After visiting with many teachers who have experienced the new Smarter Balance testing environment, one of the more demanding portions of the test is the performance task, for both math and literacy.
This blog post demonstrates how teachers can use Google Classroom and create a simulated experience for students to complete performance tasks. You can provide students with practice for online reading and online writing, as these technology skills may hinder success, especially in early grades like 3-6.
For this example "Garden of Learning 6th Grade Performance Task, a student will be provided with resources, two articles and a video.
Then they are to answer a few questions followed by writing an essay or article, may it be argumentative or informative. When the students are finished, they click "Turn In".
Students will be able to toggle between "Assignment Details" and "My assignment" to go between resources and their work, allowing them to re-read articles or re-watch videos as often as they need.
The teacher can set up this entirely digital task and allow students to work independently until they've completed the assignment.
I've created
Performance Task Kits available for teachers to use inside their Google Classroom. Click open the folder to find the files, make your own copies, and embed them into a Google Classroom online environment.
More kits are coming, as I've started with the three Smarter Balance example performance tasks.
