Cover lesson · PSE / Well-being · Year 7 · Beginner

Saying what you mean in a group chat

DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Communication

Name: Class: Date:

Cover teacher: you need no subject knowledge

Print: this sheet, one per pupil, and the stimulus sheet “The 7D bake sale group chat”, one per pupil if possible (pupils highlight on it), otherwise one between two. Pupils need a pen and a highlighter. No computers or phones are needed.

Run: 5 min read the background and the chat aloud, or ask pupils to read it in pairs · 8 min Step 2, messages that went wrong · 12 min Step 3, punctuation fix, alone · 7 min Step 4, same words, different meaning · 7 min Step 5, choosing the right channel · 13 min Step 6, the group chat charter, alone · 3 min Step 7, swap and check against the success criteria. Total 55 minutes. Call the time at the end of each step.

Collect: this sheet. Steps 2 and 5 are the evidence of digital communication: explaining why messages were misunderstood and choosing the right way to say something. Steps 3 and 6 are literacy evidence of punctuation that you or the class teacher can mark: in the 8 rewritten messages and the 6 charter rules, check that every sentence starts with a capital letter, ends with a full stop, a question mark or one exclamation mark, uses a comma before a name when talking to someone (“Let’s eat, Mia.”) and uses apostrophes correctly (let’s, it’s, don’t, Jac’s). All answers and a model charter are on the worked example. Everyone in the chat is invented; pupils are not asked to share their own messages.

If a pupil tells you about something worrying in a real group chat: do not discuss it in front of the class. Say “come and see me at the end”, take their name, and pass it to the class teacher or the school’s safeguarding lead the same day.

What you are doing

Form 7D are organising a bake sale for the food bank, and they plan it in a group chat. Nobody in the chat is trying to be unkind, but in two days they upset each other several times, mostly because their messages did not say what they meant. You are going to find what went wrong, fix the punctuation so each message says what the writer meant, decide when a group chat is the wrong place to say something, and write a set of rules for your own form’s chat.

Punctuation and tone toolkit

Capital letters start every sentence and every name, day and place: Dylan, Friday, Wales. Typing in CAPS LOCK reads as shouting.
Full stop ( . ) ends a statement. On its own after one word (“ok.”) it can look cold or annoyed.
Question mark ( ? ) shows you are asking. Without one, a question can look like a decision.
Exclamation mark ( ! ) shows excitement or surprise. One is enough. Lots of them (!!!!!!) can look cross or panicky.
Commas ( , ) separate items in a list, and come before or after a name when you talk to someone: “Thanks, Ffion.”
Apostrophes ( ’ ) show missing letters (don’t = do not, it’s = it is, let’s = let us) or belonging (Jac’s mum). Its with no apostrophe means “belonging to it”: “the stall needs its own sign”.
Emoji can add the tone your voice would give, but people read them differently. They do not replace clear words.

Step 1: read the chat

Read the background and all 40 messages on the stimulus sheet. Notice the times, who replies to whom, and who is not there.

Step 2: messages that went wrong

Highlight 5 messages on the stimulus sheet that were misunderstood or caused a problem. For each one, fill in a row. The “clue” is a later message that shows how it was read.

Message no.	What the writer meant	How it was read (clue: which message shows this?)	Why it went wrong (punctuation, capitals, emoji, timing or sharing?)

Step 3: punctuation fix (on your own)

Rewrite each message so it says what the writer meant. Keep the writer’s words. Change only the punctuation and capital letters. Use the toolkit.

	Message as it was sent	What the writer meant
A	No. 29, Jac: “im starving lets eat Mia”	Mia, let’s go and have lunch.
B	No. 9, Tomos: “WHO IS BRINGING THE TABLES”	A calm question.
C	No. 13, Osian: “so we’re selling at break”	He was asking, not deciding.
D	No. 19, Ffion: “ok.”	OK, no problem! (She was happy.)
E	No. 21, Amira: “its on friday in the hall its going to be great”	Two sentences. She is excited.
F	No. 22, Tomos: “the hall is booked!!!!!!!! dont be late!!!!!!!”	Excited, not cross.
G	No. 12, Leah: “jacs mum can bring the tables in her van”	The van belongs to Jac’s mum.
H	No. 3, Tomos: “is dylan in here hes not answering”	A question, then a statement.

Step 4: same words, different meaning

Each set of words below can mean 2 different things, depending on the punctuation. Punctuate it 2 ways and say what each one means. The first row is done for you.

The words	Meaning 1: punctuated, then explained	Meaning 2: punctuated, then explained
lets eat Mia	“Let’s eat, Mia.” Jac is inviting Mia to have lunch.	“Let’s eat Mia.” Mia is the lunch!
thanks for helping Ffion Hint: who is being thanked?
Mia said Jac is late Hint: who is late? Try speech marks.
the pupils who brought cakes got a sticker Hint: did every pupil get a sticker?

Step 5: choose the right channel

For each situation, write the best way to communicate: group chat, private message, face to face, or tell a teacher or parent. Then say why, and why not the others.

Situation	Best channel	Why?
1. The stall now starts at 10:45, not 10:30. All 8 helpers need to know.
2. You think Leah’s screenshot of Mia’s private message (no. 32) was unkind, and you want to tell Leah.
3. Jac and Amira have sent each other 15 angry messages about cake prices in the group chat.
4. An account nobody recognises joins the chat, says it is “a Year 8 pupil” and asks everyone where they live.
5. You realise Dylan was never added to the chat and has missed 2 days of planning.

Step 6: a group chat charter for your form (on your own)

A charter is a short set of rules that everyone agrees to. Write 6 rules for your own form’s group chat, using what went wrong in 7D’s chat. Each rule must be one correctly punctuated sentence. Under “Why it matters”, write 1 or 2 sentences explaining the rule.

Your charter must include:

at least one rule with an apostrophe used correctly (for example don’t, we’ll or someone’s): underline it;
at least one question in the “Why it matters” column, with a question mark: circle it;
rules about at least 4 different things from today: tone, punctuation, timing, screenshots, leaving people out, disagreeing, or telling an adult.

	Rule (one sentence)	Why it matters
1
2
3
4
5
6

Check your charter before you hand it in. Tick each box when it is true.

Every sentence starts with a capital letter, and so does every name and day.
Every sentence ends with a full stop, a question mark or one exclamation mark.
I have underlined at least one apostrophe, and it is in the right place.
I have circled at least one question mark in the “Why it matters” column.
Nothing is in caps lock, and there is no “!!!”.

Step 7: swap and check

Swap sheets with a partner. Check their Step 3 and Step 6 against the toolkit. Put a small dot in the margin next to any sentence where the punctuation needs fixing, then give the sheet back so they can fix it.

Step by step

5 min Step 1: read the background and the chat.
8 min Step 2: highlight 5 messages that went wrong and explain them.
12 min Step 3: punctuation fix, on your own.
7 min Step 4: same words, different meaning.
7 min Step 5: choose the right channel.
13 min Step 6: write the group chat charter, on your own.
3 min Step 7: swap and check.

Success criteria

I can explain why a message was misunderstood, using a clue from the chat and naming the cause: punctuation, capitals, emoji, timing or sharing.
I can use capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas and apostrophes so that a message says what the writer meant.
I can show how changing the punctuation changes the meaning of the same words.
I can choose between a group chat, a private message, talking face to face and telling a trusted adult, and explain my choice.
I can write clear rules for a respectful group chat, each one a correctly punctuated sentence.

If you finish early

Rewrite Leah’s messages 33 and 35 as one private apology to Mia. Use no more than 30 words, and punctuate it correctly.
Jac’s “fine whatever” (message 6) was never mentioned again. How might Amira have read it? Rewrite it so that Jac still disagrees, but respectfully.
Find 3 more messages in the chat with punctuation mistakes (not ones from Step 3). Write the message number and your correction.

If you want to talk to someone

If something in a real group chat is worrying you, talk to your form tutor, head of year or a parent or carer. Outside school: Meic, the helpline for young people in Wales, free and confidential in Welsh or English, 8am to midnight every day: phone or WhatsApp 080880 23456, text 07943 114 449, or chat at meic.cymru. Childline: 0800 1111, free and confidential.