Learning Progressions

Argumentation Learning Progression

This learning progression relates to the Next Generation Science Standards’ Arguing from Evidence science and engineering practice.

Level 3: Students at this level are able to argue from evidence, making claims, supporting the claims with evidence, and connecting them with reasoning. Students need support in constructing counter arguments and identifying which of two arguments is stronger.

Level 2: Students at this level are able to make claims and identify evidence. They need support finding reasoning to connect their claims to evidence.

Level 1: Students at this level are starting to understand how to argue from evidence. They may be able to make a claim and are beginning to learn to identify evidence.

Level 0: Students at this level need support making claims and finding evidence.

Particulate Explanations of Physical Change, Molecular Models of Physical Change (strand A) Learning Progression

Level 3: Phase change and heating: Can explain that when a solid or liquid is heated, it occupies more volume because of the faster movements of molecules.

Level 2: Mixing of gases: Knows that, when two different gases are mixed, the molecules of the mix together at random. Compression of gases: Knows that when a volume of gas is compressed (or expanded), the molecules move closer together (or further apart) and are still distributed at random, but the molecules do not change their size or their mass. Phase change and heating: Knows that in phase changes, the molecules speed up - from solid to liquid and from liquid to gas.

Level 1: Compression of gases: Knows that when a gas is compressed (or expanded), the number of molecules in that gas does not change.

Level 0: Notions - naive conceptions.