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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Together With Birds In the Together With Birds task, students will research information about the birds of their community through birdwatching, organizing activities, and sharing information with each other. They will share information with each other through pictures they have taken and essays. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Traders in the West This task assesses whether students can source and contextualize a document. Students must first examine an account of the interactions between American traders and Native Americans, then determine which facts can help them evaluate the account's reliability. Strong students will be able to explain how Farnham's vested interest in the event (Fact 2) and in gaining territory for the American flag (Fact 3) may have shaped his telling of the incident. 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 |
Tupac Amaru II This task assesses students' knowledge of the time period of native resistance to Spanish exploration (1700’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 sense of the time period will explain that Túpac Amaru II led a rebellion against the Spanish, who conquered the Inca Empire under the direction of Francisco Pizarro. A strong response to the second question may explain that Amaru’s rebellion destabilized Spanish control over Peru, partially leading to Spain's defeat in the Peruvian War of Independence. Alternatively, students may identify the call for independence enunciated by Amaru during the rebellion as the inspiration and precursor to the Peruvian War of Independence. 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 |
Two Accounts of the Fall of New France In this task, students will interpret two accounts of how the fall of New France in order to learn about competing narratives. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites In the UNESCO World Heritage Sites task, students will explore and research the heritage of their country. In the forum, they will present their country and Unesco heritage sites, it's history, the tales about the place, and its meaning in their country's and the world's history. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Unions in Paterson, New Jersey This task gauges students' ability to source and contextualize a document. Students first listen to an excerpt from an interview with Marianna Costa, a union leader from Paterson, New Jersey. Students then analyze four historical facts and determine which ones can help discern whether Costa’s account of union accomplishments is historically reliable. 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 |
Unit Wrap-Up: Community and Change and the War of 1812 In this task, students will explore the continuities and changes in the interpretations of the War of 1812 throughout the last two centuries. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Voyage (Volunteer of Youth Age) The Voyage (Volunteer of Youth Age) task aims to arouse the awareness of the Youth to care for people and things all round us, such as our living environment, the orphans, the disabled students, the paralytics, and the victims of natural calamities at home and abroad. Its goal is to urge the Youth to take action and work out some ways to help the needy as volunteers. Students will create a diary report on volunteering, a photo collections on their youth service, make art work, write essays, and present a report. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Wall of Names The Wall of Names task is designed to support student self-expression using various artistic devices and to teach them to cherish intercultural exchanges. This task includes discussion, research, writing, and creating art. The task includes a description of a possible classroom activity. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Washington Crosses Delaware 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 source 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 the painting shown in this task is of little use to historians who wish to understand the Battle of Trenton, because it was produced 100 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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