Questioning First Impressions · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Pausing on Your First Guess

Personal & Social Development · Self-Awareness · ages 9-10
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Your very first idea about why someone did something is always the correct one.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. What is a 'first guess' about why someone acted a certain way?

    • A quick guess that might be wrong
    • A fact you already checked and confirmed
    • Something the other person told you directly

  3. What does it mean to 'assume the worst' about someone's behaviour?

    • To believe the kindest explanation first
    • To believe the meanest reason first
    • To ask the person directly what happened

  4. Chloe's friend didn't reply to her note all day. Which response shows Chloe questioning her first impression?

    • 'Maybe she's busy or hasn't seen it yet.'
    • 'She is ignoring me on purpose.'
    • 'She must not want to be my friend anymore.'

  5. Ben waves at his friend, but she walks past without waving back. His first thought is, 'She doesn't like me anymore.' What should Ben do next?

    • Stay upset and avoid her for the rest of the day
    • Tell other people that she is being mean
    • Pause and think of another reason

  6. Before deciding why a confusing situation happened, you should try to think of at least how many possible reasons? Type the number.

    Answer: ______________

  7. Priya's friend didn't invite her to sit at lunch. Priya immediately decided, 'She's dropping me as a friend,' and stopped talking to her. What mistake did Priya make?

    • She was right to assume the worst since that's the safest choice
    • She checked with her friend before deciding anything
    • She jumped to one conclusion without pausing

  8. Jordan thought his teammate skipped practice because she didn't care about the team. Later he learned she was sick. What does this show?

    • First guesses are always right
    • First guesses can be wrong, so check first
    • It's fine to stay angry even after learning the truth
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Pausing on Your First Guess W1-mt_Mb1JUJmnbX-s1

  1. False · Your first idea is only one possibility. There are usually other reasons worth considering too.
  2. A quick guess that might be wrong · A first guess is just an idea your mind makes fast. It still needs checking before you treat it like a fact.
  3. To believe the meanest reason first · Assuming the worst means picking the harshest reason before checking if it's even true.
  4. 'Maybe she's busy or hasn't seen it yet.' · Chloe lists more than one possible reason instead of locking onto a single negative one.
  5. Pause and think of another reason · Pausing gives Ben a chance to consider a reason that has nothing to do with him, like simply not noticing.
  6. 2 · Thinking of at least two reasons stops you from locking onto the first, possibly wrong, idea.
  7. She jumped to one conclusion without pausing · Priya acted on her first guess without pausing. A pause could have led her to consider reasons that had nothing to do with their friendship.
  8. First guesses can be wrong, so check first · Jordan's first guess felt certain but turned out to be wrong. Checking first would have saved him from being upset for no reason.
Worksheet · LightMySky