S1E22 - The Signature

Objective & content

Stella Voss is investigating the street artist of Golden Bay, but every classmate has told her where they were and none of it fits. With Neil beside her, she stops studying the murals and looks at the small house signed in the corner, and the word maison leads her to her brother Mason. The grammar focus is reported speech: what people said, with said and told, and the verb moving into the past ("He told everyone he was at family movie night."). Learners listen for gist and detail, build vocabulary around the investigation (signature, secret, fake, corner) and then report short statements in pairs.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson plan is a 45-minute lesson at A2+ for 4e. It teaches one change only, present to past with was and were, so learners can report alibis without other tense shifts. The episode is a mystery for teenagers and ends on a cliffhanger, so tell students the story continues in the next episode.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Activate prior knowledge: write detective, clue and alibi on the board and ask what a detective does first.
2. (5 min) Preview six words: signature, opinion, fake, secret, corner, artistic.
3. (4 min) First listen for gist: what is Stella looking for, and what does she do at the end?
4. (8 min) Second listen with three pauses: what Theo and Mika said, the word Stella finds in the signature, and why Mason's alibi is a lie.
5. (5 min) Comprehension check with five questions that match the in-app quiz.
6. (5 min) Vocabulary practice: match the six words, then write one sentence about the episode.
7. (7 min) Grammar focus: reported speech from three lines of the script, then a detective game in pairs.
8. (6 min) Speaking extension: a witness gives an alibi and the detective reports it to a new partner.

Materials & prerequisites

• The episode audio or the Academy app, and a board or projector.
• `printables/student-sheet.pdf` (one per student) and `printables/teacher-sheet.pdf`.
• Six blank paper strips per pair for the detective game.
• Prerequisite: the past simple of be and common verbs.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4, 4e: axis "languages and communication" (`c4-languages-and-communication`). Reported speech is introduced at this stage.