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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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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Taisho Koto In the Taisho Koto task, students will explore the harmonies from Taisho Koto, a traditional Japanese instrument. They will learn about musical traditions and gain an appreciation of diverse musical traditions. |
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Talking Kites Around the World In the Talking Kites Around the World task, students will be learning about children' rights, learning about Korczak as a writer, and learning about Korczak's philosophy. They will make and fly a kite with their thoughts, fears, dreams, and/or hopes on them. The main outcome is the enhancement of important values, such as tolerance, acceptance of the "other", co-existence, listening, choosing dialog over force, universal solidarity etc. |
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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 Battle of Quebec, 1759 In this task, students will use multimedia resources to determine how the English won the Battle of Quebec in 1759. 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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