Teachers’ Guide

Why Do People Live The Way They Do? Common Assessment

World History

Directions for Giving This Task

Before You Give This Task

Review the Standards and Grade Span Expectations Assessed by This Task (Section 1). In order to prepare your

students adequately for this task, review the Standards and Grade Span Expectations listed in Section 1. These are the

proficiencies your students will need to demonstrate in order to meet standard on the task. In this first section you will

find:

Rhode Island Applied Learning Standards (which show the ways students will apply their learning in the task);

Depth of Knowledge Strategic Thinking; and

Grade Span Expectations and appropriate content standards.

Consult the Teacher Directions (Section 2) and the Learning and Teaching Guide (Section 4). The Teacher

Directions give you suggestions for how to prepare your students for this task. Read them thoroughly before you

begin to instruct students. The Learning and Teaching Guide provides you with many ideas for what you and your

students can do to develop the skills and knowledge that are explicitly scored on this task. Use this as a resource as

you develop lessons related to this task.

Review the Rubric (Section 7). This rubric will be used to score this task and should be reviewed with your students.

The rubric helps you and the student understand in detail what a student needs to know and be able to do to succeed on

this task. The Task Criteria (Section 5) shows only that part of the rubric that describes how students meet standard.

This document is designed to be part of your classroom discussion of these criteria, with space provided for students to

take notes. Each student task booklet contains a copy of this document.

Review the Task Conditions (Section 3). You are responsible for administering this task carefully and fairly. Your

role is to create conditions in which students can do their best work, not to help them “pass” this task by giving them

preparation specific to the Prompt (Section 6).

Accommodations should be made for students who legitimately need them. In Section 3, you will find information to

help you specify accommodations in task administration and modifications that may be required in scoring.

As You Give This Task This task requires three 60-minute sessions to complete. The students should be given the graphic organizer and

materials/documents prior to the 60 minute writing session. The teacher may read these documents aloud, but you may

not interpret the documents in any way.

Again, you may read the prompt aloud but do not interpret it for the students. Students who do not complete the

writing piece in 60 minutes may have an additional 10 minutes to complete their work.

Section 1. The Standards and Grade Span Expectations Assessed by This Task The Depth of Knowledge (DOK) references show the Webb level of knowledge the task assesses.

RIDE Applied Learning Standards

Critical thinking: the student analyzes a piece of work and detects incompleteness, inconsistency and opportunities for expansion of ideas, products, procedures, etc.: (DOK 3)

Research: in which the student uses information tools and technology to learn and deepen his or her understanding about a topic or area of interest. (DOK 3)

Communication: The student questions, informs, and learns from others. (DOK 3)

ASFMS Social Studies Grade Span Essential Question(s)

#2 – Why do people live the way they do?

National U.S./World History Standards

See Essential Question W.H. Standards Document – Different standards apply to different eras and regions.

National Center for History in Schools – Historical Thinking Standards

Standard 3 : Historical Analysis and Interpretation

Standard 5 : Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making

Rhode Island Grade Span Expectations (GSEs) for Government and Civics and Historical Perspectives/Rhode Island History

HP 1 (7-8) –1 Students act as historians, using a variety of tools (e.g., artifacts and primary and secondary sources) by… a. identifying appropriate sources and using evidence to substantiate specific accounts of human activity DOK 2, 3 HP 2 (7-8) – 2 Students chronicle events and conditions by… a. identifying key events and people of a particular historical era or time period (e.g., centuries, BCE, “The Sixties”) DOK 1 HP 2 (7-8) – 3 Students show understanding of change over time by… a. establishing a chronological order by working backward from some issue, problem, or event to explain its origins and its development over time; and to construct an historical narrative DOK 3

G&C 5 (7-8) – 1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the many ways Earth’s people are interconnected by… a. tracing and explaining social, technological, geographical, economical, and cultural connections for a given society of people (trade, transportation, communication) DOK 3

Rhode Island (Other Subject Here – like ELA) Grade Span Expectations ELA standards here…

Section 2. Teacher Directions

General Planning

This task should match curriculum you have introduced to your students. What thinking strategies will students need to use to be successful on this task? Students will need to be able to:

Evaluate and interpret historical artifacts

Synthesize information to solve an issue.

Use appropriate information as evidence.

Evaluate and interpret historical artifacts and documents.

Write an interpretive essay. To complete this task successfully, ensure your students are able to:

Analyze and interpret informational texts.

Complete the preparatory Graphic Organizer to complete the task – Weigh Evidence.

Select and summarize key ideas/evidence and establish a context.

Extract evidence from the text to support interpretations.

Use rubrics or criteria sheets to check one’s own work and determine what makes a good response. Prior to giving this task:

This common assessment can be used for the units: Ancient Egypt & the Near East, East Asian History, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Europe After the Fall of the Roman Empire. Provide prior instruction in chosen content unit, specifically the geographic History Alive! Lesson (e.g., Ancient Egypt and the Near East – Mapping the Physiographic Features of Egypt and the Near East). Do not provide direct instruction on the specific documents included in this task.

The documents to be used in this assessment include the following (Only to use History Alive! materials in the following lessons): Ancient Egypt and the Near East (Lesson: Creating an Illustrated Journal About Egyptian Daily Life), East Asian History (Daily Life in the Han Dynasty), Ancient Greece (Touring Athens in the Golden Age), Ancient Rome (Writing a Travel Guide About Daily Life in Ancient Rome), Europe After the Fall of the Roman Empire (Life in Medieval Europe).

Read and discuss the rubric and criteria sheet pointing out the most important details of both.

Provide adequate class time for students to independently complete the Graphic Organizer and Guided Task Prompt.

Read and review the Documents: Geographic Setting of the Inca Civilization and the Daily Life of the Inca Civilization Example provided with your students, so that they understand how the Graphic Organizers and text should be used in the assessment.

Use class world atlas as class to show physical features and geography of the region of study. Note:

Do not provide students with the task prompt prior to the writing of the task.

Do not help students with their analysis of the specific documents for this task.

Section3. Task Conditions

Accommodations to Meet Special Needs

To the teacher: Describe any accommodations required by the student’s IEP, 504 Plan,

PLP, or in relation to his/her entering/beginning status as an English Language Learner

that you made in the way this task was administered.

Presentation/format:

_______________________________________________________________________

Timing/scheduling: ___Unit? 60 minute class period for

prompt_________________________________________

Mode of response:

_________________________________________________________________________

Environment/setting:

_______________________________________________________________________

Scoring Modifications

Students with individual learning needs may require a modification(s) in the way this

task is scored. (For example, a student with dyslexia might not be scored on the spelling

component of the rubric.) These individual learning needs should be described in the

student’s IEP, 504 Plan, PLP, or in relation to the student’s entering/beginning status on

the ACCESS Test for English Language Learners. If the way this task is scored should be

modified, be sure to describe this modification in the box on the cover of the task.

To complete this task, the student:

Must work alone.

May use a dictionary or thesauraus.

Is allotted two 60 minutes sessions to analyze and complete the Graphic Organizer.

Is allotted a 60 minute session to answer the prompt.

These conditions should be followed unless a student requires accommodations for this task…

Preparatory Worksheets The Teacher Must:

Provide the allotted time for students to read and independently complete the Graphic

Organizer for the task.

Collect all materials for the task at the end of each session.

Not assist students with document analysis.

Allow students to use (materials here)

Inform students that the preparatory materials will NOT be scored.(?)

Section 4: Learning and Teaching Guide Social Studies with Suggested Strategies

Instructions to students and teachers: The guide explains what students can do to develop proficiencies meeting

different expectations assessed by a task. It also shows what teachers can do to help students strengthen those

proficiencies. Students whose performance did not meet standard on a task should schedule time to work on those

proficiencies. Teachers should make sure students understand what they need to learn and use the instructional

techniques most likely to help students develop those proficiencies.

Expectations for

what a student can

do

Meets standard

What students need to do to become

proficient

What teachers need to do to help

s tudents become prof ic ient

Through a combina t ion of whole c lass ,

g roup, pa i r , and ind iv idua l

ins t ruc t ion , the fo l lowing

ins t ruc t ional ac t iv i t ie s could be

implemented .

Establishes a

context

*

Establishes context by

selecting and summarizing

key ideas.

W-10-2.1; W-10-14.1

Establishes an interpretive

claim/assertion in the form of

a thesis when responding to a

given prompt. W-10-3.1a

Identify the condition, situation or

issue in a piece of writing.

Identify elements of writing that

establish context.

Identity elements of reflection.

Describe what the elements of

context are in specific pieces of

writing.

Recognize controlling statements

that are clear and unclear.

Practice writing controlling

statements.

Practice writing reflective journal

entries.

Model context writing.

Provide pieces of writing that establish context.

Model controlling statements, contextual

writing, and reflective pieces.

Explain elements of reflection.

Provide quotes for student reflection and

analysis.

Guide group and individual practice for

reflective writing.

Provide reflective journal prompts.

Lead discussion on evaluation of all work.

Provide analogies for practice in analysis.

Assign reflective essays.

Conference with writers on reflective writing

elements.

Provides

Evidence

*

Supports logical arguments

with detailed evidence from

the text provided, prior

knowledge, and/or the broader

world of ideas. NCHS 4F

Examine informational texts to

develop comprehension skills

Practice using the document

analysis worksheet (sample

attached) to identify:

o Central questions,

o The purpose, perspective,

and point of view of the

author (author bias)

o Relevant and extraneous

information

Practice identifying rhetorical /

persuasive strategies in various

works (e.g., published papers,

student work).

Practice embedding quotes and/or

evidence into body paragraphs in

groups, pairs and individually.

Practice scoring work against

rubric to inform student work.

Review rubric and explain criteria in sections.

Share various models of body paragraphs,

argument, counterargument, rebuttal in student

work and/or published documents for students

to identify and emulate their characteristics.

Model the revision process involved with

writing body paragraphs to ensure that ample

and appropriate evidence supports position.

Score student work using the rubric with

students.

Model using the graphic organizer to identify

central questions, purpose, perspective, and

point of view

Provide students multiple opportunities to use

graphic organizers to understand informational

text

Section 4: Reflective Essay Learning and Teaching Guide Social Studies with

Suggested Strategies (continued)

Expectations for what

a student can do

Meets standard

What students need to do to become

proficient

What teachers need to do to help

s tudents become prof ic ient

Through a combination of whole class, group,

pair, and individual instruction, the following

instructional activities could be implemented.

Demonstrates

Critical

Thinking

*

Analyzes a condition, or

situation of significance as

the basis for the reflection.

W-10-14.2

Accurately selects and uses

a range of elaboration

techniques such as

questioning, comparing,

connecting, interpreting,

analyzing, or describing to

establish a focus.

W-10-14.4

Provides closure, leaving

the reader with something

to think about. W-10-14.5

Identify samples of comparison and

contrast, concrete details, and

description.

Practice writing that contains

comparison and contrast, concrete

details, description and scenarios.

Revise work to improve writing

strategies.

Practice using graphic organizers.

Use transitional devices when writing

an essay.

Create topic and concluding sentences

for each paragraph in an essay.

Practice writing introductions, body

paragraphs, and conclusions.

Analyze and discuss sample essays,

paragraphs for coherence and clarity.

Review writing process.

Provide exemplary uses of writing strategies.

Model writing process.

Provide examples that distinguish ranges of

writing strategies.

Guide group and individual practice for

writing strategies.

Conference with student writers to assess and

self-assess use of writing strategies.

Encourage students to formulate thoughts

before writing (i.e. brainstorm; outline or

graphic organizer).

Teach writing hooks and leads to engage

readers and connect to prompt/task (provide

practice).

Practice using rubrics with students to

determine what makes a good response.

Provide students with anchor sets and provide

opportunity to grade student work.

Model writing an organized essay using

group instruction.

Model writing an organized essay using

group instruction.

Creates an

organizing

structure

Uses an organizational

structure that allows for a

progression of ideas to

develop. W-10-1.1-4, 3.4;

W-10-4.6; W-10-14.3, 5

The response includes an

opening, body, and

closure.

Become familiar with commonly

misused words

Work on sentence structure and

complexity.

Apply rules of grammar (i.e.

punctuation, capitalization, and

spelling).

Employ revision and proofreading

techniques.

Practice writing introductions, body

paragraphs, and conclusions.

Offer in context grammar and vocabulary

lessons

Facilitate writers’ workshops.

Provide direction and practice of various

revision techniques.

Demonstrates

command of

written

language

conventions

Demonstrates control of

usage, grammar,

punctuation, sentence

construction, and spelling.

W-10-9.1-5

Occasional errors do not

interfere with meaning.

Identify the condition, situation or

issue in a piece of writing.

Identify elements of writing that

establish context.

Identity elements of reflection.

Describe what the elements of context

are in specific pieces of writing.

Recognize controlling statements that

are clear and unclear.

Practice writing controlling statements.

Practice writing reflective journal

entries.

Provide peer reflection.

Model context writing.

Provide pieces of writing that establish

context.

Model controlling statements, contextual

writing, and reflective pieces.

Explain elements of reflection.

Provide quotes for student reflection and

analysis.

Guide group and individual practice for

reflective writing.

Provide reflective journal prompts.

Lead discussion on evaluation of all work.

Provide analogies for practice in analysis.

Assign reflective essays.

Conference with writers on reflective writing

elements.

Section 5. Task Criteria This list of criteria describes what your students need to do in order to meet standard on this task. You should explain

each expectation in the Meets Standard column. Be sure all your students understand what each expectation means

before you give your class this task. In order to meet standard on this task, a students cannot get a “zero” or a “one” on

any expectation in this task.

When you discuss these criteria with your class, ask them to use the right hand column to take notes, write down hints

to themselves, record points that seem important to them or things that they don’t want to forget. Expecta t ions Meets Standard

3 Student Notes:

*

Purpose

-Focus clearly stated in the

beginning and referenced

throughout the piece.

-Is appropriate to audience.

-Clearly establishes background

context.

W-7.2, 7.3, 8.3.

*

Organization

-Has a strong opening, well-

developed body, and a strong AHA

conclusion.

-Uses effective transitions between

ideas and paragraphs.

-Has clear, consistent coherence

and unity.

-Written in a logical sequence.

W- 6.2

* Voice/tone

-Is appropriate and engaging to

audience (May be formal/academic

or informal voice.)

-Sentence structure is varied.

-Language is powerful, and word

choice is precise.

W-7.3, 7.4

Details/Elaboration

-Contains only relevant info

supported with specific evidence.

-Facts are accurate and supported

by detail.

-Provides depth of info.

-Work is cited where appropriate.

W-8.1, 8.2, 8.4

R-7.3, 7.2, 15

Section 6. Task Prompt/Other?

You are part of an archeological team working for National Geographic Magazine charged with a special assignment to research an ancient civilization. Each day you are required to report back to your editor on what artifacts you have witnessed or uncovered. More importantly, the magazine is interested in what you can infer from these findings and what they tell about life during ancient times. Since you are out in the field for your job, you do not have access to a computer to email your findings. Instead, you need to keep a detailed, written journal that must be shipped by mail to your editor. Review the artifacts below and choose four of them to write a journal entry on, including what they say about how local geography impacted everyday life during the civilization that you are studying. Reference the evidence provided to support your conclusions.

ASFMS Social Studies Department Common Assessment

Geographic Setting of the Inca Civilization

Peruvian Highlands: The Inca settled in these steep valleys and mountains. They had terraced farming and high altitude roads or trails for transportation. Thought provoking question: Why were bridges important in controlling the Incan empire? Why no wheel? Roads: The Inca constructed about 14,000 miles of roads.

This rope bridge, strung across a gorge in the Andes, is similar to those used by the Inca. Incan bridges were made with strong cords of braided vines and reeds. The bridges were part of the huge road network that linked every part of the empire. Only soldiers and government officials were allowed to use this system of roads and bridges. Critical Thinking: Why were bridges important in controlling the Incan empire?

The ancient city of Machu Picchu (8,200 feet above sea level) is located high in the Andes about 54 miles from Cuzco (the Incan capital). It was home for several thousand people. It also served as a religious center. Some of the buildings located on higher ground (left) housed stones that the Incas considered holy.

Why do people live the way they do? Common Assessment – Graphic Organizer Example

Content: Inca Civilization

Characteristic Evidence What can be deduced/inferred from evidence about why they lived the way they did?

Religion

Given the mummy(s) found throughout Peru, we can infer that the Incas did believe in an afterlife. They also believed in human sacrifice, evidently to appease various gods and to deify (make a human a god) some of their people. Spanish historian accounts, verify that the Inca used “an intricate and extremely important ritual that involved sacrifice of children, worship of mountains as gods, and elaborate burial procedures.” (article below) Mummies also were buried with many artifacts, including pots, sculptures of llamas and other figures made of gold and silver. We can infer that the dead were believed to need and use these somehow in the afterlife. Priests or other Incas would visit the tomb afterwards. This evident by the “ichu, wild grass from the slopes thousands of feet below” found at the burial site. (article below)

Informational Text/Article

The Tanta Carhua Story - PBS

"Beautiful beyond exaggeration," is how one Spanish chronicler described Tanta Carhua. Carhua was a ten-year old Inca

child whose father offered her to the Inca Emperor as a Capacocha sacrifice. She was taken by priests to Cuzco where

she met the Inca Emperor, and on her return journey to the mountain where she would be sacrificed the procession

passed through her home village. According to the legends, Tanta Carhua told the village: "You can finish with me now

because I could not be more honoured than by the feasts which they celebrated for me in Cuzco."

Tanta Carhua was then taken to a high Andean mountain, placed in a shaft-tomb and walled in alive. Chicha, a maize

alcohol, was fed to her both before and after her death. And in death, this beautiful ten-year old child became a goddess,

speaking to her people as an oracle from the mountain, which was reconsecrated in her name.

Capacocha

Very little is known about Capacocha, the sacred Inca ceremony of human sacrifice, but with each new archaeological

discovery of a sacrificial mummy, more is revealed. The earliest and only known written accounts of the ritual are

chronicles written by Spanish conquistador historians. From the chronicles and from each new discovery of a mummy, the

pieces of this great puzzle are put together to reveal an intricate and extremely important ritual that involved sacrifice of

children, worship of mountains as gods, and elaborate burial procedures.

Sacrifices were often made during or after a portentous event: an earthquake, an epidemic, a drought, or after the death

of an Inca Emperor. According to archaeologist Juan Schobinger, "Inca sacrifices often involved the child of a chief. The

sacrificed child was thought of as a deity, ensuring a tie between the chief and the Inca emperor, who was considered a

descendant of the Sun god. The sacrifice also bestowed an elevated status on the chief's family and descendants." The

honour of sacrifice was bestowed not only on the family, but was forever immortalized in the child. It is believed that the

sacrificial children had to be perfect, without so much as a blemish or irregularity in their physical beauty.

After a child was chosen or offered to the emperor, a procession would begin from the child's home village to Cuzco, the

crown seat of the Inca empire. Priests, family members, and chiefs would accompany the child on this great journey to

meet the emperor. Huge ceremonial feasts would take place in Cuzco where the child would meet the emperor and

forever bring credit to the family in this important event. Priests would then lead the grand procession to the designated

high mountain. Often, a base camp would be established lower on the mountain, at a more comfortable elevation. Here,

llamas (which carried up 80-pound loads of soil, grass, and often stones for the camp structures from the villages below)

would be coralled, and permanent stone structures would be built to offer shelter to the priests and the child.

Meanwhile, high on the mountain's summit, the sacrificial platforms would be under construction and the burial site being

prepared. The platforms were large retaining walls built of stone that formed a large tomb-like interior. The child would be

placed within the platform along with many burial artifacts, like carvings of llamas, statues made of gold and silver, and

ceremonial pots.

On the day of the sacrifice, the child would be fed chicha, a maize alcohol, presumably to ease the pain of the cold, the

altitude, and perhaps the fear of dying. Much ritual celebrating would take place at the platform as the child would be

wrapped in ceremonial clothing, placed inside the tomb, and surrounded with the sacred artifacts that would accompany

him/her into the Other World. This was the ultimate sacrifice the Inca could make to please the mountain gods: to offer up

their own children in the highest places humans could possibly reach.

Whether the children died a violent death remains a debate among scientists. Skull fractures have been found on most of

the sacrificial mummies. Johan Reinhard, who admits Juanita, too, has a skull fracture on the back of her head, believes

this was a quick and painless means of knocking the children out so that they wouldn't have to suffer a long and grueling

death of exposure to the elements. He believes the children were knocked out with a blow to a cushioning towel on the

backs of their heads.

Once the child died of exposure, the priests would continue to return to the site, making offerings of coca leaves and filling

in the burial site with dirt. Often a miniature figurine of the child would be placed on the surface near the burial site, along

with more simple offerings like ichu, wild grass from the slopes thousands of feet below. For Jose Antonio Chavez and

Johan Reinhard, these are often the first clues they look for in their search for sacrificial Inca children buried on the frozen

mountain tops of the Andes.

(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/peru/worlds/sacrifice1.html)

Name: ______________________ Class: __________ Date: _______________

Common Assessment #2:

Why do people live the way they do? Graphic Organizer Directions: Preview the geographic photos to guide your understanding of geography’s affect on culture and why people live the way they do.

Characteristic Evidence (List artifacts/text)

What can be deduced/inferred from the evidence about why they lived the way they did and the impact of geography on their culture?

Religion

Clothing

Domestic / Family Life

Food & Drink

Housing / Architecture

Name: ______________________ Class: __________ Date: _______________

Music, Dance, Entertainment

Social Classes

Crafts

Government / Law / Justice

Medicine / Healthcare

Trade

Other? See teacher for

approval

Name: ______________________ Class: __________ Date: _______________

Revised November 20, 2008

Research Report: Writing to Inform Rubric

Subsumed in all informational writing are the following WGLEs: 1, 6, 7, 8, 11

Score Point 4 Exceeds

Score Point 3 Meets

Score Point 2 Approaching

Score Point 1 Not at Standard

Score Point .5 Little evidence

Purpose -Writer is extremely selective in presenting

information, including relevant materials and

excluding that which would clutter the report*.

-Focus clearly stated in the

beginning and referenced

throughout the piece.

-Is appropriate to audience.

-Clearly establishes background

context.

W-7.2, 7.3, 8.3.

-States controlling idea

(focus) but may not use it

effectively to unify report.

-Shows evidence of

having a general rather

than a focused purpose in

presenting info.

-Establishes sufficient

context.

-Defines subject with a

simple statement rather than a

controlling idea or focus.

-Conveys a lack of evident

purpose.

-May offer little context.

-May only state topic.

-Rarely conveys writer's

intent.

-Stance is underdeveloped.

-No context.

Organization -May demonstrate an unusual pattern or

framework in which to embed information.*

-Introduction is compelling.

-Has a strong opening, well-

developed body, and a strong

AHA conclusion.

-Uses effective transitions

between ideas and paragraphs.

-Has clear, consistent coherence

and unity.

-Written in a logical sequence.

W- 6.2

-Generally uses a

predictable pattern.

-Has overall coherence;

uses some transitions.

-Clear beginning, middle

and end; may provide

considerable info.

-Usually shows an organized

plan but may have

digressions.

-Has general coherence, stays

on topic but may show weak

transitions between ideas or

paragraphs.

-May have a lengthy opening

and abrupt closure; may

present random bits of

information.

-Shows little or no evidence

of purposeful organization.

-May lack coherence; no

transitions.

Voice/

Tone

-Precise use of language conveys intent clearly

and concisely.

-Writer may reflect on the significance of the

info.

-Shows an exceptional awareness of the readers'

concerns and needs*.

-Is appropriate and engaging to

audience (May be

formal/academic or informal

voice.)

-Sentence structure is varied.

-Language is powerful, and word

choice is precise.

W-7.3, 7.4

-Stance is that of a person

who has a desire to

convey gathered

information.

-Sense of audience is

vague.

-May be monotone.

-Does not engage audience.

-Monotone

-Inappropriate for reader.

Details/

Elaboration

-Successfully uses strategies not always thought

of for reporting information- e.g., personal

anecdotes or dramatizations impart information

in an entertaining way.

*Meets all criteria listed in score point 3.

-Contains only relevant info

supported with specific evidence.

-Facts are accurate and supported

by detail.

-Provides depth of info.

-Work is cited where

appropriate.

W-8.1, 8.2, 8.4

R-7.3, 7.2, 15

-General info, not well

supported by concrete

examples.

-some info may be

irrelevant.

-Relies on general rather than

specific details. May use

irrelevant details, often

presented in a list.

-May rely on opinion rather

than facts.

-Random, disconnected,

and/or unfocused opinions

with some scattered facts.

-Presents very little info.