Rich Tasks for Secondary School

Rich Tasks for Grade 1

Rich Tasks for Grade 2

Rich Tasks for Grade 3

Rich Tasks for Grade 4

Rich Tasks for Grade 5

Rich Tasks for Grade 6

Rich Tasks for Grade 7

Rich Tasks for Grade 8

Would you like to help Develop New RPTs?

'Best Practice' Support for Rich Performance Tasks:

Curriculum Support for Rich Performance Tasks (PDF version)

Performance tasks are authentic activities, exercises, problems or challenges that require students to show what they can know and can do. Performance tasks are designed to ask students to demonstrate their understanding by applying their knowledge and skills to a real – life situation or scenario often called a context. At one time such tasks were called simulations.

Performance tasks often have more than one acceptable solution and contain choices for the student and different entry points for all learners. They may call for a student to create a response to a problem and then explain or defend it. The process involves the use of higher-order thinking skills (e.g., cause and effect analysis, deductive or inductive reasoning, experimentation, inquiry, and problem solving). Performance tasks may be used for assessment at the end of a period of instruction (called culminating tasks), but are frequently used for learning as well as assessment.

“This approach requires the teacher to facilitate learning through projects/products and authentic tasks. This approach gives students’ work meaning, and allows them to do work based on real issues and to experience an authentic task in a real-life context.” (Education For All)

Curriculum Expectations

Selected Grade 3-6 curricular expectations

2005 Sample Writing Task Grade 3
"Your teacher is publishing a children’s magazine (Kid’s Corner). She is looking for interesting ideas for this magazine. What do you think should go into such a magazine? Write a sample article for this magazine.”

2005 Sample Writing Task Grade 6
“Your school is holding it’s 50th anniversary. As part of the celebration, you have been given the task of selecting 5 items to put in a time capsule that will be sealed and then opened at the 100th

Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner

OCUP Home page
Sample OCUP TASKS

Ministry Exemplars

From a range of subject areas:

Arts exemplars in Visual Arts for grades 2,5,7
exemplars in Drama and Dance for Grades 3,6,8
• French none
• PHE exemplars for Grades 2,4,6,8
• Language Writing exemplars for Grades 1 to 8
Year-End Writing Task for Grades 1 to 8
• Math exemplars for Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Science/Tech exemplars for Grades 1 to 8
• SSHG exemplars for Grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

• Sample Math Exemplar “Exploring Designs” for Grade 3
• Sample Language Writing Exemplar “Canada’s Newest Territory –Nunavut” for Grade 6
• Sample Science/Tech Exemplar “Design & Create a Model Car” for Grade 6

Ministry Units at OCUP

Curriculum Units
Developed by both Catholic and Public school Writers using the Ontario Curriculum Planner as the design and writing tool. Units contain culminating unit tasks.
- 87 straight grade units
- 65 combined grade units

Sample Grade 6 Language Unit Task for “Newspapers in Language”
“Students participate in the culminating task both as members of an Editorial Board and as individual presenters. Each student presents work from one newspaper category (headline story, editorial, community/faith article, cartoon, advertisement, sport, entertainment, or weather article) to members of an Editorial Board in the form of an oral presentation. The teacher evaluates the students' presentations by using a rubric. The members of the Editorial Board act as the audience and may offer feedback by celebrating the success of each presentation.”

Catholic Curriculum Cooperative Units

http://www.catholic-curr-coop.org/
Scroll to “Resources Lists” for a menu of CCC produced resources by subject. Access the members area:

User Name: LDCSB
Password: ccc1008

Catholic Curriculum Cooperative Language Mid Year Assessment Units

For all Grades for a one week theme type unit for January.
http://www.catholic-curr-coop.org/

Social Studies Grades 1 to 6 Teaching/Learning/Assessing Resource

For each grade there is a cross curricular performance tasks each organized around a social studies concept and a Catholic theme.

First Class Conferences: Social Studies

Learning Object Repository (i.e., LOR Project)

LDCSB repository for CCC member boards
On-line tasks for Grade 9 and 10 students who are considered “at risk” and need more visual and relevant tasks to foster more engagement.

Secondary Bank of Final End of Course Performance Tasks

Each Subject Council sponsored the creation of end of course performance tasks to be used as part of the 30% end of course assessments.

Stored in First Class Conferences in the Secondary Assessment and Evaluation Folder for each discipline.

Other Support Documents

Interactive Image Map
A broad range of Ministry of Education documentation is supportive of Rich Performance Tasks.

Still More Sources for Rich Tasks

WebQuests (via Centre for Excellence WebQuest Resources)
The Real Game (#603520 via CIRT MediaNet Resource)
Be the Change (ACCESSOLA: Ontario Librarians Association)
Lend a Hand (Red Cross Tsunami relief class activities)