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 06 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Use approved images/models and synthetic thermal records; no animal trials.
Check rates, thermal trade-offs and selection-evidence limits (Page 4).
Observations, structures, and comparisons 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 find the structure and justify the animal 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Onto land for good | ||
| Amniotic development | embryo supported by extraembryonic membranes | An external hard shell is not universal among amniotes |
| Ectotherm | relies mainly on environmental heat | Can be warm or regulate behaviorally; not a temperature rank |
| Endotherm | uses metabolic heat in regulation | Energy cost; not always constant temperature or universally superior |
| Reptile scales | keratin scales | Dry, water-conserving skin suited to arid places |
| Birds are dinosaurs | ||
| Feathers | plumage | Insulation and, in birds, lift — inherited from dinosaurs |
| Pneumatic bones | bones with air spaces | Not all bones or all birds; do not infer hidden anatomy from an outline |
| Bird lung ventilation | air-sac-supported flow through lungs | Gas exchange in respiratory tissue; not a rule synchronized to wingbeats |
| Amniotes | reptiles (including birds) and mammals | Embryos develop with amniotic membranes; not independence from all water |
| Mass-specific oxygen rate | mL O2/(g h) | Use standardized gas volume, time, mass and stated temperatures |
The split between Proficient and Mastery is trade-off thinking: the student names what endothermy costs as well as what it buys. Ask “what does a bird pay to stay warm, and what does it gain?”
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| The amniotic egg | Equates amniotic development with any hard shell. | Names membranes but overlooks internal development or exchange needs. | Explains protection, nourishment and exchange by amniotic membranes without claiming all amniotes lay externally shelled eggs or live in dry habitats. |
| Reptile adaptations to land | Attributes a useful trait to need or effort. | Connects a feature to function but assumes that proves its origin. | Explains a sourced water-balance or thermal function in context and distinguishes it from the inherited/reproductive evidence needed for an adaptation claim. |
| Ectothermy vs. endothermy | Ranks endotherms as superior or ignores denominators. | Defines heat source but needs help with rate or baseline. | Independently calculates mL O2/(g h), compares body/ambient temperatures and a named percent-change baseline, and explains trade-offs on a fresh record. |
| Birds as feathered dinosaurs | Treats flight as a universal bird trait. | Places birds among dinosaurs but overstates a structure's function or origin. | Places birds within theropod dinosaurs; explains feather and respiratory functions without assuming all birds fly or that current function proves evolutionary origin. |
| Lab technique (specimen study & comparison) | Invents unseen structures or a performed animal trial. | Uses an approved image/model but omits source or context. | Independently compares approved images/models and supplied thermal records, identifies evidence mode and states what the comparison cannot establish. |
| 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.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The amniotic egg | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Reptile adaptations to land | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Ectothermy vs. endothermy | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Birds as feathered dinosaurs | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (specimen study & comparison) | 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.