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 07 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Use images/models and supplied data; no animal handling or metabolic trials.
Check multiple traits and whole-body/per-gram rates (Page 4).
Observations, traits, and group placement 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 trait 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mammal traits | ||
| Hair / fur | pelage | Unique to mammals; insulates the endothermic body |
| Mammary glands | milk glands | Nurse the young with milk — the trait that names the class |
| Endothermy | metabolic heat used in regulation | Not exclusive to mammals or a guarantee of constant temperature |
| Differentiated teeth | heterodont teeth | Different tooth types; common, not universal, in mammals |
| The three mammal groups | ||
| Monotremes | egg-laying mammals | Platypus and echidna; lay eggs yet nurse their young |
| Marsupials | marsupial mammals | Young are born early; pouch presence varies |
| Placentals | eutherian mammals | Usually longer internal development; not the only mammals with placental tissues |
| Four-chambered heart | separated pulmonary/systemic pumping chambers | Also found in birds and crocodilians; not a mammal-only key |
| Mass-specific rate | whole-body rate divided by mass | mL O2/(g h) differs from mL O2/h |
The split between Proficient and Mastery is traits over habitat: the student goes by hair, milk, and teeth, not by where the animal lives. Ask “why is a bat a mammal and not a bird?”
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defining mammal traits | Uses warmth, habitat or heart chambers alone. | Uses several traits but overlooks life stage or counterexamples. | Uses hair, mammary glands and other sourced anatomy across stages; explains why teeth, endothermy or a four-chambered heart alone cannot classify every mammal. |
| Teeth & diet | Treats tooth shape as proof of a complete diet. | Suggests a functional interpretation but omits independent diet evidence. | Relates tooth structure to a plausible function, checks an independent dietary source and distinguishes a supported inference from proof of adaptation history. |
| Endothermy & the mammalian body | Ranks animals by warmth or oxygen totals. | Explains the trade-off but needs help separating rate denominators. | Independently compares whole-body and per-gram oxygen demand with time and thermal context; explains costs, limits and a fresh size-normalization transfer. |
| Monotremes, marsupials & placentals | Cannot tell the three mammal groups apart. | Names the groups but misplaces examples — calls a kangaroo a placental. | Sorts mammals into monotremes, marsupials, and placentals by how they reproduce, and places examples — a platypus, an opossum, a bat — correctly. |
| Lab technique (specimen & skeletal study) | Guesses an unseen structure or claims supplied data as an observation. | Annotates an approved image/model but omits source or uncertainty. | Independently annotates approved images/models, records the evidence source and mode, and separates visible anatomy, calculated rates and inferred function. |
| 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 | Defining mammal traits | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Teeth & diet | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Endothermy & the mammalian body | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Monotremes, marsupials & placentals | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (specimen & skeletal study) | 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.