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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Seven Years' War This task assesses whether students can source and contextualize a document. Students must first examine an 1870s image of French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and then determine which fact can help them evaluate the reliability of the drawing as evidence of what happened at Fort William Henry. Strong students will be able to explain how prevailing attitudes about Native Americans (Fact 1) could affect how an artist depicts the past. 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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Seville Quran This task assesses students' knowledge of the time period of Muslim presence in Europe (1200’s)—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 understanding of the past will explain that the fact the featured source—the Quran—was made in Seville, points to the Islamic presence in the city in 1226. As an Islamic city in Iberia, it was the target of the Reconquista, which was raging at the time this Quran was completed. A strong response to the second question in this task might explain that in the 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate expanded to Seville and beyond, establishing Islam as the dominant religion in Seville for centuries to come. 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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Signing of the Mayflower Compact 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 document 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 this painting offers limited evidence to historians who wish to understand the signing of the Mayflower Compact because it was produced over 200 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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Singing Grams In this task, students will collaborate on a music greeting to be performed at a local nursery home. This task includes: |
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Slave Quarters This task reveals students' ability to source a document, in order to see both its values and limitations. Students will be able to explain how a photograph of former slave quarters provides some evidence of the living conditions of slaves. They will also observe how the fact that the photograph was taken decades after the abolition of slavery limits its usefulness as evidence of antebellum living conditions. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, many available for download with the creation of a free account:
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Standard Oil Company This task assesses students' ability to evaluate the relevance of contextual information for determining the motivations of an author. Students must select two facts from a cartoon made by Udo Keppler in 1904, and explain how they shed light on his depiction of Standard Oil. Students with a strong understanding of contextualization will be able to explain how the company's growing control over the oil industry, and Tarbell's muckraking reports on Standard Oil, may have influenced Keppler's depiction. 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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Steamboats on Kootenay Lake In this task, students will explore the context of people living around Kootenay Lake, among other communities around surrounding bodies of water. This task includes: |
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Tennis Court Oath 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 explain that the representatives depicted signed the Tennis Court Oath, which rejected the doctrine of divine right and pronounced that political power came from the people and their representatives. A strong response to the second question may explain that the huge cost of the Seven Years’ War contributed to a financial crisis in France. This resulted in higher taxes and anger among the public, creating popular discontent. The Tennis Court Oath was a product of this discontent. 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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The Case of the Clock 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 Edward Curtis altered a photograph of Native Americans before publishing it. Students with a strong understanding of contextualization will be able to explain how the popular belief that Indians did not understand modern technology might have influenced Curtis's decision to alter the photograph. 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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The Changing Faces of Tourism in Canada In this task, students will examine photographs and brochures to determine the continuity and change in tourism throughout British Columbia. This task includes: |
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