diff --git a/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart b/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart
index 32b8c1a29..c9c05aca1 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart
@@ -577,18 +577,18 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
 
   // this is just showActivityIcon now but will include
   // logic for showing
-  bool get showMessageButtons => showActivityIcon;
+  bool get showMessageButtons => hasUncompletedActivity;
 
   /// Returns a boolean value indicating whether to show an activity icon for this message event.
   ///
-  /// The [showActivityIcon] getter checks if the [l2Code] is null, and if so, returns false.
+  /// The [hasUncompletedActivity] getter checks if the [l2Code] is null, and if so, returns false.
   /// Otherwise, it retrieves a list of [PracticeActivityEvent] objects using the [practiceActivities] function
   /// with the [l2Code] as an argument.
   /// If the list is empty, it returns false.
   /// Otherwise, it checks if every activity in the list is complete using the [isComplete] property.
   /// If any activity is not complete, it returns true, indicating that the activity icon should be shown.
   /// Otherwise, it returns false.
-  bool get showActivityIcon {
+  bool get hasUncompletedActivity {
     if (l2Code == null) return false;
     final List<PracticeActivityEvent> activities = practiceActivities(l2Code!);
 
diff --git a/lib/pangea/models/practice_activities.dart/practice_activity_record_model.dart b/lib/pangea/models/practice_activities.dart/practice_activity_record_model.dart
index 7aa7f6b88..93ec8e478 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/models/practice_activities.dart/practice_activity_record_model.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/models/practice_activities.dart/practice_activity_record_model.dart
@@ -38,6 +38,16 @@ class PracticeActivityRecordModel {
     };
   }
 
+  /// get the latest response index according to the response timeStamp
+  /// sort the responses by timestamp and get the index of the last response
+  int? get latestResponseIndex {
+    if (responses.isEmpty) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    responses.sort((a, b) => a.timestamp.compareTo(b.timestamp));
+    return responses.length - 1;
+  }
+
   void addResponse({
     String? text,
     Uint8List? audioBytes,
diff --git a/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_toolbar.dart b/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_toolbar.dart
index ff7b73b72..9bb5aacbe 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_toolbar.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_toolbar.dart
@@ -189,6 +189,12 @@ class MessageToolbarState extends State<MessageToolbar> {
       return;
     }
 
+    // if there is an uncompleted activity, then show that
+    // we don't want the user to user the tools to get the answer :P
+    if (widget.pangeaMessageEvent.hasUncompletedActivity) {
+      newMode = MessageMode.practiceActivity;
+    }
+
     if (mounted) {
       setState(() {
         currentMode = newMode;
diff --git a/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/generate_practice_activity.dart b/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/generate_practice_activity.dart
index 02d7e90cd..7d01d8b4c 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/generate_practice_activity.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/generate_practice_activity.dart
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ class GeneratePracticeActivityButton extends StatelessWidget {
     required this.onActivityGenerated,
   });
 
+  //TODO - probably disable the generation of activities for specific messages
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
     return ElevatedButton(
diff --git a/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/message_practice_activity_content.dart b/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/message_practice_activity_content.dart
index 8f234bc8d..6b7ebf7d9 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/message_practice_activity_content.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/widgets/practice_activity_card/message_practice_activity_content.dart
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ class MessagePracticeActivityContentState
       );
     } else {
       recordModel = recordEvent!.record;
+      selectedChoiceIndex = recordModel!.latestResponseIndex;
       recordSubmittedPreviousSession = true;
       recordSubmittedThisSession = true;
     }