For example, in a social studies class, a scenario might describe
a child (of about the same age as those doing the WebQuest) in
another time or another culture and set them up for what they have
to think about and do from there. A scenario aimed at teachers might
begin "You are a fourth grade teacher in an inner city school where
the students have had trouble passing their state proficiency
tests..." Other scenarios might put the students into a newsroom or
an engineering design firm.
This is a place to be creative with your WebQuest. Once you
have your topic and goal in mind, try to imagine a situation
where your students could believe that they really have
to learn the material in order to success. This should go beyond
the classroom in some way. What is that situation? What does it
look like? Who are the people in it? Perhaps there are roles for
3 or 4 of your students, so that the group takes on a
role-playing character (are they the reporter, photographer, and
editor of a newspaper reporting on the stock market crash?).
Your scenario needn't be long, perhaps a couple of
paragraphs, depending on your audience. But try to describe it
so that your and your students can visualize it.
