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.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Build a working circuit and an electromagnet; trace the current.
Explain the loop and complete the assigned induction data.
Circuit diagram, the current path, and the result 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 build a working circuit and explain why the current flows the way it does. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity in a circuit | ||
| Current | flow of charge | Charge moving through the wire; the same all the way around the loop |
| Voltage | the push / potential difference | The push that drives the current — not the current itself |
| Circuit | complete loop | Current only flows when the loop is unbroken end to end |
| Switch | break in the loop | Opens the loop to stop the current, closes it to start |
| Magnets & electromagnets | ||
| Magnet | has north & south poles | Surrounded by a field; like poles push, opposite poles pull |
| Magnetic field | region of magnetic force | The invisible field around a magnet or a current-carrying wire |
| Electromagnet | coil-and-current magnet | A magnet made by running current through a coil of wire |
| Conductor vs insulator | lets current through vs blocks it | Metal wire carries current; plastic or rubber does not |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current & voltage | Cannot say what current or voltage is. | Names them but swaps their meanings. | Describes current as charge flowing and voltage as the push that drives it, in plain terms. |
| Complete circuits | Thinks a bulb lights from a single wire. | Builds a loop but cannot say why it is needed. | Builds a complete loop and explains that current only flows when the circuit is unbroken. |
| “Used-up current” misconception | Believes the bulb uses up the current. | Knows charge flows in a loop but says some is lost in the bulb. | Shows the same current flows all the way around the loop and that the bulb transfers energy, not charge. |
| Magnets & electromagnets | Cannot describe what a magnet does. | Knows magnets attract but confuses a current's field with induction. | Builds an approved electromagnet and distinguishes current producing a field from changing magnetic flux inducing voltage; interprets the assigned induction data and its limits. |
| Lab technique (circuits & electromagnets) | Cannot get a circuit to work. | Lights a bulb but cannot troubleshoot a break. | Builds and fixes simple circuits and an electromagnet, tracing the current through each. |
| 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 follow the current: a student who can trace the charge all the way around the loop — and explain that it is not used up — has it. Ask “trace the current through your circuit and back to the battery.”
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 | Current & voltage | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Complete circuits | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | “Used-up current” misconception | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Magnets & electromagnets | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (circuits & electromagnets) | 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.