The Struggling Student

A teacher questions how to grade a struggling student.

Start Dilemma

Preview

You're a teacher at a high school and you discover that one of your students has turned in an essay generated by AI. This student is usually a hard worker, but she has recently told you that she is struggling with her mental health. Your school’s code of conduct expects all cases of plagiarism to be reported to the principal and given a grade of zero. What do you do?

Follow the procedure and report your student.
Let the student off with a warning.

Useful Language

Students can access a Useful Language drawer at any time during the activity. The key vocabulary and sentence stems will help your learners express their thoughts and opinions.

Keywords

  • plagiarism: using someone else’s work and saying it is your own
  • mental health: a person's emotional and psychological well-being
  • cheating: breaking the rules to get a better grade or result

Sentence Stems

  • Rules should be the same for everyone, so...
  • I have to follow school policy, but...
  • I think helping her now will do more good than...
  • Fairness is important, so...