S2E24 - The Fine Print

Objective & content

Stella tells Rodrigo that her brother Mason is the artist, and Neil shows him the real contract Cole prepared. Rodrigo reads the clause aloud and explains the consequences: "If this contract had been signed, Mason would have lost control of every dollar he earned until he turned eighteen." In the last scene Cole hands Rodrigo the invitations to the unveiling, and Rodrigo stays calm and asks to see the paperwork. The grammar focus is the third conditional (if + past perfect, would have + past participle), reviewed with the passive ("The invitations have already been printed"). The vocabulary covers contracts and paperwork, and the skill is listening comprehension followed by speaking about what would have happened.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson lasts 50 minutes (4:59 of audio with five voices: Rodrigo, Diane, Cole, Stella and Neil; Mason is mentioned but never speaks). Learners explain what Neil found and why Rodrigo is worried, recognise six words (contract, clause, summary, minor, representative, control), complete and say third conditional sentences, and recognise the present perfect passive. Keep the legal vocabulary light: learners only need to recognise the six words. When modelling, write the long forms on the board, because "he'd changed" is "he had changed" but "he'd tell" is "he would tell".

Suggested procedure

1. Activate prior knowledge (5 min): write "a contract, a signature, a minor" on the board and ask who signs for a young person; then ask why the small print can be dangerous.
2. Vocabulary preview (5 min): present the six words with simple definitions; use images or gestures for support, or let advanced learners guess in pairs.
3. First listen (5 min): play the audio without interruption and ask where the three scenes take place and what the main problem is.
4. Second listen (10 min): pause at 1:28 (what would have happened if the contract had been signed?), at 2:54 (what is Stella doing?) and at 4:23 (was it really Mason's free choice?).
5. Comprehension check (5 min): five questions, orally or in writing, matching the in-app quiz.
6. Vocabulary practice (5 min): match the words to their definitions on the board, or use the student sheet.
7. Grammar focus (5 min): put two lines from the script on the board, build the rule together, add the passive review line, then practise in pairs.
8. Speaking extension (5 min): pairs say what would have happened if Neil had not made copies of the folder, chaining "If ..., ... would have ...".
9. Writing extension, optional (5 min): three third conditional sentences about one moment of the episode.

Materials & prerequisites

• Student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF and HTML) from the episode's printables.
• Lesson plan, a device with the Academy app or the audio file, a whiteboard or projector, and sticky notes or scrap paper.
• Prerequisite grammar: the past perfect (had + past participle), "would" and basic passive forms.

Curriculum alignment

This episode is tagged to the cycle 4 axis "school and society" (c4-school-and-society) and suits a 3eme class. The CEFR half-level is B1-.