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Second chances

CEFR: A2, B1 11 slides 45 min Whole class

In the slide deck

A comparison

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Second chances — Preview: the first 3 slides, as your students see them on the board.

Preview: the first 3 slides, as your students see them on the board.

Objective & content

Should you always forgive? This 45-minute discussion lesson follows one path: the pupils first, then two stories about a second chance, then what the class thinks. The first story is Stella and Mason, 16, whose father Cole comes back to Golden Bay, California, after twelve years and asks for a second chance. The second is Josh, who gets a message from Mia, the best friend who told his secret: a short story written for this lesson. By the end, pupils can talk about saying sorry, forgiving and trust, compare two stories, defend an opinion and act out saying sorry and deciding what to do.

Documents to download (2)

Pupil sheet In your teacher account
Colour version In your teacher account

Pedagogical guide

Every slide asks the class to do something: choose two picture cards, read four characters' words and say who they agree with, pick three feeling words, compare Josh and Mason in three boxes, choose three things to do when a friend says sorry, stand on a line from 1 to 5, act out a card in pairs. The words come before the talking, and each question has an A2 version for everyone and a B1 one for stronger pupils. The pupil sheet follows the slides, so every pupil leaves with something written. The subject needs care: some pupils have a parent who left, or a family member they do not see. The questions are always about Josh, Mia and the Golden Bay characters, never about real families or real quarrels. In real life, nobody has to forgive anyone: "not yet" and "no" are fine answers, and there is no right place on the line. Josh's story ends open, so pupils decide what he should do. If a pupil tells you something worrying, follow your school's safeguarding procedure.

Suggested procedure45 min

2 min
Show the cover and read the big question: "Should you always forgive?" No answers yet.
7 min
A good "sorry" ...: pairs choose two cards each and say why. Then read the eight words and their examples together.
10 min
The knock at the door and the four voices: read the three lines and the quote, then the bubbles aloud; pairs choose the voice they agree with most. Do not say what Cole really wants.
13 min
Josh's message: read the story and check the four facts, choose three feeling words, then compare Josh and Mason in the three boxes on the pupil sheet.
8 min
What next?, then "Where do you stand?": pupils choose alone, explain to a partner, then stand on the line from 1 to 5. Come back to the big question.
5 min
Sorry, can we talk?: pairs act out one card, then write what they decided on the pupil sheet.

Adaptations

SupportKeep the word slide on screen during the voices and the "What next?" slide, and accept one-sentence answers built on the useful language. Pupils can point to or number their three choices instead of writing them.
ExtensionAsk stronger pairs the B1 question on the voices slide ("Should the twins give Cole a second chance?"), and have them argue for a place on the line from 1 to 5 that is not their own.

Materials & prerequisitesA projector or screen for the slides (one PDF page per slide, turned with the arrow keys) and one pupil sheet (two A4 pages) per pupil. The last slide is the teacher's notes, with the timed plan and a note of care, to read before the lesson rather than project. Nothing to install. It goes further after the Golden Bay episodes Knock at the Door and The Man at the Table.

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