S2E04 - Knock at the Door

Objective & content

In this dialogue (two scenes, no narrator), a family in a California kitchen discusses a street artist who is trending online, a vandalised billboard and Harper's list of suspects, while Stella takes a video call from Mika. In the second scene, Diane answers a knock at the door. The focus is the present perfect continuous with for and since, contrasted with the present perfect simple, for example "I've been selling artist T-shirts outside the gym since Tuesday." Vocabulary comes from social media, money and street art. Learners practise listening comprehension, then the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

This is the last episode of Module 1, so it works as a review of the present perfect continuous. Learners contrast an activity that is still going on (has been trending, I've been selling) with a result (I've already made four hundred dollars). The ending is a cliffhanger: use it for predictions and to set up Module 2. The episode is American English.

Suggested procedure

1. (4 min) Activate prior knowledge: street art, going viral, the word trending.
2. (6 min) Vocabulary preview: trending, billboard, vandal, afford, viewing, honest, thrive.
3. (4 min) First listen for global comprehension: who is in the kitchen, what the town talks about, who comes to the door.
4. (8 min) Second listen with pauses and discussion, including a prediction before the knock.
5. (7 min) Comprehension check, following the in-app quiz.
6. (5 min) Vocabulary practice: matching game or the student sheet.
7. (8 min) Grammar focus: three sentences from the script, then a pair exercise with for and since.
8. (5 min) Speaking extension: pairs ask "What have you been doing?" and "How long have you been doing it?"
9. (3 min, optional) Writing extension: three sentences as an exit ticket.

Materials & prerequisites

• Episode audio or the Academy app, and the in-app quiz.
• `printables/student-sheet.pdf` and `printables/teacher-sheet.pdf`.
• The lesson plan (50 minutes, with support and stretch paths).
• Prerequisites: present perfect simple and past simple.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4, class 3eme. Axes: encountering others (`c4-encountering-others`) and languages and communication (`c4-languages-and-communication`). CEFR half-level: B1-.