Role-play cards

For the two live practice sessions. All names and profiles are fictional. Student cards are played by adults simulating Grade 7–8 students; each carries (1) a personality note, (2) a misconception profile that drives how they “get stuck,” and (3) a reveal rule — the misconception information they give up only if the tutor’s question actually targets it. The reveal mechanic is what turns role-play into probing-question practice: a tutor who corrects or lectures gets nothing, which is the point.

Print single-sided, cut, one full set per trio. Online: paste each card into its breakout-room chat at round start.

Student cards — Session A (routine rehearsal; cooperative to disruptive)

S-A1 · Amara, Grade 7 · cooperative Wants to please; copies yesterday’s method without checking whether it fits. Personality: quiet, second-guesses, waits to be called on. Reveal: will say “is this right?” after every step — the tutor’s job is to hand checking back to her.

S-A2 · Jayden, Grade 7 · fast finisher Finishes early, calls out answers to neighbors, gets restless. Reveal: correct answers but zero method — ask him “how do you know?” and he shrugs. His card exists to practice attention-spreading (R4): the tutor must give him a real job without letting him run the room.

S-A3 · Luis, Grade 7 · avoidant Last week said “negative numbers are out to get me.” Will start work late, hopes not to be noticed. Reveal: if asked one specific thing about his own work, engages genuinely; if lectured, checks out further. Reveal rule: engagement is the success signal.

S-A4 · Camila, Grade 8 · disruptive-adjacent Side conversations, phone under the table, “when’s this over.” Reveal: has a real misconception (M1) and will work if the tutor gives her the pen and a two-minute solo win. Tests block boundaries, not warmth.

Student cards — Session B (error handling; reveal mechanics)

S-B1 · “Desi” · misconception M3 (distributing incorrectly) Script: on 3(x + 2) = 12, writes 3x + 2 = 12 and says “distribute is multiply the first thing, right?” Reveal (if the question lands on the multiplication: “What did the 3 multiply?”): “…everything inside? So 3 × 2… 6. Oh. 3x + 6.” Reveal (if corrected instead): shrugs, writes 3x + 6, learns nothing, will repeat the error next week. Give the tutor nothing else.

S-B2 · “Mika” · misconception M2 (sign when moving terms) Script: on x − 4 = 10, writes x = 6 confidently — “move the 4 over, flip the… wait, minus?” Reveal (if asked “what did you do to both sides?”): “I subtracted 4 from the left… and the right? I didn’t touch the right.” Reveal (if told “check your signs”): guessing — cycles through x = 14, x = 6. Only a question about the operation triggers the real reveal.

S-B3 · “Theo” · pressure profile · “just tell me” Script: reads the problem, writes nothing, says “can you just show me? I learn from examples.” Reveal: if the tutor works a full example before any attempt, complies happily and produces nothing — the round is lost and the observer records it. If the tutor requires an attempt first, works reluctantly and then genuinely (he can do it; the ask is avoidance). Reveal rule: after a genuine attempt, accepts ladder hints at one rung per turn.

S-B4 · “Ren” · distress profile · three failures Script: third failed attempt at the same move-the-terms step. “This is stupid. I did the exact same thing. I’m just bad at this.” Reveal: if the tutor keeps hinting, disengages (“sure. whatever.”) — the round is lost. If the tutor acknowledges the feeling AND switches to a worked example of a similar problem (L4), re-engages and can name the step on the hand-back. Reveal rule: engagement after the L4 hand-back is the success signal.

S-B5 · “Priya” · silent student Script: writes a wrong first step, then stops. Answers “I don’t know” to any question. Reveal: the written first step shows M4 (divided only the x-term). If the tutor waits 3–5 seconds and asks about what she wrote (not “what are you thinking”), she points to the step and recovers. If the tutor fills the silence, stays silent the whole round.

Tutor cards (both sessions — one per tutor, per round)

T-A (Session A) “You have 12 minutes to run all five blocks: warm-up → review → guided practice → independent try → exit ticket. The facilitator calls the ‘minutes.’ Your plan sheet must show the exit ticket chosen before you start. Success = the ticket is collected, even if everything else wobbles.”

T-B (Session B) “Your student is stuck on one step. Rules: no explaining until you’ve asked; one ladder rung per turn (hand on the card); 3–5 seconds of silence after each question; never name the misconception; never perform the fix. Success = the student finds it by L3 without you touching the pen.”

Observer cards (both sessions)

O-A (Session A) “You have the timing sheet and the Domain 1+2 checklist. Call ‘minute 5, 10, 15…’ out loud. Record actual block timings. In the debrief, report timings FIRST, impressions second — data before vibes.”

O-B (Session B) “You have the Domain 3+4 checklist. Two extra jobs: (1) count the silence — fingers up, one per second, after each tutor question; (2) call the rung number when the tutor’s hand moves on the ladder card. Report the rung sequence in the debrief: L0 → L1 → hand-back is the target shape.”

Card mechanics for facilitators

One card per student per round — profiles stack badly and overloading the tutor trains panic, not skill.
Escalate across rounds: Session A goes cooperative → disruptive; Session B goes plain error → pressure → distress.
The reveal rules are the assessment instrument. If a round “fails” because the tutor lectured, that IS the round’s result — record it, re-run one exchange with a better question, move on.
Debrief the students’ experience, not the tutor’s intention: “What did you notice when the question landed?” teaches more than “You should have waited longer.”
Keep the fiction respectful: students are written as capable kids with real, research-documented misconceptions — never as comic relief. The misconception bank tags every card’s misconception so tutors can connect role-play to real tickets later.