How it works

The four parts of a real one

1

Name what you did.

Not “what happened”. What you did, in plain words.

2

Say why it landed.

Show you understand the effect, not just the rule.

3

Stop.

No “but”, no explaining, no asking to be let off.

4

Say what changes.

One specific thing you will do differently.

In that order. Part three is the one students find hardest.

1
Start with a sort, not a lecture.

Each table gets eight apologies and pairs sort them into real ones and ones that only sound like it. They will disagree, and that disagreement is where the lesson starts. Then the class takes the three worst apart together.

2
Teach the four parts, then fix one together.

A worked before-and-after example, then the whole class rebuilds a bad apology out loud, one part at a time, and the finished version goes on the board.

3
Pairs fix a real one, then mark somebody else’s.

Each pair rewrites the apology on a scenario card. The sheets pass two tables along and are marked against the four parts. The last one, the apology they owe somebody themselves, goes on a private exit slip that is never collected.

The exit slips are about something real, and one or two will be about something at home. Do not collect them, stay somewhere in the room where a student can come and speak to you at the end, and treat anything disclosed as you would any other disclosure.

Get the lesson

PPTX

The lesson slides

Fourteen slides. Each one is labelled with the part of the lesson it belongs to, so you can teach straight from the deck.

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PDF

Teacher resource pack

Six pages: what to print, the hour with timings, then the four things to print: starter cards, scenario cards, the rewrite sheet and the exit slips.

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