Teacher's Guide

Learning objectives

• Explain Customer discovery and Positioning in the context of this lesson.
• Use the worked example to answer the three practice questions with supporting reasoning.
• Complete the activity, evaluate its result, and identify one limitation or possible improvement.

Prerequisites: Prior middle-school subject foundations, reading, and arithmetic; Foreign Languages begins introductory Spanish. Review prerequisites before assigning the activity.

Suggested time: Three to five 45-minute sessions, including activity development and review. Language units need brief repeated spoken practice between sessions.

Teaching sequence

1. Introduce: Present the title as a question or problem. Ask learners what they notice and record two initial ideas without treating them as established facts.
2. Explain: Read the concept section and teach the two vocabulary items. Ask learners to paraphrase the distinction between them using a concrete example.
3. Model: Work through the example. Identify given information, assumptions, and the reason for the result or interpretation. Use a teacher's spoken model for language pronunciation.
4. Apply: Complete the activity individually or in pairs. Require a draft, a check against the task, and a brief revision. Discuss why different justified responses may be acceptable.
5. Retrieve and evaluate: Answer practice and vocabulary questions independently; use the answer key for feedback. Finish with the reflection and an activity rubric.

Assessment and differentiation

The companion CSV contains five retrieval entries: two vocabulary questions and three practice questions. Award one point per accurate answer, accepting equivalent wording that preserves the meaning. Language answers may be oral or written according to the goal. Revisit missed concepts rather than using the score as the only measure of learning.

Assess the activity separately with four criteria, each scored 0-2: correct use of lesson concepts; clear evidence or reasoning; completion of the task requirements; and a useful revision or acknowledged limitation. A 0 indicates missing or unsupported work, 1 indicates partial achievement, and 2 indicates clear achievement. Accept multiple designs, interpretations, and decisions when their reasons meet the criteria.

Support learners with a word bank, annotated example, smaller first step, or partner rehearsal. Extend by changing one assumption or constraint and asking how the result would change. Use invented personal details in financial and social tasks. Optional school character discussion can connect honesty, respect, cooperation, and stewardship to the activity; assess the subject knowledge and reasoning separately.

Student Worksheet

Concept and helping material

Customer discovery tests assumptions about a problem and the people affected. Positioning explains how an offering differs in a relevant way from alternatives. Interview questions should invite specific experiences rather than approval of a proposed product. Early responses guide investigation but do not establish the size of a market.

Vocabulary

• Customer discovery: Investigation of customer problems and assumptions before committing to an offering.
• Positioning: How an offering is presented relative to alternatives for a target audience.

Worked example

Instead of asking Would you buy my amazing planner, ask How did you keep track of deadlines last week? A specific missed deadline reveals a problem worth investigating, not guaranteed willingness to pay.

Investigation or design task

Develop a fictional planner concept. Write neutral interview questions, analyze teacher-created responses, compare alternatives, and state an assumption still untested.

Record your work: State the goal; show your drawing, dialogue, calculation, data, or argument; explain one choice; and describe one check or revision. Identify a limitation rather than claiming your work proves more than it does.

Practice

1. Why avoid asking only whether people like the idea?
2. Does one problem story prove a large market exists?
3. What should positioning connect to?

Vocabulary retrieval

1. Define Customer discovery.
2. Define Positioning.

Reflection

Choose one answer or activity decision. Explain the evidence, calculation, language pattern, or reasoning that supports it. Describe one change of context or assumption that could change your conclusion.

Answer Key

1. Approval may not show a real problem, use, or willingness to pay.
2. No.
3. A relevant customer need and a meaningful difference from alternatives.

Vocabulary answers are the definitions above and appear in the CSV. Activity and reflection responses vary; use the teacher rubric and require specific reasoning tied to the task. A different supported interpretation is acceptable where the question allows it.

Source Reference

Original teaching material. No directly matching, age-appropriate lesson reference was identified in the supplied G7-12 PDF collection. No external research is claimed.

Companion question CSV | Grade guide