Adult Foundations Lesson 04: confirm a change before you act. Learn to separate suggestions from approved instructions, ask a clear question, and restate the decision. Six steps with fictional practice and downloadable notes. Free public self-study; no enrollment or AI account required.
ADULT FOUNDATIONS · LESSON 04
Confirm a change before you act.
Separate a suggestion from an approved instruction.
Adults 18+ · About 40 minutes · Flexible pacing · No AI account required
Start here: Step 1Original noncredit public self-study · Version 1.1 · October 9, 2026. No enrollment, academic credit, occupational hours, or credential is offered.
Previous: Lesson 03 · Give a progress update
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Print the learner copy for practice, or the teaching guide to include the independent model and review criteria. Download saves your typed responses as a text file.
01 / START · 4 minutes
What changed, and who confirmed it?
By the end, you can identify the current approved plan, describe a proposed change accurately, ask the person with authority for a decision, and restate a confirmed change without adding assumptions.
Your path
Read → choose → draft → check → try → save. Follow the green Next buttons. Everything is on this page. Your finished work is one request for confirmation, one independent request, and one accurate restatement.
Use paper, dictation, translation, or assistive technology when helpful. Take more time as needed. Typing speed and accent are not assessed. Save your notes before leaving.
Next: 2 · Learn02 / LEARN · 8 minutes
Current. Proposed. Confirm. Restate.
A suggestion is an idea someone offers. An approved instruction is a direction confirmed by the person responsible for that decision. When the two conflict, do not guess which one applies.
- Current: name the approved plan.
- Proposed: describe the suggestion and its source without calling it approved.
- Confirm: ask the responsible person which instructions apply.
- Restate: after a decision, repeat exactly what changed and what stayed the same.
Fictional card A
At Example Skills Center, Sam approved 12 workshop folders using Agenda A, due Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Sam is the only person authorized to change this plan. At Tuesday 12:30 p.m., Jo says, “Maybe make 15 folders with Agenda B instead.” Jo has no approval from Sam. No new deadline is given. You have not started assembling the folders.
Read the conflict in three parts
- Approved: Sam says 12 folders, Agenda A, Tuesday 2:00.
- Suggested: Jo says maybe 15 folders, Agenda B; no new deadline.
- Decision needed: Sam must confirm the quantity, agenda, and deadline.
Request for confirmation
Hi Sam, the approved plan is 12 folders using Agenda A, due Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Jo suggested 15 folders using Agenda B, but I have not received your approval of that change. Could you confirm which quantity and agenda I should use, and whether the 2:00 deadline still applies?
The request gives Sam the conflict to resolve. It does not blame Jo, treat “maybe” as approval, or invent a new deadline. In this fictional exercise, Sam’s current plan remains approved until Sam changes it. If uncertainty prevents safe or correct action in real work, follow the approved clarification or escalation process.
Short spoken version
“Sam, the approved plan is 12 folders with Agenda A by 2:00. Jo suggested 15 with Agenda B. Can you confirm the quantity, agenda, and deadline?”
After Sam answers: restate the decision
Suppose Sam replies: “Make 15 using Agenda B. Keep the Tuesday 2:00 deadline.” You can confirm: “Understood: 15 folders using Agenda B, due Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.” Changed: quantity 12 → 15 and Agenda A → Agenda B. Stayed the same: Tuesday 2:00 deadline. This reply confirms the instructions; it does not promise that you can finish on time. If the deadline is at risk, use Lesson 03 to report the risk.
What if the answer is unclear or no answer arrives?
If Sam only says “Go ahead,” ask what that means: “Do you mean 15 folders with Agenda B, still due Tuesday at 2:00?” Silence is not confirmation. In this card, Sam’s original plan remains the approved plan. If you cannot proceed correctly or safely, use the organization’s clarification or escalation process; do not invent approval or choose a substitute plan.
03 / CHOOSE · 5 minutes
Which response handles the conflict?
Use card A before Sam has replied. Choose once, read the feedback, then explain to yourself why the other options create an unapproved plan.
Choose an answer for feedback.
Read the explanation
B is correct. Newer does not automatically mean approved. Jo’s suggestion changes both quantity and file. Combining parts of the two plans creates a third plan nobody approved. Sam must decide; your request should cover all affected details.
04 / PRACTICE · 10 minutes
Write your own confirmation request.
Keep these facts beside your draft
Sam’s current plan: 12 · Agenda A · Tuesday 2:00. Jo’s unapproved suggestion: 15 · Agenda B · no new deadline. Sam alone can change the plan. Assembly has not started.
Write three or four short sentences to Sam. Name the current plan, describe Jo’s suggestion as unapproved, and ask for the quantity, file, and deadline that apply.
Need a frame or optional AI prompt?
“The approved plan is ___. ___ suggested ___. I have not received approval for that change. Could you confirm ___?” Use only facts from the card.
Optional fictional-data prompt: “Using card A only, draft a respectful request to Sam. Distinguish the approved plan from Jo’s suggestion. Ask for the quantity, agenda, and deadline. Do not invent approval.” Check every claim yourself. No external AI tool is required; disclose meaningful help.
If a check does not fit, revise that sentence and review it again. The boxes support review; they do not automatically grade your work.
0 of 4 checks marked. A person still reviews the actual confirmation.
Now practice the second half
Sam replies: “Keep 12 folders, use Agenda B, and keep Tuesday at 2:00.” Only the agenda changed. Restate all three details in one sentence without promising completion.
Check after writing your restatement
“Understood: 12 folders using Agenda B, due Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.” If you wrote 15, you kept Jo’s suggestion instead of Sam’s decision. Correct it to 12. If you changed the deadline, restore Tuesday at 2:00.
05 / TRY · 8 minutes
New instructions. Your judgment.
Fictional card B
Lee approved 8 practice packs using Worksheet Blue, due Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Only Lee can change this plan. At Wednesday 9:00 a.m., Pat suggests “10 packs with Worksheet Green.” Pat has no approval from Lee. No new deadline is stated. No packs have been assembled.
First: use card B only. Finish your request before opening Lee’s reply below. Name the current plan and the unapproved suggestion, then ask for the quantity, worksheet, and deadline.
Draft a request to Lee covering the conflict and the deadline. Try without someone or AI supplying your answer. Access supports may remain when they do not provide your reasoning.
After your request: open Lee’s reply
Lee’s confirmed decision
“Use Worksheet Green, but keep 8 packs and the Wednesday 11:00 deadline.”
Second: open Lee’s reply. Before writing, identify which detail changed and which two stayed the same. Write one sentence restating Lee’s confirmed instructions. Then explain one detail you deliberately did not assume.
After your attempt: model and explanation
Request: “Hi Lee, the approved plan is 8 packs using Worksheet Blue by Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Pat suggested 10 with Worksheet Green, but I have no approval for that change. Could you confirm the quantity, worksheet, and deadline?”
Restatement: “Understood: 8 packs using Worksheet Green, due Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.”
Lee changed the worksheet only. Pat’s suggested quantity was not approved. Neither the request nor the restatement should invent a later deadline or promise completion. If you saw the model first, use a fresh equivalent card for independent assessment.
06 / SAVE · 5 minutes
Keep one useful habit.
Before you finish
- Review your request: did you separate approved facts from a suggestion?
- Review your restatement: does it match the responsible person’s reply exactly?
- Write one habit below, then download or print your notes before leaving.
Write your habit, save your notes, and review the request and restatement. For real work, verify the recipient’s authority and use the organization’s approved channel. Safety-related or urgent conflicts require its own approved process.
Your notes are personal practice, not a grade or certificate.
Continue: Lesson 05 · Report a mistake and propose a correction
Facilitator guide
Review the independent request, restatement, and explanation. Mark each criterion Meets, Revise, or Not observed. All four must meet; an average cannot override a missing criterion.
- Accuracy: the request identifies 8 Blue packs due Wednesday at 11:00 and Pat’s unapproved 10 Green suggestion.
- Authority and request: asks Lee to confirm quantity, worksheet, and deadline; does not treat Pat’s suggestion as approval.
- Restatement: after Lee replies, confirms 8 Green packs due Wednesday at 11:00. No invented change or completion promise.
- Respect and reasoning: factual, respectful wording; explains an avoided assumption and discloses meaningful help.
Use the two stages separately: let the learner finish the request before opening Lee’s reply, then assess the restatement against that reply. A correct restatement alone does not demonstrate that the earlier conflict was handled correctly.
Accept written, typed, spoken, or dictated work with documented supports. Harmless spelling and accent differences do not change the standard. Feedback example: “Lee approved Green, but kept eight packs. Correct your restatement’s quantity, then read it back against Lee’s reply.”
Fresh reassessment card
Robin alone approves a plan for 6 kits using Sheet One, due Friday at 9:30. Alex suggests 9 kits with Sheet Two without approval. Ask the learner to draft a confirmation request. Then provide Robin’s reply: “Keep 6 and Sheet One; change the deadline to Friday 10:00.” Ask for a restatement and avoided assumption. Apply the same criteria using these substituted facts.
One developmental communication skill, not proof of general employment readiness. No learner pilot, independent curriculum review, translation review, or formal accessibility audit is claimed. Store facilitator records in an approved private system. Original DTU resource AF-04 v1.1.