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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The Blizzard of 1993 This task (in PALM and in PALS) focuses on the Structure of the Earth System. Students must analyze a barograph from a winter storm in 1993. This task includes: |
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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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The Evolution of Perception: Attitudes Regarding French Language and Culture Within Canada as Turning Points In this task, students will explore whether or not there has been changes throughout history in in French and Quebec culture in Canada. This task includes: |
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The FLQ - Was the Wars Measure Act a Necessity or an Over-reaction? In this task, students will develop a historical argument on whether or not they believe the invocation of the War Measures Act was just or not. This task includes: |
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The First Thanksgiving This task measures students’ ability to source a document. When historians interpret a document, they look at who wrote it and when. Source information presents clues about whether the document provides reliable evidence about the past. This task gauges whether students understand an important aspect of sourcing: the time elapsed between when a document (in this case, a painting) was produced, and the event it depicts. To accomplish this, students must agree or disagree with a claim about the usefulness of the source, and explain their thinking. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, many available for download with the creation of a free account:
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The Function of Form In this task, students will explore compositional form by improvising and writing compositions. This task includes; |
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The KKK in the 1870's This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how an 1872 editorial describing the organization of the Ku Klux Klan, and a testimony given before Congress describing Klan intimidation, both support the conclusion that Americans were concerned about the KKK during the 1870's. 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 New Americans Project In this task, students will be partnered with a new American, or someone who has immigrated, and learn about their lives through interviews and research. This task includes: |
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The Next Avatar In this task, students will act as a design team for a movie studio and design a new organism and habitat for an upcoming science fiction movie. 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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