Mistake at Work: Fixing It and Moving On
Five workplace questions about noticing a mistake, telling a supervisor and fixing it, each with three options.
You put the wrong price sticker on a whole shelf. What should you do first?
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Read each scenario aloud and discuss the student's choice. In the second question, ask what makes the strong answer useful to a supervisor: it says exactly what happened and asks for help. Role-play that conversation with you as the supervisor, then let the student describe a mistake of their own in the same way.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- PromptAsk 'What's your first step?' or 'What would you say here?'Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two responses and talk through which one fits the situation better.Log as cued
- ModelRole-play it yourself first, then the student tries it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give the student a written script to read from during the role-play.
Drop the script, and play a less helpful partner who asks a follow-up question.
Matching IEP goal
Given a real-life scenario, Student will give a clear, appropriate response in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Five questions about a common workplace moment: putting the wrong price sticker on a whole shelf. The student decides what to do first, how to tell the supervisor clearly, what to do once shown the fix, how to avoid it next time, and what to say when a customer notices. Each has three options. Mistakes are a normal part of any job, and this board practises the communication around them rather than the mistake itself.
What to listen for
Notice whether the student is comfortable naming the mistake plainly or reaches for vague words like something weird. Some students choose the hiding option because a mistake feels very high stakes; that is worth talking through calmly. Listen for whether their own version includes a request for help.
Carrying it home
Share a small mistake you made at work or at home and how you fixed it. Ask your teen how they would tell a teacher or boss about a similar one. Keep the tone practical: what happened, what you said, what you did next.
What's in this activity
- You put the wrong price sticker on a whole shelf. What should you do first?
- Tell your supervisor what happened
- Hide the stickers
- Blame a coworker
- What is a clear way to tell your supervisor?
- Something weird happened with the prices.
- I put the wrong price on the cereal shelf. Can you show me how to fix it?
- It wasn't really my fault.
- Your supervisor shows you how to fix it. What do you do next?
- Wait for someone else to fix it
- Go on break
- Fix the stickers the way they showed you
- The next day you are not sure about a price. What could help?
- Check the price list before you label
- Guess and hope it's right
- Skip that shelf
- A customer points out the wrong price. What could you say?
- That's not my problem.
- Thanks for telling me. Let me get my supervisor to check it.
- Say nothing and keep working.
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in grades 9 through 12 working on vocational communication and workplace problem solving.
- Isn't this about behaviour rather than language?
- It is about the language of reporting a problem clearly and asking for help, which is a communication skill used in every job.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.