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  • Respiration

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about respiration. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize respiration as a process that all living things use in order to obtain…

  • Rotting Apple

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about decay and decomposers. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize the need for a biological agent to break down once-living…

  • Does It Have a Life Cycle?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about life cycles. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that although life cycles vary in length and developmental stages, all…

  • Ice Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about temperature in the context of phases of matter. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that the temperature of a substance does…

  • Warming Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about thermal energy. The probe is designed to find out whether students think cold things can have energy.

  • Apple on a Desk

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about forces. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that balanced forces act on a stationary object.

  • Rainfall

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about precipitation. The probe is designed to determine whether students understand what causes the water in clouds to fall as rain.

  • Floating Balloon

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the mass of a gas. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that an uninflated balloon will increase in mass when inflated with a…

  • Where Did the Water Come From?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about condensation. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that condensation comes from the water vapor in the air.

  • Rolling Marbles

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about circular motion. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that an object will move in a straight line unless acted upon by an…

  • Digestive System

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the digestive system. The probe is designed to find out whether students realize a main function of the digestive system is to break food down into…

  • Earth’s Mass

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the cycling of matter. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that once-living matter breaks down and cycles through…

  • What Are Clouds Made Of?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about an everyday object in the sky: clouds. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that clouds are made up of tiny droplets of…

  • Is It a Solid?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about solids. The probe is designed to reveal the macroscopic and/or microscopic properties students use to decide whether a material is a solid.

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