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  • Chemical Bonds

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about chemical bonds. The probe is designed to find out how students interpret molecular models.

  • Ice-Cold Lemonade

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about transfer of energy. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that heat flows from warmer objects or areas to cooler ones.

  • Is It a Plant?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the concept of a plant. The probe is designed to find out how students determine whether a living thing is considered to be a plant.

  • Needs of Seeds

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about seeds. The probe is designed to find out what students think most seeds need to germinate.

  • Plants in the Dark and Light

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about plant growth. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that plants use their stored food to grow in the absence of light.

  • Giant Sequoia Tree

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the transformation of matter. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that most of the matter that makes up the wood of a tree…

  • Baby Mice

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about heredity. The probe is designed to reveal how students think organisms inherit observable traits.

  • Habitat Change

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about adaptation. The probe is designed to reveal whether students think individuals intentionally change their physical characteristics or behaviors in…

  • Is It a Rock? (Version 1)

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about rocks. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that rock is not a term for size and that rocks can come in many sizes and…

  • Is It a Rock? (Version 2)

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about an Earth material, rocks. The probe is designed to determine whether students can distinguish between humanmade, “rocklike” materials and…

  • Mountaintop Fossil

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about mountain formation. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that some mountains are formed from the uplift of Earth’s crust…

  • Darkness at Night

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the day/night cycle. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that Earth’s rotation explains why it is dark at night and light…

  • Emmy’s Moon and Stars

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the relative position of common objects seen in the night sky. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize how far away the stars are…

  • Objects in the Sky

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about when objects can be seen in the sky. The probe is designed to reveal whether students consider light and distance in determining what they can see…

  • 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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