SkillRise Spark · Kettle & Quire Books · Facilitator sheet

Nothing To Do

Choosing worthwhile, authorized work during a quiet period without performing busyness. Estimated 30–45 minutes (not yet classroom-validated).

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Learning outcomes (observable)

Aims to listen for in discussion. Learners are not rated; writing on the learner sheet is optional.

Identifies the people, facts and competing responsibilities in Nothing To Do.
Explains what one possible action protects, what it risks and a realistic next move.
Drafts a specific sentence or check they could adapt outside the fictional scenario.

Competency focus (SkillRise descriptions)

Practices: Judgment in ambiguity, Customer service, Self-direction. Internal mapping, not an external standards alignment.

Communication. Learner chooses or drafts what to say, then explains why that wording fits. Review: The exact line chosen on the evidence card and any drafted sentence on the learner sheet.
Problem-solving. Learner lists known facts, open questions and a sensible first step. Review: The 'facts I used / still needed to check' learner-sheet prompt.
Professional judgment. Learner compares two defensible options and explains what each protects and risks. Review: The protects / risks / next-move feedback and the learner's stated reason.

Preparation

Play the activity once yourself (about 15 minutes, estimated).
Print or display the learner sheet; decide whether learners work alone, in pairs or as a group.
Read the safety note below and agree that passing or writing silently is always allowed.

Safety or role boundary

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.

Session plan

0–5 min	Frame the fictional practice, read the opening prompt and make passing or writing silently explicit options.
5–20 min	Play Nothing To Do. Pause at the first decision to separate known facts from assumptions.
20–32 min	Compare two defensible choices. Name who each protects, who carries the risk and any fixed boundary.
32–40 min	Use the learner sheet to draft one clear next move. Sharing remains optional.
40–45 min	Close with the optional real-world step and explain how to reopen an evidence card if one was saved.

Delivery options

Individual: Play independently, pause before each choice to note a reason, then complete any learner-sheet prompt privately.
Paired: Share one screen. One person reads and one tracks facts, assumptions and affected people; switch roles after the first decision.
Group: Project the activity, collect choices by show of hands, written vote or silence, then invite reasons without asking for personal disclosure.

Opening prompt

“What is the difference between looking busy and noticing work that matters?”

Discussion questions

Which quiet task protected a future customer or coworker?
What did the lingering regular need—and what did they not necessarily need?
What would you check before treating a phone request as simple?

Optional real-world practice step

Notice one quiet period and choose a useful task you can explain in terms of who it helps.

Follow-up

At the next meeting, invite learners to say whether they tried the optional step or noticed a similar decision. Passing is always allowed.

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.

Discussion prompts

Discussion prompts only — learners are not rated, graded or ranked. Learners can think privately, write if they wish, speak or pass. Pairs and groups can explore different choices without reaching agreement. Nobody needs to share personal experiences.

Recognizing the workplace issue: What pressures were in play at that moment?
Who else was affected, and what did they need?
Considering options and consequences: What might each option protect, and what might it risk?
Who would carry the cost of each choice?
Explaining a reasoned decision: What made your choice make sense to you?
What is the strongest case for a different choice?
Identifying a practical next step: What is one thing someone could say or check next?
How might that step change in a different workplace?

Facilitator reminders

Invite reasoning, not disclosure. Ask what the character could do and why. Never require learners to share personal experiences; offer 'think about it privately' as a normal option.
Allow disagreement and silence. Different choices are expected. Silent participation, written answers and passing are all legitimate ways to take part.
Separate judgment from personality. Talk about actions and reasons, not character traits. 'You checked before promising' rather than 'you're cautious'.
Ask who bears the consequences. For each option, ask who gains, who waits and who carries the risk — customers, coworkers, the business or the worker.
State safety boundaries clearly. Some lines are not matters of style: allergens, machine guards, privacy and unsafe lifting. Name the boundary plainly before or after play. Never demonstrate an unsafe workaround.
Not an employment screening tool. Do not use choices, reflections or evidence cards to select, rank or assess people for jobs or placements. The scenarios are fictional practice.
Describe evidence cards accurately. An evidence card records the choices a learner made and anything they wrote in a fictional scenario. It is not a grade, credential or proof of workplace competence, and it is saved only in that learner's browser.