Please note that many tasks were constructed prior to Common Core and the task alignments to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were not identified in the task materials. To search for the performance tasks explicitly aligned to the CCSS, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), or College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, please go to CCSS, NGSS, and C3 tabs.
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Labor Movement in the 1930's This task measures students’ ability to source and contextualize a document. Students read an excerpt from a 1994 interview with labor organizer Marianna Costa. Students must then select the two facts that help them determine whether Costa’s experience in the labor movement was typical or atypical of the experiences of most textile workers in the 1930s. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Lange's Iconic Photograph This task gauges students’ ability to source, contextualize, and corroborate a document. Students must consider how the context surrounding the creation of Lange’s iconic photograph affects its reliability as historical evidence of Dust Bowl life. Students must also analyze the photograph to determine how the content of the image might also affect its reliability. Finally, students are asked to determine missing information/perspective that would better help them evaluate the reliability of the document. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, many available for download with the creation of a free account:
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Louis XVI This task requires students to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of a document as historical evidence. Students with a sophisticated understanding of how to source a document will be able to explain that Jefferson's memoir is useful as evidence of Jefferson's thoughts on Louis XVI's leadership and his observations while in France. They will also observe that Jefferson's memoir was written many years after his time in France, making it less useful as specific evidence about Louis XVI's leadership. Resources include PDF downloads of the assessment with source materials, and a rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Lynching Controversy This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how an anti-lynching pamphlet written by activist Ida B. Wells, and an excerpt from the front page of a Florida newspaper article justifying lynching, both support the conclusion that many Americans opposed the practice. Resources include PDF downloads of the assessment with source materials, and a rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Migrant Mother This task requires students to consider the values and limitations of a document as historical evidence. Students with a sophisticated understanding of how to source a document will be able to explain that Lange's iconic photograph is useful in that it depicts migrant workers at the time. However, they will also point out that the fact that Lange was paid by Roosevelt's Resettlement Administration to take the photograph; potentially lessening its usefulness as evidence of the living conditions facing migrant workers. Resources include PDF downloads of the assessment with source materials, and a rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Morale after Fredericksburg This is a two-part task asking students to source and corroborate a primary source letter from a Union soldier describing low morale among Union soldiers after the Battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War. Question 1 asks students to evaluate whether the source provides sufficient evidence to demonstrate the morale of the entire Union Army. To answer this question, students must source the document to determine whether the author represents all Union troops. Question 2 asks students to evaluate whether additional documents would corroborate the letter. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, all accessible and available for download with the creation of a free account through the site:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Napoleon's Retreat This task measures students’ ability to source a document. When historians interpret a document, they first look to find out who wrote it and when. This information presents important clues about whether the source provides reliable evidence about the past. This assessment gauges whether students understand an important aspect of sourcing: the time elapsed between when a document was produced and the event that it depicts. Students who understand the importance of when a document was produced will see that the image of The Burning of Moscow is of little use to historians who wish to understand Napoleon's invasion of Russia, because it was produced over 80 years after the event. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, all accessible and available for download with the creation of a free account through the site:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Opposition to the Philippine-American War This task assesses students’ ability to use evidence to support a historical argument. Students are presented with two documents that provide different perspectives on the war in the Philippines. Students are then asked to explain how each of these disparate accounts supports the same historical conclusion: many Americans opposed the war in the Philippines. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, available for download with the creation of a free account:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Photographs of Working Children This task assesses students’ ability to source, contextualize, and corroborate a document. Students are asked to consider how the contextual information affects the reliability of Lewis Hine's photography. They then must consider how the content of the photograph could affect its reliability. Finally, students must think of other information they would like to know about the photographer or the circumstances surrounding the photograph to further evaluate its reliability. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Pickett's Charge This task measures students’ ability to source a document. This assessment gauges whether students understand an important aspect of sourcing: the time elapsed between when a document was produced and the event that it depicts- and how reliability may be affected. Students who understand the importance of when a document was produced will see that the painting is of little use to historians who wish to understand the immediate circumstances around Pickett's Charge because it was produced over 30 years after the event. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, all accessible and available for download with the creation of a free account through the site:
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