W

How will you help students to know WHERE they are headed and WHY – e. g., major assignments, performance tasks, & standards to be addressed and criteria by which work will be judged?  How will you know WHERE they are coming from?

H

How will you HOOK and HOLD students through engaging and thought-provoking experiences [issues, oddities, problems, challenges] that point toward big ideas, essential questions, and performance tasks?

E

What learning experiences will ENGAGE students in EXPLORING the big ideas and essential questions?  What instruction is needed to EQUIP students for the final performance[s]?

R

How will you cause students to REFLECT & RETHINK to dig deeper into the core ideas?  How will you guide students in REVISING & REFINING their work based on feedback and self-assessment?   REHEARSING for their final performance?

E

How will students EXHIBIT their understanding through final performances and products?  How will you guide them in self-EVALUATION to identify the strengths/weaknesses in their work and set future goals?

T

How will the work be TAILORED to individual needs, interests, brain dominances, modes of learning, styles, and intelligences?

O

How will the work be ORGANIZED for maximal engagement and effectiveness?  [sequence, integration, horizontal & vertical articulation, continuity, etc]

G

GOAL: What is the GOAL in the scenario?  What is the task – overall?  [develop a presentation, create a product, illustrate a process, perform a complex act]

R

ROLE:  What is the ROLE you are to take?  [expert, instructor, student, apprentice, worker, member of the public]

A

AUDIENCE:  Who is your AUDIENCE?  Who will evaluate your performance or product? [instructor, self, peers, experts, public]

S

SITUATION:  What is your SITUATION?  What is the context in which you will perform or produce?  What is the need; the place; the requirement; where is it to happen; what are the environmental conditions, etc.?

P

PERFORMANCE/PRODUCT/PROCESS:  What is the PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE?  What are you to do or create that will be judged as evidence of successful completion of the intended outcome?  [a class presentation, a model, a poster, a term paper, a lab demonstration, troubleshooting & repair]

S

STANDARDS of PERFORMANCE:  By what CRITERIA / STANDARDS / INDICATORS OF SUCCESS will the performance/product/process be judged?  What expectations must it meet?  What will be the indicators of success?  [rubric, exemplars, key, checklist, rating scale, etc.]