Teacher Monitoring Guide
Grade 7 · Cycle 4 · Week 3 — Carbon Cycle &
Sequestration
Learning Goal
Students will model how carbon moves through the atmosphere, ocean, land,
and living organisms, and evaluate the effectiveness of natural and
engineered carbon sequestration strategies.
Station Checkpoints
Station 1 — Hook & Phenomenon
Look for: Students connecting the phenomenon to prior knowledge and
generating testable questions
Common misconception: Carbon in the air is just pollution — distinguish
CO2 as an essential molecule for photosynthesis and climate regulation
before discussing excess
Station 2 — Investigation / Data Collection
Look for: Accurate data recording and identification of emerging
patterns in the evidence
Common misconception: Planting trees will solve climate change — use
quantitative data on sequestration rates vs. emission rates to build
realistic scale understanding
Station 3 — Sense-Making
Look for: Students revising their model based on evidence collected
during investigation
Common misconception: Carbon is only stored in trees — map the ocean,
soil, permafrost, and geological formations as major carbon reservoirs
with different timescales
Exit Ticket Monitoring
| Score Range |
Interpretation |
Next Step |
| 18–23 pts |
Meeting target |
Extend with synthesis question |
| 10–17 pts |
Developing |
Small group re-teach at day start |
| 0–9 pts |
Needs support |
1:1 intervention before next station |
MTSS Tier 2 Supports
For students scoring below 10 pts on the exit ticket: use the sentence
frames below during the next class's hook.
- "I notice that _____ because _____."
- "The evidence shows _____, which means _____."