4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Content Guide & Five Items Resource
Introduction
The following information should be used as a companion to the CPI Links. It provides clarifications
concerning the content and skills contained in the CPI Links.
Remember that instruction should be much richer than assessment and that the examples
contained herein do not represent the variety of instructional strategies and supports necessary for
meaningful teaching and learning of academic content. The information and examples are intended
to clarify the intentions of the CPI Links so that assessment activities aligned to the links––and thus
to the state standards––can be developed or chosen appropriately for students who participate in
the NJ APA.
For each standard, you will find that this resource includes
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•
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The Test Specifications followed by the corresponding CPIs and Links
A Glossary of terms contained in the CPI Links
Five Items examples that show what constitutes five items for certain links where that may not
be clear.
How to Use This Resource
1) Review the “Steps to Developing an Entry” in Modules IV and V of the Fall Training.
2) Remember to make your decisions regarding which CPI Link you will use to assess your students
based on the individual needs of your students. Just because a particular link may be best for one
student does not mean it is best for another, especially given the diverse needs of the students who
participate in the NJ APA.
3) Once you have selected a CPI Link, use the Glossary to look up the definitions of any/all content
vocabulary terms contained in the language of the link. This will ensure your understanding of
those terms is consistent with the understanding set forth by the NJ DOE for the NJ APA.
4) If the CPI Link has an asterisk at the end of the link statement, you will find an example of that
link in the Five Items section to use as a guide/reference/model. Be sure to pay attention to the
“Important Considerations for this Link” section of the examples.
2015-2016 NJ APA Content Guide & Five Items Resource
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
4th Grade Science – Test Specifications and Links for
Standard 5.6 – Chemistry (Portfolio Entry 2)
For Standard 5.6: Chemistry, there is only one CPI available for APA assessment. It is from Strand A:
Structure and Properties of Matter. You must choose a link from this CPI.
Science CPI Links were developed with the understanding that Standard 5.1, Scientific Processes,
is a vital part of scientific thinking yet difficult to assess out of the context of the other science
standards. As a result, some of the Matched Links for science also reference particular CPIs from
5.1. In order to successfully instruct and assess a CPI Link that references 5.1 and to address the
Essence of the CPI, you must teach the Link using the scientific process. This may occur by teaching
the content of the Link within a scientific experiment, require the child to use inquiry, observation
or interpretation of data, etc. Always review Standard 5.1 when assessing a CPI Link that requires
evidence that incorporates this process. If the scientific process is required when assessing a CPI
Link but is missing from the evidence, the entry will receive zero scores.
STRAND A: Structure and Properties of Matter
You MUST CHOOSE the following CPI:
CPI 5.6.4A3 Recognize that water (as an example of matter) can exist as a solid, liquid, or
gas and can be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling
Essence of the CPI: Understand matter can exist as a solid, liquid, or a gas
Matched Link
Near Link
♦ Observe water changing
♦ State how heating or
from one state to another
cooling will change the
and record and explain why
form of water*
the water changed* 5.1.4A2 ♦ Describe physical
♦ Given a specific situation,
characteristics of water
explain what form water will
as a solid, liquid, and gas*
take and why* 5.1.4B2
2015-2016 NJ APA Content Guide & Five Items Resource
Far Link
♦ Identify examples of
water in solid, liquid,
and gaseous states*
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Glossary
Glossary – 5.6
Forms (of water) – solid, liquid, or gas
Gas – has neither a definite volume (size) nor a definite shape; molecules are spread out
Examples of water as a gas: water vapor from a pot of boiling water; water vapor during
evaporation in the water cycle
Gases that are not water and should not be used for this link: helium, carbon dioxide, car
exhaust, emissions from factories. Do not use smoke from burning wood, as it is not a gas, let
alone water.
Liquid – has a definite volume (size) but not a definite shape (takes the shape of its container); molecules
are free to slide past one another
Examples of water as a liquid: a glass of water; a lake; a river; a puddle; rain
Liquids that are not water and should not be used for this link: paint; ink; gasoline; oil
Solid – has a definite size and shape; molecules are packed tightly
Examples of Water as a solid: ice; snow; hail; sleet; iceberg
Solids that are not water and should not be used for this link: gelatin; wood; brick
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Five Items Examples
Five Items Examples
The Five Items examples are samples of activities that may be used as
models when choosing or developing activities for the APA.
They include specific considerations and guidelines that if not
followed will likely result in unscorable codes.
However, they do not show the required markings for
performance (+/-) or independence (I, V, G, M, P),
nor do they include student names and collection dates.
They are sample activities, not sample evidence.
Evidence must include all of the requirements of the
Universal Scoring Rules, which are explained in the training
modules and the Procedures Manual.
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Five Items Examples
CPI 5.6.4A3: Recognize that water (as an example of matter) can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas and
can be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling
Essence of the CPI: Understand matter can exist as a solid, liquid, or a gas
Matched Link, Bullet 1: “Observe water changing from one state to another and
record and explain why the water changed* 5.1.4A2”
Important Considerations for this Link:
• Assessing this skill in the context of an experiment addresses 5.1.4A2. The link statement
itself indicates that the student must actually observe water changing from one state to
another, and that is why standard 5.1: Scientific Processes is referenced.
• Remember that this link is exclusive to water.
• Be careful with the term “steam.” Steam is condensed water vapor and is therefore a liquid,
not a gas.
Directions to the student: 1) Place an ice cube in a bowl on the windowsill in the direct sun. 2)
Place water in a bowl and microwave it. 3) Place water in a bowl and put it in the freezer. 4)
Pour boiling water into a sink near a window. Record your observations for each, and explain
how and why things changed.
This example constitutes eight items.
Each observation is an item, and each explanation is an item.
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REVISED
4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Five Items Examples
CPI 5.6.4A3: Recognize that water (as an example of matter) can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas and can
be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling
Essence of the CPI: Understand matter can exist as a solid, liquid, or a gas
Matched Link, Bullet 2: “Given a specific situation, explain what form water will
take and why* 5.1.4B2”
Important Considerations for this Link:
• Requiring the student to explain the expected form of water and justify his/her answer addresses
the 5.1 Scientific Processes standard referenced in the CPI Link.
• Remember that this link is exclusive to water.
• Be careful with the term “steam.” Steam is condensed water vapor and is therefore a liquid, not a
gas.
• Temperatures should be presented with the units (i.e., degrees Farenheit oF or degrees Celsius oC).
Directions to the student: I’m going to read some scenarios to you. For each scenario, I want
you to explain what form the water will take and why. (The teacher read each scenario then
scribed each of the student’s responses.)
Scenario There is a small pond behind the school. The temperature last night dropped from
35o to 10o F, and it is expected to stay that cold all week. What form do you expect
1
the water in the pond to take and why?
Water on the surface of the pond will turn to ice, which is a solid, because
water freezes at 32o F.
Scenario Mom is making pasta for dinner. She puts the pot on the stove and turns the heat up
to high. What form will some of the water take after the water starts to boil; why will
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this happen?
Some of the water in the pot will change to water vapor, which is a gas,
because water boils at 212o F.
Scenario The temperature outside is 42o F. It starts to rain and the temperature drops to 28o
F. What form do you expect water will take and why?
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The water will become a solid, in the form of snow, because water freezes at
32o F.
Scenario There is a pan of boiling water on the stove. There is a lid on the pan. When you take
the lid off of the pan, what form of water will you find on the lid and why?
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There will be water droplets on the lid as the water in the bottom of the pan
heated then boiled, some of it turned to water vapor, which is a gas. But when
that water vapor hit the cooler lid, it condensed and turned back into liquid.
Scenario You put ice cubes in a glass and placed the glass on the counter for several hours.
What form did water in the ice take and why?
5
The water in the ice was a solid, but it melted into a liquid because the air
temperature was above 32o F.
This example constitutes five items.
Each explanation is an item.
2015-2016 NJ APA Content Guide & Five Items Resource
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Five Items Examples
CPI 5.6.4A3: Recognize that water (as an example of matter) can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas and can
be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling
Essence of the CPI: Understand matter can exist as a solid, liquid, or a gas
Near Link, Bullet 1: “State how heating or cooling will change the form of water*”
Important Considerations for this Link:
• Remember that this link is exclusive to water.
• Be careful with the term “steam.” Steam is condensed water vapor and is therefore a liquid, not
a gas.
Directions to the student: For each scenario, fill in the blanks to state how heating or cooling
will change the form of water using the word bank below. The words in the word bank may be
used more than once.
This example constitutes five items.
The student completed the salient information for each of the five cloze sentences. Each
sentence is an item.
2015-2016 NJ APA Content Guide & Five Items Resource
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Five Items Examples
CPI 5.6.4A3: Recognize that water (as an example of matter) can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas and can
be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling
Essence of the CPI: Understand matter can exist as a solid, liquid, or a gas
Near Link, Bullet 2: “Describe physical characteristics of water as a solid, liquid,
and gas*”
Important Considerations for this Link:
• Remember that this link is exclusive to water.
• Be careful with the term “steam.” Steam is condensed water vapor and is therefore a liquid, not
a gas.
• In addition to the descriptions shown in this link, the following descriptions are also
acceptable:
o Solid – has a definite size and shape
o Liquid – has a definite size but not a definite shape
o Gas – has neither a definite size nor a definite shape
This example constitutes seven items.
Each description is an item. In this case, the student was directed to include at least two
descriptions for each form and responded by providing three descriptions of water as a solid,
two descriptions of water as a liquid, and two descriptions of water as a gas, for a total of seven
items.
2015-2016 NJ APA Content Guide & Five Items Resource
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4th Grade Science, Standard 5.6
Five Items Examples
CPI 5.6.4A3: Recognize that water (as an example of matter) can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas and
can be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling
Essence of the CPI: Understand matter can exist as a solid, liquid, or a gas
Far Link, Bullet 1: “Identify examples of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous
states*”
Important Considerations for this Link:
• Remember that this link is exclusive to water. Do not use substances other than water when
assessing this link.
• Be careful with the term “steam.” Steam is condensed water vapor and is therefore a liquid,
not a gas.
• Notice the picture for “water vapor” used in this example. Since gases are invisible and
therefore difficult to represent with a picture, the lines coming from the pot of boiling water
were included along with the arrow pointing to them to indicate that this picture is
intended to represent water evaporating, turning to water vapor.
• If pictures are used (such as in this example), they must be labeled so that it is clear what
each picture is representing.
Directions to the student: Label each picture by pasting the correct term – liquid, solid, or gas.
This example constitutes six items.
The student labeled each picture as a liquid, solid or gas. Across the items solid, liquid, and
gas are each represented at least once.
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