Teacher Pages
Respiratory System Scenario
Copyright © 2014 by Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
All rights reserved. Educational institutions within the State of Washington have permission to reproduce
this document. All other individuals wishing to reproduce this document must contact OSPI.
Directions to the teacher for administering the items are above the question text. The text in the
script font is identical to the text in the student scenario and questions. This text may be read
aloud to the student or the student may read the questions to her/himself.
Teacher Notes for Respiratory System:
The Respiratory System scenario is inclusive of two items that address the following science EALRs:
EALR 3: Application, and EALR 4: Life Science, LS3. Teachers may select one or all of the items in the
Berry Search scenario for the student to respond to.
Task
Respiratory
System
Question
SYS
Write a Conclusion
Society and Science
INQ
APP
LS1
LS3
INQ
APP
Science vocabulary that may require pre-teaching:
Carbon dioxide
Centimeters
Cystic Fibrosis
Genetic disorder
Investigative question
Liter
Lung capacity
Oxygen
Respiratory system
Volume
2
LS2
Science LDA: Respiratory System Teacher Pages
LS3
Directions: Use the following information to write a scientific conclusion.
Deepak was learning about parts of the human body. The diagram shows the parts of
the respiratory system and what the parts do. The respiratory system in animals is
responsible for the exchange of gases in the body with gases in the air, meaning getting
oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. Many systems in the human body interact with each
other.
Read the labels in the Respiratory System diagram as students point to each part of the diagram.
Point to the Respiratory System diagram in student packet. Ask the student to point to the lungs. Ask
the student to take a deep breath and think about the air going into his/her lungs. Ask the student to
blow out their breath.
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Science LDA: Respiratory System Teacher Pages
Directions: Use the following information to write a conclusion.
Deepak’s science class wondered if a student’s height affects the student’s lung capacity.
They did the following investigation.
Question: What is the effect of student height on lung capacity?
Students blew up balloons with a single breath and measured the volume. The results of
the investigation are shown in the table below.
Read the information in the Student Height vs Lung Capacity data table as students point to each part
of the data table.
Student Height vs. Lung Capacity
Lung Capacity
Student Height
(Liters)
(centimeters)
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
4
Average
130
2.77
2.40
2.48
2.55
150
3.70
3.59
3.55
3.62
170
5.45
5.61
5.35
5.49
Science LDA: Respiratory System Teacher Pages
Respiratory System Item 1: Write a Conclusion
Complete the conclusion for Deepak’s class investigation.
In your conclusion, be sure to:
 Answer the investigative question.
 Include supporting data from the Student Height vs. Lung Capacity table.
 Explain how these data support your conclusion.
Question: What is the effect of student height on lung capacity?
Conclusion:
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Science LDA: Respiratory System Teacher Pages
Respiratory System Item 2: Society and Science
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that can cause people with the disorder to have
difficulty breathing. People can give money to help scientists do research on genetic
disorders. Describe how providing support for research on genetic disorders might help
society.
In your description be sure to

Describe a question scientists could research about genetic disorders.

Describe how information about that question could help people with a genetic
disorder.
Research question:
How the research information could help people:
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Science LDA: Respiratory System Teacher Pages
Scoring Guide for Respiratory System Items
Respiratory System Item 1: Write a conclusion
Performance Description
Student responses may provide evidence of understanding of:
 Writing a conclusion for a controlled investigation (EALR 2: Inquiry)
Attributes of a Conclusion for a Controlled Experiment
Attribute Name
Conclusive
statement
Description
Conclusive statement correctly answers the experimental question (or correctly
states whether the hypothesis/prediction was correct):
As the students’ height got larger the lung capacity got larger.
Supporting data should at least be over the entire range of the conditions investigated. Thus the minimum
reported data are the lowest and highest conditions of the manipulated variable for quantitative data
(responding variable when the manipulated variable information is descriptive).
Supporting data for
lowest condition
The volume of the smallest average lung capacity was 2.55 liters. That student was
130 centimeters tall
Supporting data for
highest condition
The volume of the largest average lung capacity was 5.49 liters. That student was
170 centimeters tall.
Explanatory
language
Explanatory language, separate from the conclusive statement, is used to connect
or compare the supporting data to the conclusive statement:
So, the tallest student had the largest lung capacity.
Respiratory System Item 2: Society and Science
Performance Description
Student responses may provide evidence of understanding of:
 Applying science concepts to solve problems. (EALR 3: Application) AND
 Mechanisms of Evolution (EALR 4: Life Science, LS3)
The response describes how providing support for research on genetic disorders might help society by:
 Describing a question scientists could research about genetic disorders AND
 Describing how information about that question could help people with a genetic disorder.
Examples:
Research question
How information could
help people
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





Are genetic disorders treatable by special diets?
What kind of medicine can treat genetic disorders?
How can we test babies for genetic disorders?
Increasing how long they live
Making their life healthier
Lowering cost of treating the disease
Science LDA: Respiratory System Teacher Pages