt and uncertain carbon export. |
| Lab technique (plankton evidence) | Reports counts without volume or invents observations. | Counts correctly but loses a subsampling factor. | Uses aliquot, concentrate and source-water volumes; records sampling bias and separates supplied analysis from observed microscopy. |
| 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 role in the system: not just naming a plankton, but explaining what it does — photosynthesize, graze, feed the web, pump carbon. Ask “so what does it do out here?”
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.
A second concentrate has the same counts per mL but comes from 100 L rather than 50 L of water. Does it imply the same original-water density?
No. At the same 100 mL concentrate volume, all original-water densities halve: 20 diatoms, 2 copepods and 1 larva/L. More concentrated-looking water is not enough information.
Use a fresh variant for assessment. Integration is reported separately and cannot lower the science grade or block a science demonstration pass. Science and practical criteria determine that pass.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plankton types & classification | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Primary production & respiration | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Nutrients, upwelling & blooms | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Microbial loop & biological pump | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (plankton evidence) | 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.