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  • Where Do You Find Earth’s Plates?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about Earth’s plates. The probe is designed to find out where students think tectonic plates are located.

  • Changing Constellations

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about why the constellations change with the seasons. The probe is designed to find out how students use the Earth’s spin and orbit to explain why…

  • What Happens When You Bring a Balloon Near Wall

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about electrical interactions. The probe is designed to find out how students visually represent electrical interactions.

  • Chemical Bonds

    Lesson Plan |

  • Turning the Dial

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about a physical property of matter. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that under the same conditions, boiling point remains the…

  • Boiling Time and Temperature

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the boiling point of a pure substance. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that the boiling point of a pure substance…

  • Freezing Ice

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about freezing point. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that the temperature at which water freezes is independent of the volume.

  • Mixing Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about temperature change in a system. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that heat moves from the warm water to the cool water…

  • 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…

  • Whale and Shrew

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about cell size. The probe is designed to reveal whether students think animal cell size is determined by the size of the animal.

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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…

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