Cornerstone TasksAuthentic Assessments that Guide Instruction

What are Cornerstone Tasks?

• Allow students to demonstrate mastery of important Social Studies skills and concepts

• Provide an opportunity for creativity and critical

thinking

• Promote an alignment of Social Studies skills performed at increasing levels of sophistication

• Enable PLCs to engage in conversations about Social Studies instruction based on common performance based assessment products

Authentic tasks that

7 Strands

Cornerstone Beliefs

Grade level

Units

Cornerstone

Tasks

Cornerstone Tasks are designed to align with the cornerstone beliefs

of ALL GCISD Social Studies classes.

Although each class has different TEKS, all Social Studies courses

share the same cornerstone beliefs.

Cornerstone Beliefs

Social Studies should enable students to act as responsible citizens in a democracy.

• Study civic issues and stay informed• Participate in community events• Demonstrate leadership

How will we do this? #1

Students should be able to evaluate historical claims and interpretations.

• Analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources• Consider personal opinion, points of view and potential bias•Evaluate the validity of sources

Source Evaluator

How will we do this? #2

Students should be able to critically analyze historical and current issues and events.

• Interpret the significance of key points• Analyze cause and effect relationships• Identify points of view and potential bias• Debate possible courses of action

Critical Thinker

How will we do this #3

Students should be able to transfer and apply knowledge to new ideas and information based on their understanding of historical patterns.

• Identify conceptual connections• Make predictions for current and future events or issues• Make inferences and draw conclusions based on data

Pattern Detector

How will we do this? #4

Students should be able to develop informed decisions and solve problems.

• Use a problem solving process • Communicate a stance based on evidence• Evaluate effectiveness of decisions and solutions

Informed Decision Maker

Implementation

• There will be a cornerstone task at the end of each unit.

• Sometimes there will be a choice of tasks, but it is imperative that the PLC decide together which one they will use.

• Not all cornerstone tasks have been written at this point. This is an ongoing project for C&I, and we welcome all ideas.

• Many tasks can be completed in 1 day, but some might require a longer time commitment. Please consult the curriculum documents when planning your lessons.

• Teachers should use PLC time to review student work and discuss the implications for instruction.