GR. 1 SCIENCE UNIT

Lessons

1: Animals
2: Animal Charades
3: Animals Shapes
4: Animal Coats
5: Lunch Time
6: Animal Friends
7: Animal Sort
8: Off to Petland
9: Basic Needs for Pets
10: The Pet Vet
11: Staying Alive
12: Animal Habitats
13: Animal Adaptations
14: Animal Homes
15: Staying Alive
16: Animal Life Cycles
17: Animal Babies
18: Birds and Reptiles

Assessment Ideas for Science Activities

The Saskatchewan Curriculum guide for science offers teachers an in-depth look at assessment in science. Please check pages 5 to 10 in this guide for information on science assessment. The curriculum guide also explores assessment ideas for the elementary classroom and offers charts, grids, and performance assessment stations on pages 34-40. Ideally, teachers will be assessing students throughout a unit of study using a variety of assessment techniques. Here are some ideas you may want to use with this unit.

1. Lab Reports:

Students will be doing several labs in this unit and their lab results can be written up on the lab sheets and handed in. Students carefully write out their results and explain what they learned from each activity. Each of these labs can be marked out of 10 or scored with a rubric that you make ahead of time and share with students.

2. Tests:

In preparation for later grades, it is good to allow young students to review materials for tests, as long as these tests contain questions that students have had ample practice with so they are familiar with the concepts. At this grade level, students should not be asked to memorize a quantity of facts for a test, rather their understanding should be checked. Tests should include questions like:

Explain what you did when. . .

What did you learn from. . .

What are clouds? How do you know that? (based on what they did)

3. Performance Assessment Tasks:

In science, students are often performing activities related to science (measuring, weighing, evaluating, heating, mixing, drawing conclusions, etc.) Teachers can assess students as they perform these activities and use this assessment as part of the science mark. Almost all of the labs in this unit could be used for performance assessment evaluation. The teacher should first determine what criteria they will be looking for and make a list (rubric) of desired outcomes. During the lab, the teacher would circulate around the room and assess the students in each group based on the assessment criteria previously selected. A sample rubric follows this page. (Remember to check the curriculum guide (page 34-40) for sample performance assessment documents and other assessment ideas.)

Sample Assessment Rubric for Lesson 9 - Basic Needs for Pets

Level Four· Work is complete· Center circle contains name of pet· Outer circles contain correct examples of basic needs· Work is neat enough for communication of ideas
Level Three· Work is complete· Center circle contains name of pet· Outer circles may have errors in needs but most are correct· Work is readable
Level Two· Work may not be complete but most is done· Center circle contains name of pet· Outer circles contain errors· Neatness may need improvement
Level One· Work is incomplete· Center circle may or may not have name of pet· Outer circles incomplete or contain errors· Work is messy