Hurricane Assessment Tasks

13.B Construct an explanation, using a model and previously developed science ideas, to explain what causes hurricanes to form, grow, and produce (effect) strong winds and large amounts of rain (cycling of matter and flow of energy).

13.B Construct an explanation, using a model and previously developed science ideas, to explain what causes hurricanes to form, grow, and produce (effect) strong winds and large amounts of rain (cycling of matter and flow of energy).

See Key for Hurricane Assessment Tasks

If students are struggling to apply their understanding about hailstorms to hurricanes, encourage them to use their Gotta-Have-It Checklists. Students can pause and examine the models that they have created and then return to the assessment to apply their ideas. Some students may benefit from using multiple modalities to show their thinking for any or all of the questions on this assessment. You may consider allowing some students to present their answers verbally with you or having another student act as a scribe to record their thinking on paper. Other students may benefit from using gestures rather than images to describe parts of their models.

This assessment encourages students to demonstrate their understanding of key skills and concepts from the unit so far through multiple different modalities, including writing to explain and drawing models. Some students may benefit from using multiple modalities to show their thinking for any or all of the questions on this assessment. You may consider allowing some students to present their answers verbally with you or have another student acting as a scribe to record their thinking on paper. Other students may benefit from using gestures rather than images to describe parts of their models. Some students might also benefit from using manipulatives to represent parts of the model and to support a written or verbal explanation of what’s happening in each part of the model. In each case, encouraging students to use multiple modalities to show their thinking creates a clear, accessible, and equitable pathway for all students to demonstrate proficiency.