Grade level
Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
Engaging in argument from evidence
Obtaining, communicating, and evaluating information
Patterns
PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation
In pairs or small groups, students create a secret code language using materials from the classroom to communicate with a partner, either through sounds or another way of communicating. Students worked with their partner to write down the ‘code’ that represented letters or words, and then tried to send and receive messages.
Artifacts A and B show two sample ‘secret codes’ that map a particular sound pattern to its meaning (as either a letter or a word). Artifacts C, D, and E are student responses to short-answer prompts completed on an end-of-class formative assessment. The task is aligned with the disciplinary core idea that technologies can use patterns in a variety of ways to transfer information, so our analysis focuses on student responses to the fourth question of the assessment.
Artifacts C, D, and E show gradations of understanding for the flexibility of how patterns can be used to transmit information. Artifact C stays specific to the anatomical structures most often used to communicate: mouth and hands. Artifact D lists several mechanisms for how humans can communicate, suggesting a more flexible understanding of using patterns to transfer information. Artifact E indicates that “anything” can be used to communicate, so long as you can decode and understand what it means.
