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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Crustal Sinking This task (in PALM and in PALS) focuses on the knowledge of the Stucture of the Eath System. Students must examine the relationship between Earth's Crust and the mantle by conducting an experiment in which they measure the rate at which a test tube sinks into "goo". This task includes: |
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Daytime Astronomy In this task, students will solve location problems by mapping the path the sun takes from sunrise to sunset. This task includes: |
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Debate Over the League of Nations This task measures students’ ability to source and contextualize a document. Students read a 1919 opinion column from The Evening Missourian. Students must then select the two facts that help them determine whether the opinions expressed in the column were typical or atypical of American attitudes about joining the League of Nations 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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Declaration of Independence 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 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 this might affect its reliability. Students are asked to agree or disagree with a claim regarding the usefulness of a painting for historians who wish to understand the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Students who understand the importance of when a document was produced will see that this painting is of minimal use for that purpose because it was produced over 50 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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Density In this task (in PALM and in PALS), students must conduct an experiment to observe how density will affect an object's ability to float in water. This task includes: |
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Density In this task, students will design and construct a boat out of tin foil to hold as many washers as possible. This task includes: |
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Density and Buoyancy In this task, students will predict which objects will float in water and explore the reasoning. This task includes: |
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Density and Buoyancy This task (in PALM and in PALS) focuses on Properties of Specific Substances. Students must experiment to analyze why and predict which objects will sink or float in water. This task includes: |
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Density of Minerals This task (in PALM and in PALS) focuses on Properties and Changes in Matter. Students must measure and determine the mass, volume, and density of two mineral samples. This task includes: |
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Density of a Sinker In this task, students will calculate the density, mass, and volume of a sinker and apply that knowledge to an alternate situation. This task includes: |
If you would like to recommend additional open-sourced performance task banks to be included in the database, or if you would like to report a broken link, please email Pai-rou Chen.
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