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 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 Role of Women This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how a conservative political cartoon about women's societal roles, and feminist writing by radical feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both support the conclusion that many Americans opposed the shift of women's roles from the private sphere to the public. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. Also included are links to the original primary sources through the Library of Congress. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
The Teddy Bear Project The The Teddy Bear Project task aims to foster tolerance and understanding of cultures other than your own. After teachers register, the facilitator matches each class with a partner class. the classes send each other a Teddy Bear or other soft toy by airmail through the normal postal system. The "bears" will send back diary messages by email or through the iEARN Teddy Bear Forum at least once a week. The students will write the diary messages from the "bears", pretending they are the visiting bears describing their experiences in the new culture. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
The Underground Railroad In this task, students will participate in an online simulation of the Underground Railroad in order to better understand the historical context of the time. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
The Virginia Company This task assesses whether students can source and contextualize a document. Students must first examine a report on the progress of the Virginia Company, then determine which fact can help them evaluate the report's reliability. Strong students will be able to explain how the Company's desire to attract new investors (Fact 2) may have led the authors to put a positive spin on life in Virginia. 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 |
The War of 1812 This task assesses students' knowledge of the past—but rather than measure rote recall of decontextualized facts, the task 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 be able to explain that President Madison's proclamation of war on Britain was in part due to trade restrictions enforced by the British during the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain. Students will also explain that Britain's support for Native American tribes resisting US expansion into the Northwest Territory contributed to the declaration of war on Britain. 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 |
This American Life: An Immigration Project In this task, students will explore the trials of immigration as well as the history of a group of immigrants through interviews, literature circles, and field experiences. This task includes: |
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Timber: History of BC's Logging Industry In this task, students will use pictures and timelines to determine changes in the logging industry throughout the last couple centuries. This task includes: |
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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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