As students are engaged in Journey North observations, investigations, and experiments; discussing ideas with peers; writing about their experiences; making drawings and graphs; and responding to challenge questions, document evidence of their growth as scientists. Here are a few questions you and students should routinely ask yourselves:

Is student (Am I) increasingly able to:

• make observations (and drawings) that are increasingly detailed and accurate?
• carefully collect and organize data?
• create maps that accurately depict data?
• ask productive questions and identify ways of finding answers?
• change ideas and predictions in light of new information?
• support their ideas, inferences, and conclusions with evidence?
• analyze and make sense of migration maps? generalize about what’s happening?
• integrate previous knowledge with new evidence?
• identify and control variables?
• look for flaws in experimental design or in gathering and interpreting data?
• communicate findings and opinions and listen respectfully to others?

Also see Science Process Skills Scale and Rubric for Scientific Inquiry/Investigations (grades 4-8).