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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Chemical Weathering In this task, students will explore the relationship between water temperature and the speed of a chemical reaction. This task includes: |
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China's Cultural Revolution 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 be able to identify that the poster promotes Maoist teachings and explain that Mao Zedong rose to power during the Chinese Revolution. Strong students will also note that the utter failure of the Great Leap Forward diminished some of Mao’s power and reputation. They will elaborate that this failure contributed to Mao’s initiation of the Cultural Revolution in an attempt to eliminate critics and win back popular support. 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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Circular Motion In this task, students will examine objects as they move in circles to see what keeps them moving in that motion. This task includes: |
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Classification of Materials This task focuses on Understanding the Scientific Inquiry. Students must use a two-way classification system to organize people and objects. This task includes: |
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Classifications of Animals In this task, students will create a binary classifications system to sort plastic animals. This task includes: |
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Clay's American System This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how Henry Clay's speech defending his “American System”, and an editorial critique of federal government intervention, both support the conclusion that many Americans opposed increased government regulation at the time. 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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Cold War Foreign Policy This task assesses students’ ability to contextualize two historical documents, sequencing them in the correct chronological order. Document A is an excerpt from the joint resolution by the Allies at the Moscow Conference in 1943. Document B is from an article published in the Chicago Daily News on February 14, 1951. This task draws on students' knowledge about American foreign policy but in a way that goes beyond the simple recall of facts and dates. Students must show that they have a broad understanding of how American foreign policy changed over time, and demonstrate the ability to use knowledge about the past place the two documents in context. Students who correctly contextualize the documents will see that Document A, which describes an alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China against Germany, was a product of World War II foreign policy and therefore likely written before Document B, which refers to American Cold War containment policy in Korea. Resources available with this task include PDF documents of the assessment itself (with sources), as well as a rubric. |
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Community Photojournalists In this task, students must follow professional journalism and publication guidelines to create a collection of photo essays and audio recordings that represent an investigation into community based or cultural stories. This task includes: |
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Computers: The Root of All Evil or The Essence of Our Being? In this task, students will become the assistant manager of a Walmart and use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate customer's bills while the registers are broken. This task includes: |
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Connecting Math to Our Lives In this task, students will explore how math is being used in their community and shed light on promoting equity. This task includes: |
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