Student Content Assessments
Instrument 1: What
I Know About Science
Project: Sisters
in Science: Intergenerational
Partnerships in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
Temple University
Funding Source: NSF:
Program for Women and Girls (HRD)
Purpose: To learn more about the content
knowledge of students
Administered To: Students
Topics Covered:
- Content Specific Assessment: biology, mathematics
- Demographics (Student): age, gender
Format/Length: 26
open-ended questions
and 4 demographic questions. These questions include some
for which the answer is a drawing or some other alternative
to a word answer.
What I Know About Science
Name: ____________________________________________.
Age: __________________________________.
Race/Ethnicity: _____________________________________.
Teacher: _________________________________________.
Skill 1: Use your senses to describe the
object. Write down what your senses tell you about the object.
| Touch - |
It feels like |
______________________________________________________________ |
| Smell - |
It smells like |
______________________________________________________________ |
| Hear - |
It sounds like |
______________________________________________________________ |
| Taste - |
It tastes like |
______________________________________________________________ |
| Sight - |
It looks like |
______________________________________________________________ |
Skill 2: Draw a line through the objects
below to make pictures that have two equal sides.
Skills 3 & 4: Look at the objects in
front of you. How are they alike? What do you have in common?
Choose one characteristic (ex. color, shape, size, texture,
etc.). Sort the objects into one set, so that all the objects
in set one have the same characteristic.
Mix up all the objects. Choose a different characteristic
and sort the objects into a second set, so that all the objects
in set two have the same characteristic.
- Draw a picture of the objects in each
set.
Why did you put the objects in set one?
They all have _______________________________________________________
Why did you put the objects in set two?
They all have _______________________________________________________
Skill 5: Using a paper clip, measure lines
a, b, c, & . Record the length of each line in paper clip
units (e.g., 1 paper clip)
| Line a._________________ |
|
|
|
|
|
_______paper clips |
| Line b._____________________________ |
|
|
|
|
|
_______paper clips |
| Line c.____________ |
|
|
|
|
|
_______paper clips |
| Line d._____________________________________ |
|
|
|
|
|
_______paper clips |
Skill 6: Describe how you would use a paper
clip to find the height of your classroom?
- I would...
Skills 7 & 8: Look at the containers
filled with different objects. Do not open the containers.
Use your senses to figure out what is in each container.
How do you know?
Smell ____________________________________________________
Hear (Listen) ___________________________________________
Now you will be given another "mystery" container> Without
listening or smelling what do you predict is
inside the container?
_______________________________________________________________________
Skills 9, 10, 11, & 12: A fourth grade
class did an experiment to see the effect of sunlight on bean
plants. Ten (10) beans were planted in paper
cups with good soil. All of the plants were watered equally.
Five (5) of the bean plants were placed in the sunlight on
the window sill. The other 5 were placed in a closet where
they did not get sunlight. The heights of the plants were
measured for the plants in the sunlight. The heights
of the plants were measured for the plants in the closet.
Measurements were taken on Day One (1), Day Five (5),
and Day Ten (10). Here are the results:
What variables are the same for both plants? __________________________________
What variables are different for both plants?
_______________________________________________________________________
Use the information from the chart to make a
bar graph of the growth of both sets of plants.
Use one color on the graph for the plants in sunlight
plants. Use a different color for the plants in the closet.
| Plants in Sunlight |
Plants in the Closet |
| Days |
Height |
| 1 |
0 cm |
| 5 |
5 cm |
| 10 |
15 cm |
|
| Days |
Height |
| 1 |
0 cm |
| 5 |
1 cm |
| 10 |
5 cm |
|
Look at your bar graphs. From it make a prediction.
What is the height of each set of plants of the Day Fifteen
(15).
Plants in Sunlight _____________________ cm
Plants in the Closet ______________________ cm
|
