Short answer
Send the task with the materials learners need, a clear subject, and an answer key when they can check their own work. In S06E08, Gav describes attaching worksheets and answers, inviting questions, and including useful links or listening materials.
Before sending, check the recipient list and make sure the email reaches everyone. A repeatable routine can save time, but copied recipients, missing attachments or an old class list can create avoidable confusion.
Try this in your next lesson
Draft a short follow-up email with a clear task, the needed files and one sentence explaining what learners should do before the next lesson.
👇 Scroll down for our practical checklist or activity and download.
Listen to the whole S06E08 discussion in our podcast episode guide here🔊.
Make the message easy to find
Use a subject that tells learners what the message contains, such as the topic and date. A vague label may be harder to find later. Keep the email brief and put the task or next action near the top.
Attach what learners need
Include worksheets, audio or transcripts that were part of the lesson, along with an answer key when self-checking is suitable. You can also add a relevant practice link or video. Tell learners what to do if they have a question.
Check delivery and recipients
A previous email can be a convenient template, but check that the class list is current before replying to a group. In the next lesson, confirm that learners received the message; it may have gone to junk mail or an old email address.
Put a useful sample in the message
Gav also describes putting examples of the lesson’s key language into the email itself. Em sees the value of making the language visible without another attachment, but questions how much is manageable when Gav mentions sending very long lists. That gives us a useful limit: visible does not have to mean enormous.
For our classroom adaptation, choose three or four checked examples rather than copying a large generated list. Put the task first, then the examples and optional extension. In the next lesson, check that the message arrived and ask one learner to use an example in a new context. We learn more from that response than from assuming the attachments were opened.
Our suggested classroom adaptation of the episode discussion.
Gav and Em suggest: the 30-second homework email check
- ☐ Use a clear subject line.
- ☐ Attach the task and anything needed to complete it.
- ☐ Include answers when learners can sensibly self-check.
- ☐ Check recipients before sending.
- ☐ End with one clear instruction about what to do before the next lesson.
📥 Download the free teacher practice card (PDF)
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