Step into a tense and gripping story designed to engage your students’ English reading, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.
In The Confession, students follow Father Michael, a priest who has heard countless confessions, as he faces a series of confessions that reveal a shocking mystery.
This lesson plan is perfect for B1–C1 level learners, offering a combination of reading practice, vocabulary building, comprehension exercises, and discussion activities.
Through this story, students will:
Explore complex emotions such as fear, guilt, and remorse
Practice full-sentence answers to reading comprehension questions
Build vocabulary connected to crime, investigation, and morality
Participate in speaking, role-play, and debate activities
Develop inference and critical thinking skills by piecing together events
This lesson is structured in clear sections with guided questions, vocabulary exercises, and activities designed to encourage student engagement and discussion. It’s ideal for classroom use, online lessons, or independent learning, helping students improve both their English skills and their ability to analyze and discuss narrative texts.
Prepare your class for an unforgettable story that challenges their understanding of truth, responsibility, and human conscience.
Read the questions below in class.
Try to answer all of them.
Have you ever told a lie to avoid trouble? What happened?
(You don’t need to give details—just the situation.)
Do you think people should always tell the truth to the police? Why or why not?
What would you do if you saw something suspicious at night but weren’t sure what it was?
Do you believe people can feel guilty even if they didn’t do anything wrong? Why?
What kind of things do people usually confess? Do you think they always tell the full truth?
Story for Listening
Watch the video below and listen.
This is good for listening comprehension. But you can also use it for shadowing.
The Confession
Read the full story below in class.
Try to understand what the story is about.
Father Michael had been hearing confessions for over twenty years.
Most were the same.
Small sins. Quiet regrets. Things people carried for a few days, then brought to him to be lifted away.
He sat in the booth, hands folded, listening to the soft hush of the church around him. Outside, a car passed. Somewhere, a door closed.
Then the confessional door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”
Father Michael bowed his head slightly.
“Go on, my child.”
“I told a lie.”
He waited a moment before answering.
“That is not uncommon.”
A pause.
“I told the police I was at home last night.”
Father Michael’s voice remained calm.
“And that wasn’t true?”
“No.”
Her voice trembled now.
“I was walking near the quarry road. I saw a man… bending over something.”
Father Michael leaned forward slightly in the darkness.
“What do you mean, something?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t go close. But… when I got home…”
She hesitated.
“There was blood on my shoe.”
Inside the booth, Father Michael did not move.
“I washed it. I threw the shoes away. I didn’t want trouble.”
A short silence settled between them.
“Do you feel remorse?” he asked gently.
“Yes.”
“Then you must pray for forgiveness,” Father Michael said. “And be careful not to let fear guide you again.”
“I don’t think I can tell them,” she added quickly.
“I understand,” he replied after a pause. “Go in peace.”
The woman left.
Father Michael remained still for a few seconds after the door closed.
The door opened again.
A man entered. His breathing was heavier.
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”
Father Michael straightened slightly.
“Go on.”
“I lost my temper.”
“With whom?” Father Michael asked.
“A man. We argued. It got out of hand.”
The priest listened quietly.
“What happened?”
“I hit him. Hard. He fell.”
The man took a breath.
“I think he hit his head on something. A rock, maybe.”
Father Michael’s fingers pressed lightly together.
“What did you do then?”
“I panicked,” the man said. “I thought… I thought he might be dead.”
“And?”
“I dragged him off the road. Into the dirt. I didn’t want anyone to see.”
A pause.
“I left him there.”
Father Michael’s voice was steady.
“Did you check if he was alive?”
“No.”
The man’s voice dropped.
“I didn’t want to know.”
Silence filled the booth.
“Do you feel remorse?” Father Michael asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you must pray,” he said. “And learn from this. Fear can lead us to make poor decisions.”
The man let out a slow breath.
“I don’t think I can go to the police.”
Father Michael did not hesitate.
“This is something you must resolve in your own conscience,” he said quietly.
The man said nothing more.
Then he left.
The third confession came shortly after.
Another man entered.
His voice was calm. Controlled.
“Bless me, Father.”
Father Michael inclined his head.
“Go on.”
“I wished harm on someone.”
“That is a serious matter,” Father Michael said.
“He deserved it.”
“No one deserves harm.”
The man continued, his voice steady.
“He ruined things for me. Took something that was mine.”
Father Michael remained silent, listening.
“What did you do?”
“I followed him. I wanted to confront him. I wanted him to understand.”
“And?”
“I told him what I thought of him.”
Father Michael spoke carefully.
“Did you harm him?”
A pause.
“No.”
But something in the man’s tone lingered.
“I left him on the quarry road,” the man added.
Father Michael’s eyes remained closed.
“Was he alone?”
“Yes.”
The man exhaled slowly.
“I hope he suffered.”
Father Michael opened his eyes.
“Hatred will only burden you,” he said. “You must let it go.”
“I know.”
The man stood.
“Thank you, Father.”
And left.
The final confession was different.
A smaller voice.
A boy.
“Bless me, Father.”
Father Michael softened his tone.
“Go on, my child.”
“I did something bad.”
“What happened?” he asked gently.
“My dad told me not to say anything.”
Father Michael paused.
“You can speak freely here.”
The boy hesitated.
“I saw him last night. He went out. I followed him.”
Father Michael leaned forward slightly.
“Where did he go?”
“The quarry road.”
A long pause.
“What did you see?”
“He was digging.”
Father Michael’s expression did not change.
“Digging?”
“Yes. With a shovel.”
The boy shifted slightly.
“He was putting something in the ground.”
Father Michael kept his voice even.
“What did he tell you it was?”
“He said it was rubbish,” the boy replied. “And that I should forget about it.”
A pause.
“But… it didn’t look like rubbish.”
Father Michael said nothing for a moment.
“What did it look like?” he asked quietly.
“A person.”
The boy swallowed.
“I think he saw me.”
“Did he say anything else?” Father Michael asked.
“He told me not to talk about it.”
Another pause.
“I feel bad.”
Father Michael nodded slowly.
“You have done the right thing by speaking,” he said. “Now you must let it rest.”
“Will I get in trouble?”
“No,” Father Michael said gently. “You are safe.”
The boy let out a breath.
“Thank you, Father.”
The door opened.
Then closed.
The church was empty when Father Michael stepped out of the booth.
The light had faded.
He walked slowly to his office and sat down. For a long time, he did nothing.
The silence settled around him.
Then, almost without thinking, he turned on the small television in the corner.
The news was already playing.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
A man.
Smiling. Ordinary.
The caption read:
MISSING PERSON – LAST SEEN NEAR QUARRY ROAD
Father Michael stared at the image.
Then the pieces began to move.
The woman.
The blood.
The first man.
The blow.
The second man.
The hatred.
The boy.
The digging.
Witnesses.
Fragments.
Close—but not quite.
His gaze drifted from the television to his desk.
There, beside a stack of prayer books, lay a small object.
A wristwatch.
Mud still caught in the clasp.
He looked at it for a long time.
Then reached out and turned it over in his hand.
The glass was cracked.
Stopped.
Frozen at 11:42.
On the television, the missing man’s face remained, smiling quietly into the room.
Father Michael set the watch back down.
Folded his hands.
Closed his eyes.
Reading Comprehension Questions
Below are all the reading comprehension questions.
Try to answer these using full and complete sentences.
You can find model answers at the end of the lesson plan.
Who is the main character in the story?
How long has he listened to people making confessions?
Where is he at the beginning of the story?
Who comes into the booth?
What does the woman say her sin is?
Who did the woman lie to?
Where was she really?
What did she see?
What did she later find on her shoe?
What did the woman do with her shoes?
What does Father Michael advise the woman to do?
Who is the next person to enter the confession booth?
What is this person’s sin?
What more details does the man give about what happened?
How does Father Michael react?
What did the man do with the other man?
Did the man check to see if the other man was alive or dead?
What does Father Michael say about fear?
What is the man reluctant to do?
Who is the third person to enter the confession booth?
How is this man different from the first man?
What is this man’s sin?
What did the man say happened to him?
Did he speak to the other man?
Where did the man leave the other man?
Were these two people alone?
What advice does Father Michael give to the man?
Who is the fourth person to make a confession?
What does the boy say he did?
Where did the boy go?
What did he see?
What did the boy’s father say he was burying?
What does the boy later believe his father was burying?
How does Father Michael reassure the boy?
Who does Father Michael see when he leaves the booth?
Where does he go?
What does he do first in his office?
What does he do next?
What does he watch on TV?
What information is shown on the news?
What does Father Michael look at on his desk?
What is stuck on the clasp of the watch?
Is the glass on the watch cracked?
Is the watch still working?
What time does the watch say?
What does Father Michael do at the end?
Essential Vocabulary
confession | advise | rock |
vicar | fear | drag |
priest | truth | ground |
booth | lie | dig |
sin | police | shovel |
regret | quarry | bury |
forgiveness | road | rubbish |
remorse | blood | witness |
conscience | shoe | fragment |
hesitate | wash | missing |
tremble | throw away | watch |
calm | temper | clasp |
steady | argue | cracked |
silence | hit | frozen |
pause | fall | pray |
Vocabulary Practice Exercise
Follow the steps below to help you learn and remember new words and phrases more effectively:
Write each new word or phrase in your vocabulary notebook.
Look up the meaning of each word in your dictionary. Write a clear and simple definition next to the word.
Create your own sentence using the word or phrase correctly. Try to make the sentence meaningful and connected to your own life or experiences.
Examples
Confession – a statement in which someone admits that they have done something wrong.
Example sentence: He went to the church to make a confession about the mistake he had made.
Vicar – a priest in the Church of England who is responsible for a local church.
Example sentence: The vicar spoke kindly to the people in the village and listened to their problems.
Why do this?
Doing this regularly will help you improve all areas of your English — reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By writing definitions and making your own examples, you are actively using the language, which helps it stick in your memory.
Discussion Questions
Go through all the questions below in class.
Try to answer them using your own opinions and thoughts.
There are no real true answers to these questions. Your answers may be different from other people’s.
What is your overall impression of Father Michael?
Do you think he is a good priest? Why or why not?
Which confession did you find the most interesting? Why?
Which confession did you find the most suspicious? Why?
Do you think the woman should have told the police what she saw?
Why do you think the first man did not check if the other man was alive?
Do you believe the second man when he says he did not harm anyone? Why or why not?
What role does fear play in the story?
Why do you think the boy decided to speak, even though his father told him not to?
Do you think the boy understands the seriousness of what he saw?
How do the different confessions connect to each other?
At what point did you start to realise something serious had happened?
Do you think all the people in the story are guilty in some way? Explain your answer.
What does the story suggest about truth and responsibility?
Do you think people sometimes avoid the truth to protect themselves?
What do you think happened to the missing man?
What is the significance of the watch at the end of the story?
Why do you think Father Michael keeps the watch?
Do you think Father Michael is involved in the crime? Why or why not?
Why do you think the story ends with “Closed his eyes”? What does this mean to you?
Thank You for Reading!
We hope you enjoyed this story and found the lesson plan useful for your students.
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