July Blogging Challenge: Day 2, PARCC Released Items

Y'all......is anyone out there (Titanic, ya feel me?), reading this? I feel like a loser newbie blogger :)

So, since Arkansas is still very much in favor of common core and testing at the high school level is soon to begin. I want to start giving my kiddos more and more higher order thinking problems that are common core aligned. Most people hate what questions they've seen that are aligned to common core. Some are absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary. But, I'll let you in on a little dirty secret...I like most of 'em. (Shhhh..don't tell all of those parents who rant and rave about how horrible common core will be.) So, with my goal in mind, I have spent a little more time looking at PARCC and found some pretty decent problem solving tasks aligned to different grade levels.

Check out this website for a full list of high school mathematics released items.

I love this one on Algebra II discussing temperature changes by identifying types of functions with real-life models.

I like this one for Algebra I. I don't teach Algebra I anymore but I hope to teach it in my Bridging classes.

I would love for you guys to spend some time looking at these tasks and telling me what you think and how they can be used in different ways in class. How could we extend some of the tasks for higher levels of mathematics?

Happy July 2nd! Let's pretend it's not past midnight.

Brooke