Halloween E02 - Something Upstairs

Objective & content

Neil and Sanjay arrive at the old house and find it fully decorated, with no sign of Mika. They decide to hold the party anyway, and guests including Harper, Stella, Tiago, Brody and Elena enjoy the effects while the two hosts grow more afraid. The grammar focus is the present perfect simple ("Someone has decorated the whole house") and might and could for guesses about who did it. Learners also meet house and party vocabulary such as candle, footsteps, lock and closet. The main skill is listening comprehension, followed by the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

This is the second of three Halloween episodes. It is off-arc, so a class that has not heard episode 1 can still follow it. The story ends on a cliffhanger, which suits guessing practice: ask learners what is in the closet with might and could, and do not reveal the answer. Play the audio once for enjoyment before any language work, as the sound effects carry much of the story.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Write "A party in a haunted house" on the board; pairs list three things they would see and two sounds they would hear.
2. (5 min) Pre-teach six words (decorate, candle, footstep, lock, disappear, explanation) with simple definitions.
3. (4 min) First listen without interruption: learners give the main topic.
4. (11 min) Second listen with three pauses: who could have decorated the hall, why the boys are nervous, what has happened in the bedroom.
5. (7 min) Comprehension check with five questions in story order.
6. (5 min) Vocabulary matching game, with the six words plus chandelier, velvet, closet and voicemail.
7. (7 min) Grammar focus: compare has / have + past participle with might and could, then describe a messy room and guess who did it.
8. (6 min) Pair work: one learner describes a room where something has changed, the other makes three guesses, then they swap.

Materials & prerequisites

• The student sheet and the teacher sheet (printables).
• The lesson plan for this episode.
• Device with the Academy app or the audio file, and a whiteboard or projector.
• Prerequisites: past participles of common verbs, and the idea of "maybe" for guesses.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4, through the axis Encountering others.