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  • Salt Crystals

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about crystalline solids. The probe is specifically designed to determine how students think atoms are arranged and move in a crystalline lattice.

  • Adaptation

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about biological adaptation. The probe is designed to find out if students think animals intentionally adapt to a change in their environment.

  • Hot and Cold Balloons

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that the mass of a warm gas in a closed system is the same after…

  • Standing On One Foot

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about weight and pressure. The probe is designed to determine whether students think their weight changes when the force exerted per unit area (pressure…

  • Lunar Eclipse

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about eclipses. The probe is designed to find out what students think causes a lunar eclipse.

  • Nails in a Jar

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter during a chemical change (oxidation). The probe is designed to find out if students think the mass changes as rust forms…

  • What Do You Know About Volcanoes and Earthquakes?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about plate tectonic features and events. The probe is designed to uncover commonly held misconceptions about volcanoes and earthquakes.

  • Sugar Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about dissolving. The probe is designed to find out what students think happens to sugar when it dissolves in water.

  • Chicken Eggs

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about food, transformation of matter, growth and development, conservation of mass, and systems. The concepts underlying this probe are complex. It is…

  • Where Do Stars Go?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about stars. The probe is designed to examine students’ ideas about the location of stars in the daytime.

  • Me and My Shadow

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about light and shadows. The probe is designed to find out students’ ideas about how shadows change throughout the day.

  • Burning Paper

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter during combustion. The probe is designed to find out if students think the mass changes as paper burns inside a closed…

  • Solar Eclipse

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about eclipses. The probe is designed to find out what students think happens during a solar eclipse.

  • Sam’s Puppy

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about growth. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that growth occurs as a result of cell division, which increases the number…

  • Pennies

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the properties of atoms. The probe is designed to determine whether students can distinguish between the microscopic properties of an atom and the…

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