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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Source Subject Grade Level |
Creature Features In the Creature Features task, students will sort cards into three groups on a chart: Bird, Insect, and Mammal. Then they will answer eight questions. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task are a set of ten cards: monarch butterfly, fantail, rooster, dog, dragonfly, pig, horse, bee, ant, kiwi; a set of 4 extra cards: spider, weta, whale, bat; and a laminated chart. This task is a part of the Living World task series from 1995. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dancing Currants The Dancing Currants task allows students to explore and explain the properties of gas. Students will watch what happens when currents are dropped into a glass of lemonade and discuss and record what they observe with their team. They will answer three questions with their team. Resources required for this task include two plastic glasses, a "working together" team guide, lemonade, twelve currants, a team answer sheet, and two sample cups. This task is a part of the Physical World task series from 2007. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Daytime, Night Time The Daytime, Night Time task allows students to demonstrate their understanding the relationship between the rotation of the earth relative to the sun and the time of day or night for different locations on the earth. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task include a globe, a flashlight, and a recording book. This task is a part of the Planet Earth and Beyond task series from 1999 by NEMP. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dead Mouse The task Dead Mouse allows students to identify and explain the application of a lever to shift a heavy object, and choose a suitable arrangement from three options. Students will answer four questions. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task include a video and a recording book. This task is a part of the Physical World task series from 1999 by NEMP. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dinosaurs The Dinosaur task allows students to look at a model of a triceratops, comment on its living environment, food sources, means of protection, and reasons for eventual extinction. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. The resource required for this task is a plastic triceratops model. This task is a part of the Living World task series from 1999 by NEMP. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dirty Water The Dirty Water task allows students to demonstrate their knowledge on evaporation and condensation and watch a short video showing dirty water was turned into clean water. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task include a video recording on laptop computer and picture showing the three forms of water. This task is a part of the Material World task series from 2003 by NEMP |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Disappearing Water The Disappearing Water task allows students to demonstrate their explanation of evaporation and their understanding of the water cycle. Students will complete this task working in stations. The resource required for this task include a video showing evaporation with hand fanning and the use of a hair dryer. This task is a part of the Material World task series from 1999. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dropping Coins The Dropping Coins task allows students to demonstrate their intuition or prior learning about the effects of gravity on objects of differing mass, then carry out a practical investigation and interpret the outcome. Students will complete this task working in stations. Resources required for this task include a two coins of different weight and size. This task is a part of the Physical World task series from 1999. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dunes The Dunes task allows students to learn about the function and protection of sand dunes. Students will look at pictures of a beach with sand dunes and answer five questions. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task include two pictures of a beach with sand dunes. This task is a part of the Planet Earth and Beyond World task series by NEMP from 2007. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Emptying Rate The Emptying Rate task allows students to plan and conduct an investigation of the flow properties of liquids of different viscosity. Students will complete this task working in teams. Resources required for this task include a video demonstrating the task, a basin, a 500ml plastic drink bottle with bottom cut off and small hole drilled in cap, tap water, a 900ml bottle of detergent, a measuring jug, a laminated activity card, a results sheet, and a stopwatch. This task is a part of the Material World task series from 1999. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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