S2E13 - The Upgrade

Objective & content

In "The Upgrade", a fan tribute video turns Tiago into a star at his US high school, and he starts talking about "leveling up". Neil, Harper and Elena each see the change in a different scene: the cafeteria, the hallway outside the school paper office and the school steps. The grammar focus is modal perfects (should have, could have, would have + past participle) used to judge past choices, as in "I could have stayed that boy forever". The vocabulary covers school life, fame and social media, and friendship and loyalty. Learners practise listening comprehension, then the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson lasts 45 minutes and runs in three blocks: pre-listening, listening and post-listening. Before listening, learners discuss why people want to be famous online and preview key words (account, journalist, blame, protect, overnight, rare). After listening, they work on the modal perfects taken from the script and finish with a short role play. The plan also offers [S] support and [A] extension options for each block.

Suggested procedure

1. (4 min) Write "Why do people want to be famous online?" on the board. Pairs talk for two minutes, then share with the class.
2. (6 min) Preview the key words with simple definitions and give the context in one sentence.
3. (5 min) First listen, without interruption, about 3 minutes. Ask for the main topic.
4. (10 min) Second listen with three pauses (0:30, 1:24, 2:14) and one question at each.
5. (5 min) Comprehension check: five oral or written questions.
6. (4 min) Vocabulary matching with the eight target words.
7. (6 min) Grammar focus: compare three sentences from the script, then learners write three sentences about their own school life.
8. (5 min) Pair role play: a friend tells Tiago what he should have done differently, and Tiago answers with "I could have ..." or "I would have ...".

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/`.
• Scrap paper for the speaking activity.
• 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-.