haxtheweb/hax-psu/hax-ubd-essential-questions

HAX UbD Essential Questions

Author essential questions (overarching + topical) and entry questions using the UbD six-facet question-starter bank (UbD Ch. 5, Fig 5.3). This is the focused companion to hax-ubd-stage1 (which owns the full Stage 1 workflow) — use it when the user specifically needs questions authored or sharpened.

The core distinction

An essential question lies at the heart of a subject, promotes inquiry and uncoverage, and yields different plausible responses about which thoughtful people may disagree. A leading question has a correct, straightforward answer — useful for teaching and checking knowledge, but NOT an EQ. If your question has one right answer, it is leading; reclassify it and move it to K/S.

• Overarching EQs recur across the course/program (e.g., "Is history a story

or a set of competing accounts?"). They are the program-level threads.

• Topical EQs are unit-specific (e.g., "Why did the pioneers leave their

homes to head west?"). They frame a single unit.

• Entry questions are student-friendly, provocative lesson openers that

point toward the EQs. Maximal simplicity, provocation value, student-friendly language.

When to Use

• "Write essential questions for X" / "good questions for X" / "craft an EQ"
• "What entry question opens this unit" / "sharpen this question"
• You are hax-ubd-stage1 and have reached the EQ step (step 4)

When NOT: the full Stage 1 (big ideas + understandings + K/S + misconceptions) → hax-ubd-stage1. Cognitive level of a question → grad-blooms.

Methodology

1. Start from the big idea / enduring understanding. An EQ must point at a

named big idea — it is not a free-floating provocation.

1. Pick a facet lens to seed the question (six-facet starter bank below).
2. Draft the question. Test it against the four EQ criteria (open, provocative,

points at a big idea, arguable by thoughtful people).

1. Classify as overarching or topical. Add a student-friendly entry question

that opens toward it.

1. Render as stop-note blocks (keep EQs open/visible, not collapsed) at the

top of the relevant page(s).

Six-facet question starter bank (after UbD Fig 5.3)

Output Format

# Essential Questions: {unit / topic}
## Big idea targeted
{the big idea the EQs point at}
## Overarching EQs (recur across course)
- {question} [facet: ...]
## Topical EQs (unit-specific)
- {question} [facet: ...]
## Entry questions (student-friendly openers)
- {question}
## HAX handoff
- stop-note (open) per EQ at page top

Acceptance criteria

• Every EQ is genuinely open (no single right answer) — if it has one, reclassify as leading → K/S.
• Every EQ points at a named big idea.
• Both overarching AND topical EQs present (unless the user explicitly scoped to one).
• ≥1 entry question per unit, in student-friendly language.

Gotchas

• Leading ≠ essential. "What are the three branches of government?" is leading (one right answer). "How should power be divided among branches to prevent tyranny?" is essential.
• Provocation is not enough. A catchy question that doesn't point at a big idea is a hook, not an EQ.
• Overarching EQs must recur. If an EQ only matters for this unit, it's topical — don't inflate it to overarching.

Dependencies

• Reads: the big idea / understanding (from hax-ubd-stage1)
• Sibling: grad-blooms (cognitive level — EQs are open/arguable, not single-answer)
• Used by: hax-ubd-stage1

References

• ../hax-ubd-backward-design/references/ubd-element-map.md — Stage 1 component map
• Source: Wiggins & McTighe (2005), UbD Ch. 5, Fig 5.2–5.3.