S2E15 - Off the Record

Objective & content

In "Off the Record", Harper finds Brody hiding behind a car to watch a mural, works out that somebody is paying him, and then hears Tiago let slip that he knows which wall the artist painted first. In the last scene she talks to her investigation board about the artist's golden house signature. The grammar focus is modal perfects for deduction (must have, might have, can't have + past participle), and Brody's bad guesses contrast with Harper's well-supported ones. A line to quote: "He can't have guessed that." The vocabulary covers investigation, evidence and secrets, street art and the school newspaper. Learners practise listening comprehension and then the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson lasts 50 minutes: pre-listening, listening and post-listening. Learners start with street art and how detectives work, preview five words (signature, hunt, private, argue, truth), then listen twice with three pauses. The post-listening block covers comprehension, vocabulary, a clue game on deduction sentences, a pair role play and an optional short writing task. The plan offers [S] support and [A] extension options throughout.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Write "Who painted it?" on the board and show a local mural or street-art photo. Pairs share what they know, then answer "How do detectives work out what happened?"
2. (5 min) Preview the five key words with simple definitions.
3. (4 min) First listen, without interruption, about 3 minutes 30 seconds. Ask for the main topic.
4. (11 min) Second listen with pauses at 1:10, 2:10 and 3:20, and one question at each.
5. (6 min) Comprehension check: five oral or written questions.
6. (5 min) Vocabulary practice: matching game, or the student sheet.
7. (7 min) Grammar focus: three sentences from the script, then a clue game where pairs write two deductions about a short situation.
8. (4 min) Pair role play: Harper gives three reasons for her deductions, using modal perfects.
9. (3 min, optional) Learners write three deductions about something that happened at school.

Materials & prerequisites

• Audio file or the Academy app, whiteboard or projector.
• Student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF or HTML), in `printables/`.
• Lesson plan, in `teachers-resources/`.
• Sticky notes or paper slips for the clue game.
• Prerequisites: the past simple and irregular past participles.

Curriculum alignment

Tagged `c4-school-and-society`: cycle 4, for a 3eme class. The CEFR half-level is B1-.