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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Causes of the War In this task, students will work on understanding the circumstances surrounding the causes of the War of 1812. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
China's Cultural Revolution This task assesses students' knowledge of the past—but rather than measure rote recall of decontextualized facts, this assessment requires students to make connections across time and construct an argument about how events are connected. Students with a strong sense of the past will be able to identify that the poster promotes Maoist teachings and explain that Mao Zedong rose to power during the Chinese Revolution. Strong students will also note that the utter failure of the Great Leap Forward diminished some of Mao’s power and reputation. They will elaborate that this failure contributed to Mao’s initiation of the Cultural Revolution in an attempt to eliminate critics and win back popular support. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment with source materials, as well as the Rubric containing benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Clay's American System This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how Henry Clay's speech defending his “American System”, and an editorial critique of federal government intervention, both support the conclusion that many Americans opposed increased government regulation at the time. 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 |
Cold War Foreign Policy This task assesses students’ ability to contextualize two historical documents, sequencing them in the correct chronological order. Document A is an excerpt from the joint resolution by the Allies at the Moscow Conference in 1943. Document B is from an article published in the Chicago Daily News on February 14, 1951. This task draws on students' knowledge about American foreign policy but in a way that goes beyond the simple recall of facts and dates. Students must show that they have a broad understanding of how American foreign policy changed over time, and demonstrate the ability to use knowledge about the past place the two documents in context. Students who correctly contextualize the documents will see that Document A, which describes an alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China against Germany, was a product of World War II foreign policy and therefore likely written before Document B, which refers to American Cold War containment policy in Korea. Resources available with this task include PDF documents of the assessment itself (with sources), as well as a rubric. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Connecting Math to Our Lives In this task, students will explore how math is being used in their community and shed light on promoting equity. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Connecting Math to Our Lives In the Connecting Math to Our Lives task, students will explore how math is used in their communities and take action to promote greater equity in the world around them. This task includes several possible projects and classroom activities. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Connections to the Philippine-American War This task assesses students' historical knowledge in a way that transcends the rote recall of facts by asking students to draw on their knowledge of the past to construct an argument about how two events are connected. Question 1 asks students to connect the explosion of the USS Maine to the imprisonment of Filipinos by the American military in 1901. Question 2 asks students how the popularity of Social Darwinism in the US is likewise connected to the imprisonment of Filipinos in 1901. 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 |
Consequences of Tecumseh In this task, students will read through primary and secondary documents to determine the consequences of the War of 1812. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Continuity and Change in Memorials In this task, students will compare the commemorations of the War of 1812 that took place in 1912 and 2012 and explore the continuities and changes that happened over time. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Creating Columbus Day This task assesses students' ability to evaluate the relevance of contextual information for determining the motivations of an author. Students must select one fact, and explain how it sheds light on why President Harrison declared Columbus Day a national holiday in 1892. Students with a strong understanding of contextualization will be able to explain how the fact that Catholic voters comprised an important voting block in the pending election might have affected Harrison's decision to honor an Italian Catholic explorer. 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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