This packet is everything a parent or guide needs to assess Unit 08 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 building a working circuit and an electromagnet and tracing the current through the complete loop.
By the end of the Electricity & Magnetism unit, a student should be able to:
Six criteria, each judged Not yet / Approaching / Mastered (Page 3).
Build a working circuit and an electromagnet; trace the current.
The student traces the current around the whole loop (Page 4).
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 Not yet, Approaching, or Mastered — 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Not yet | Approaching | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 cannot make an electromagnet. | Describes a magnet’s poles and field and builds an electromagnet by running current through a coil. |
| 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) | 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 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 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 | Current & voltage | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 2 | Complete circuits | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 3 | “Used-up current” misconception | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 4 | Magnets & electromagnets | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (circuits & electromagnets) | 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.