OpenSciEd Unit 8.1 · Lesson 15 · 15.C
Cheerleading Performance Task (Part 2)
Assessment guide
How to read student work on this assessment — standards alignment, what strong understanding looks like, and common gaps.
Learning progression
Early understanding
See Item alignment guide to determine which questions on Part 2: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment are aligned to which crosscutting concepts and related pieces of disciplinary core ideas.
Target understanding
Design a solution to a problem to reduce the damage to an object in a collision (by reducing peak forces) by considering the properties of different materials and shapes being used to serve particular functions.
Standards alignment
Design a solution to a problem to reduce the damage to an object in a collision (by reducing peak forces) by considering the properties of different materials and shapes being used to serve particular functions.
What understanding looks like
Strong
- See Item alignment guide to determine which questions on Part 2: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment are aligned to which crosscutting concepts and related pieces of disciplinary core ideas.
- See Part 2 Key: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment for scoring guidance and anticipated responses to the related questions on Part 2: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment.
- Here are three different headgear devices used for cheerleading that you reviewed in part 1 of this assessment.
- Your task is to create an optimal headgear design for a cheerleader to wear in a competition. Complete the prompts below to describe your design choices.
- 1. What is the purpose of the design? What criteria does the headgear you design need to meet?
- + Purpose of the design is to provide protection to the head.
Gaps
- Students may list additional constraints. All applicable and reasonable constraints are acceptable.
From Teacher Edition
View assessment opportunity →Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
15.C Design a solution to a problem to reduce the damage to an object in a collision (by reducing peak forces) by considering the properties of different materials and shapes being used to serve particular functions.
What to look / listen for
See Item alignment guide to determine which questions on Part 2: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment are aligned to which crosscutting concepts and related pieces of disciplinary core ideas. See Part 2 Key: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment for scoring guidance and anticipated responses to the related questions on Part 2: Cheerleading Headgear Assessment.
What to do
Refer to activities in Lessons 11-12 and the associated handouts for material properties and structures. Revisit the close-up and microscopic images of the protective materials and have students look for parallels in those properties. Analyze the data presented in Lesson 13 to spur the idea that space for air and deformation are important when selecting a cushioning material. Revisit models drawn in Lesson 13 in regards to how shape and thickness can distribute the forces over a greater area.
For question 5 of this part of the assessment, students are asked to write an argument for why their design solution is optimal and meets the needs of the stakeholder and to discuss what trade-offs were made and why. As part of this question, students are offered their choice of modality for expressing their explanation. They can either construct a written explanation or present their explanation orally. Offering students a choice in modality to share their explanation provides equal access for all students. Some students may benefit from drawing a representation of their design with labeling to point out how, why, and where their design solution is optimal. Some students may wish to put together this explanation using technology so they could present it to an audience. While other students may wish to orally present their explanation
Materials
Last updated from official OpenSciEd on 6/5/2026
Student handout
8.1 Lesson 15 Assessment Part 2 Cheerleading.docx
Google Form
Digitized — add an editable copy to your Google Forms
Teacher guide
8.1 Lesson 15 Teacher Edition.docx
Answer key (recommended)
8.1 Lesson 15 Answer Key Part 2 Key.docx
Rubric (recommended)
Not applicable for this assessment