Embedded Assessment Activity 5, Summarizing Question 6
This embedded assessment is in the form of a summative assessment question that can either be done as a
group exercise with whiteboard (as instructed in Summarizing Question 6), or it can be used minus the
whiteboard as an exam question to be done individually. The first rubric is for assessment of collaborative
work if the question is answered as part of a group. The second rubric is for assessment of content, and is
applicable whether the question was answered collaboratively or individually.
Describe a hypothetical rock material transfer pathway as follows: You live on the banks of a mediumsized river. The river floods during high rains. When the water finally recedes, there is a new layer of
fine-grained sediment everywhere in your neighborhood. Using the rock cycle diagram and a whiteboard,
your group should describe a hypothetical rock cycle pathway for that sediment that traverses at least one
time through the rock cycle. Make sure you describe interaction with the hydrologic cycle and plate
tectonics. Write down your resulting pathway below and make sure you include any required energy
transfers:
Learning Goals and Associated Objectives – Activity
1. Students will model the collaborative process of investigative Earth science.
Students will be able to:
 Work collaboratively in groups to collect and interpret data, and to communicate results
(including presentation of ideas via whiteboard to larger group).
Category
Student
participation in
whiteboard
creation
2 points
All students in
group actively
participating in
whiteboard
creation
Student
participation in
whiteboard
presentation
Student
participation in
brainstorming
All students in
group share
some part of the
whiteboard
All students
actively
brainstorming
answers to the
questions
1 points
Students delegating
tasks – some
students create the
whiteboard, others
writing in their
notebooks
A subset of the
group shares in
presentation of the
whiteboard
A subset of students
actively participates
in the
brainstorming
0 point
Some group
members
disengaged
during
whiteboard
creation
One student
presents the
whiteboard
Total
One student
sharing
his/her
thinking
2. Students will understand that all Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and mass
cycling within and between Earth's systems. This energy is derived from the Sun and Earth's
interior.
Students will be able to:
 Describe and illustrate energy transfer processes within and between Earth systems.
 Explain a viable Earth material transfer scenario using a rock cycle diagram that shows linkages
between above-surface processes (erosion and sedimentation) and below-surface processes
(lithification, metamorphism, melting).
Category
3 points
2 points
2 points
0 points
Aboveground part
of the rock
cycle
Students correctly
illustrate/describe all
rock breakdown,
transportation, and
depositional processes,
perhaps including
surface rock forming
processes (e.g.,
extrusive volcanic
rocks)
Students correctly
illustrate/describe
most breakdown,
transportation, and
depositional processes,
perhaps including
surface rock forming
processes (e.g.,
extrusive volcanic
rocks)
Students correctly
illustrate/describe few
breakdown,
transportation, and
depositional
processes, perhaps
including surface rock
forming processes
(e.g., extrusive
volcanic rocks)
Belowground part
of the rock
cycle
Students correctly
illustrate/describe all
below-ground rock
formation processes
Students correctly
illustrate/describe few
below-ground rock
formation processes
Transfers
through the
rock cycle
from above
ground to
below
ground and
vice versa
Students correctly
illustrate/describe all
burial or uplift/erosion
processes that
transport material
from above ground to
below ground or vice
versa
Energy
transfers
within and
between
Earth
systems
Students correctly
describe all sources of
energy in the rock
cycle, including the
Sun’s role in the
hydrologic cycle and
Earth’s internal heat
for below-ground
processes
Students correctly
illustrate/describe
most below-ground
rock formation
processes
Students correctly
illustrate/describe
most burial or
uplift/erosion
processes that
transport material
from above ground to
below ground or vice
versa
Students correctly
describe most sources
of energy in the rock
cycle
Students do not
correctly
illustrate/describe any
breakdown,
transportation, and
depositional
processes, and do not
include surface rock
forming processes
(e.g., extrusive
volcanic rocks)
Students do not
correctly
illustrate/describe any
below-ground rock
formation processes
Students do not
correctly
illustrate/describe any
burial or uplift/erosion
processes that
transport material
from above ground to
below ground or vice
versa
Students do not
correctly describe any
sources of energy in
the rock cycle
Students correctly
illustrate/describe few
burial or
uplift/erosion
processes that
transport material
from above ground to
below ground or vice
versa
Students correctly
describe few sources
of energy in the rock
cycle
Total