8 sheets · US Letter · Print the whole pack, or select pages 2–4 for learner cards.

SkillRise Spark · Facilitator guide · 1 / 8

Kettle & Quire Books

Retail · Independent bookshop and event space · Ashfield

An event rush, a quiet morning and one more shift-swap request put attention, care and personal limits in the same room.

Before learners arrive

Choose one of the three cards. Read its opening and try that workday online so you can discuss the consequences. Print one card per pair; keep this guide and the discussion sheet for yourself. No account is needed.

A 35-minute session

Frame · 3 minutes. “We are practicing decisions, not grading people. Explain what you would do and what it might cost.” Do not announce the skills beforehand.
Notice · 5 minutes. Read the card silently, or a volunteer reads it aloud. Separate known facts from assumptions; learners may think privately or jot notes.
Decide · about 12 minutes. Play the selected workday, or discuss the printed opening offline. In pairs, alternate decision-maker and observer; partners can choose differently and don’t need to agree. Offline cards cover the opening only, not branching consequences.
Discuss · 10 minutes. Use the matching question on sheet 5. Invite two defensible approaches, then name the trade-off and the boundary.
Reflect · 5 minutes. Offer the optional closing reflection. Learners may think privately, write, speak or pass; do not require personal workplace disclosures.

Keep the boundary clear

Do not promise coverage or authority you do not have. A coworker's genuine need does not remove your right to set limits; recurring gaps need a staffing conversation.

Observe without grading

Listen for a learner distinguishing facts from guesses, explaining who is affected, and naming a next action. Record only what was actually said or chosen, not confidence, personality or assumed competence.

Suggested timings are flexible. Most practice scenarios take about 12 minutes; exploration and reflection add optional time.

SkillRise Spark · Learner scenario card · 2 / 8

Kettle & Quire Books · Workday 01

The Signing

Thursday · 5:40 PM

Chairs are half set up, the register drawer is still at the counter where you left it, and you're threading extension cords under the poetry table when the front bell goes.

It's the author. Forty minutes early. She's got a tote bag, a water bottle, and an expression that says she's used to things being ready.

you: Hi — we're just finishing setup, the event's at seven.

Behind you, Davion is at the register still counting the float. Noreen is in the back on the phone with the caterer about a delivery that hasn't shown.

The author looks at the half-arranged chairs, then at you.

What do you do first?

Walk her to a quiet seat and get her water while you finish the room
Interrupt Noreen's call to hand this off
Tell her plainly what's still left to do and ask what she needs most
Drop the cords and rush the chairs so the room looks done fast

My next action and why: __________________________________

What it protects — and what it costs: ________________________

What I still need to check: __________________________________

No grades. Real consequences. Explain your reasoning; safety and privacy boundaries still apply.

skillrisespark.com/work/kettle-and-quire/the-signing

SkillRise Spark · Learner scenario card · 3 / 8

Kettle & Quire Books · Workday 02

Nothing To Do

Tuesday · 9:55 AM

You've dusted the new releases table twice. The shelving cart from yesterday still has about forty books on it, sorted loosely by section but nowhere near reshelved.

Abram is in the poetry aisle, the same three books in his hand as fifteen minutes ago. He's not really reading them.

Noreen is in the back doing the order for next week's event. Davion doesn't start until noon.

What do you do first?

Start working through the shelving cart
Go talk to Abram
Ask Noreen what she'd like you to focus on
Straighten the counter and wait to see what comes up

My next action and why: __________________________________

What it protects — and what it costs: ________________________

What I still need to check: __________________________________

No grades. Real consequences. Explain your reasoning; safety and privacy boundaries still apply.

skillrisespark.com/work/kettle-and-quire/nothing-to-do

SkillRise Spark · Learner scenario card · 4 / 8

Kettle & Quire Books · Workday 03

What It Costs

Sunday · 4:10 PM

This is the fourth time this month Wren has asked. The first two were easy — you had nothing going on. Last time you said yes and regretted it a little, quietly.

Wren: I have a lab practical Wednesday morning I didn't know about until today. It's worth 20% of the grade.

Wednesday is the one evening this month you'd already promised to something that matters to you — a friend's thing you can't easily move, or a second shift at your other job, depending on what's true for you.

Wren: I get it if you can't. I just don't know who else to ask. Davion's maxed out and Noreen's away.

What do you tell Wren?

“Okay, I'll cover it.”
“I can't this time — I already have something Wednesday I can't move.”
“I can do part of it, not the whole shift.”
“Text Noreen too — this might need more than a swap.”

My next action and why: __________________________________

What it protects — and what it costs: ________________________

What I still need to check: __________________________________

No grades. Real consequences. Explain your reasoning; safety and privacy boundaries still apply.

skillrisespark.com/work/kettle-and-quire/what-it-costs

SkillRise Spark · Discussion & reflection · 5 / 8

Bring the decisions into the room

01 · The Signing

During the signing, whose need would you address first—and who would wait?

02 · Nothing To Do

What makes a quiet task worth doing when nobody has called it urgent?

03 · What It Costs

When does helping a coworker become a pattern that the manager needs to address?

When the group disagrees

Ask: “What is the strongest case for the other option? Who carries its cost? What fact would change your mind?” Explore the reasoning without endorsing unsafe action. State the relevant boundary plainly.

Reveal the skills after practice

Ask learners to name a skill in the action they actually chose. These are discussion connections, not automatic evidence:

The Signing: Working under pressure · Prioritization · Clear communication
Nothing To Do: Judgment in ambiguity · Customer service · Self-direction
What It Costs: Boundary setting · Weighing tradeoffs · Honest communication

Optional closing reflection

What could you say to decline a shift swap while acknowledging the other person's need?

“In this practice, I chose to ______ because ______. Next time, I would check ______.”

Adapt to your learners

Read aloud or allow silent reading. Explain unfamiliar terms without choosing for learners. Offer spoken, written, partner or private responses, and let anyone pass; never require reading aloud, acting or personal disclosure. Use one card for a short session, or compare workplaces in a longer class.

Evidence, not a credential

Separate skills practiced, actions demonstrated in actual choices, and areas still developing. Offline discussion does not generate a platform evidence card. Neither a discussion nor an online evidence card proves real-world competence or awards a certificate, credential or grade.

SkillRise Spark · Companion · 6 / 8

Companion · optional “Try it your way” practice

Fit everyone's tasks together, then confirm it

Purpose. Discuss coordination, planning and confirming agreement when several people's time has to fit together.

Durable skills explored: Coordination, Planning, Confirming agreement.

This is a separate practice situation on a different event night. Lee and Sam aren't from your workday, and the times below are the only facts. Anything you write is a proposed plan — nobody has agreed to it yet.

Source material (as learners see it)

Signing night · planning information

The book signing begins at 18:00.
Chairs and books must be ready by 17:55.
Lee can cover the register from 17:30–18:00.
Sam needs 15 minutes to set chairs and has a break at 17:45.
You can prepare books in 10 minutes, or cover the register.
The manager approves changes.

Times use the 24-hour clock.

Discussion prompts

Walk through 17:30–17:55: who is where at each point?
What makes a plan agreed rather than assumed?
When Lee is late, what gap appears, and how is it closed without moving Sam's break?

One possible response

Lee: register, 17:30–18:00.

Sam: chairs, 17:30–17:45, then break.

You: books, 17:30–17:40; check readiness by 17:55.

Then confirm the assignments with Lee, Sam and the manager.

The example is one possible proposed plan. Look for named register coverage throughout, Sam's break kept, readiness checked by 17:55 and a step to confirm with coworkers and the manager. A written plan isn't evidence anyone agreed to it.

What changes if…?

Lee is delayed until 17:40.

One possible revision: you cover the register 17:30–17:40.
Lee takes over the register on arrival at 17:40.
You prepare books 17:40–17:50.
Sam's chair setup (17:30–17:45) and break stay unchanged.
Confirm the change with the manager and coworkers, and check readiness by 17:55.
Other plans could work too, as long as the register stays covered and nobody's break disappears.

Participation options

Individual:: Learners sketch a 17:30–18:00 timeline and a short confirmation message, or think it through without writing.
Paired:: One partner proposes the plan; the other plays the manager and asks what happens to the register and Sam's break.
Group:: Draw the half hour on the board with three rows (Lee, Sam, you). Fill it in together, then move Lee to 17:40.

Writing is optional; learners may think privately, discuss, or skip. Nothing is graded or collected. Source: Blueprint v3.0 · Section 30 · Q1 The Signing · p. 93.

SkillRise Spark · Companion · 7 / 8

Companion · optional “Try it your way” practice

Clarify the request, record only what's known

Purpose. Discuss listening, clarification and improving a process when a request is vague.

Durable skills explored: Listening, Clarification, Improving a process.

This is a separate practice situation on another quiet morning. It isn't the graduation gift order or Abram from your workday. Nothing below has been reserved, and you don't know which book the caller means.

Source material (as learners see it)

Phone request · order form

A caller asks for “the blue book from last month.”
There are three possible titles.
The order form has four fields: title, author, format and callback.
Staff have been using free-text scraps instead of the form.
No book has been reserved.

Discussion prompts

What question would actually distinguish three books?
What does “not yet confirmed” protect, for the caller and the store?
How is “an idea to try” different from “this worked”?

One possible response

“Do you remember the author or what the book was about?”

Order note — Title: not yet confirmed. Author: not yet confirmed. Format: not yet confirmed. Callback: not yet confirmed. Reservation: none yet.

Idea to try: use the same four-field form for every phone order, then look at how many of the next ten orders have missing details.

The example is one possible response. Look for a distinguishing question, unknown fields left as “not yet confirmed”, no invented title, number or reservation, and an improvement framed as an idea to try. The packet supplies no actual titles; don't add a catalog.

What changes if…?

The caller remembers only the subject, and two titles still fit.

Describe both possibilities neutrally and ask another distinguishing question — for example about the cover, where they heard of it, or roughly when it came out.
This practice doesn't give the actual titles, so there's no catalog to check here. The request isn't resolved.
An unresolved request can stay unresolved. Recording it as open, with what's known and a way to follow up, is a reasonable outcome.
Don't create a confirmed reservation, and don't assume anything about the caller — such as that they're lonely or can't manage. Check what they want.

Participation options

Individual:: Learners draft a question and a four-field note, or think it through without writing.
Paired:: One partner plays the caller, who knows only “blue” and “last month”; then only the subject. The other asks and records.
Group:: Put the four-field form on the board. Fill in only what's known together, then discuss what stays open after the changed condition.

Writing is optional; learners may think privately, discuss, or skip. Nothing is graded or collected. Source: Blueprint v3.0 · Section 30 · Q2 Nothing To Do · p. 94.

SkillRise Spark · Companion · 8 / 8

Companion · optional “Try it your way” practice

Say what you can realistically do

Purpose. Discuss boundaries, negotiation and realistic commitments when helping a coworker has a real limit.

Durable skills explored: Boundaries, Negotiation, Realistic commitments.

This is a separate practice situation — a Friday shift, not Wren's Wednesday from your workday. You don't need to share any personal details. Declining is a valid answer here.

Source material (as learners see it)

Shift-swap request · Friday

A friend asks you to cover Friday, 17:00–21:00.
Your last bus leaves at 20:15.
You must leave work at 20:00.
The supervisor approves swaps.
No alternative transport is arranged.
You could offer 17:00–20:00, if that's accepted.

Discussion prompts

What does the 20:15 bus mean for the latest you can work?
What makes a partial offer clear rather than vague?
When partial swaps aren't allowed, why is declining still a good response?

One possible response

Declining: “I can't take Friday's shift — I have to leave by 20:00. I hope you find someone.”

Partial cover: “I can cover 17:00–20:00 if the supervisor approves and someone covers the last hour. Otherwise I can't take the shift.”

The examples are two equally respectful possibilities. Look for honesty about 20:00, no invented transport, conditions stated for partial cover, and no pressure to disclose personal reasons. Declining is never a weaker answer.

What changes if…?

The supervisor says partial swaps are unavailable.

Declining the full shift remains a valid response. Your 20:00 limit hasn't changed.
Taking the whole shift would depend on transport that isn't arranged. Don't invent a ride to make it work.
You don't owe anyone personal details, and giving up something that matters to you isn't better teamwork.
If a genuinely confirmed alternative appeared later, you could look at it again then.

Participation options

Individual:: Learners draft a decline and a partial offer, or think through which they'd choose, without writing.
Paired:: One partner asks for the swap; the other replies. Then the asker announces that partial swaps aren't allowed.
Group:: Draw 17:00–21:00 with the 20:00 leave time marked. Discuss both replies, then the changed condition.

Writing is optional; learners may think privately, discuss, or skip. Nothing is graded or collected. Source: Blueprint v3.0 · Section 30 · Q3 What It Costs · p. 95.