Five Minutes Before the Bell

Hibiscus Teach | A1 Teen Dialogue Extension

Back to all A1 teen dialogues

A1 teen listening and speaking

Five Minutes Before the Bell

Help two students solve a school broadcast problem before the morning bell.

Focus: Requests, offers and morning problem solving

Voices: Amanda as Nora and Andrew as Leo

Estimated total time: about 30 minutes

30-minute lesson map

Listen 3 min

Transcript 5 min

Vocabulary 7 min

Quiz 7 min

Speaking 8 min

Audio

Before you listen: What can go wrong before a school announcement?

Recording pending. This lesson is waiting for its audio file.

Listen to the track again before you start the quiz and speaking section.

Lesson goals and instructions

Listen twice. First, catch the key information. Then, listen for useful phrases you can reuse.

  • Follow a short dialogue and put the urgent jobs in order.
  • Understand eight useful school and broadcast words.
  • Use can, need to, will and let's to make a simple team plan.

Transcript

  1. Nora: Leo, you're finally here!
  2. Leo: Sorry, Nora. Am I very late?
  3. Nora: It's eight twenty. The morning announcements start at eight twenty-five.
  4. Leo: Five minutes? Okay. What do we need to do?
  5. Nora: First, we need to fix the microphone. The red light isn't on.
  6. Leo: Let me check the cable.
  7. Nora: Is it connected?
  8. Leo: Yes, but this cable looks old.
  9. Nora: Try the other cable in the blue box.
  10. Leo: Good idea. Here it is.
  11. Nora: Testing, one, two, three. Can you hear me?
  12. Leo: Yes! The microphone is working now.
  13. Nora: Great. Next, we need today's lunch menu.
  14. Leo: It isn't on the desk.
  15. Nora: Oh no. Mrs Hill gave it to me yesterday.
  16. Leo: Is it inside your notebook?
  17. Nora: Let me look. No, it isn't here.
  18. Leo: Check under the keyboard.
  19. Nora: Here it is! Today's lunch is chicken, rice and vegetables.
  20. Leo: Perfect. What about the weather?
  21. Nora: It's cold and rainy. Students need their jackets at lunchtime.
  22. Leo: And we have one school message. Football practice is in the sports hall today.
  23. Nora: Right. The field is too wet.
  24. Leo: We have one minute left. Who is reading first?
  25. Nora: I'll welcome everyone and read the weather. You can read the lunch menu and the football message.
  26. Leo: Okay. Do we have the music?
  27. Nora: Yes. Press the green button after I say, 'Good morning.'
  28. Leo: Thirty seconds!
  29. Nora: Take a breath. We're ready.
  30. Leo: The light is green. We're live.
  31. Nora: Good morning, everyone. This is Nora with today's school news.
  32. Leo: And this is Leo. We have the weather, today's lunch and an important sports message.
  33. Nora: We did it!
  34. Leo: Yes, but tomorrow I'm arriving ten minutes early.

Vocabulary

1. announcement

Meaning: a spoken message that gives information to a group

Example: The morning announcement starts at eight twenty-five.

2. fix

Meaning: to make something work again

Example: They need to fix the microphone.

3. cable

Meaning: a long wire that connects equipment

Example: Leo tries a different cable.

4. connected

Meaning: joined to another thing so it can work

Example: Is the cable connected?

5. menu

Meaning: a list of food or drinks

Example: The lunch menu says chicken and rice.

6. field

Meaning: an outdoor area where people play sports

Example: The football field is wet.

7. press

Meaning: to push a button

Example: Press the green button after the welcome.

8. live

Meaning: being broadcast at that exact moment

Example: The green light means they are live.

Interactive quiz (8 questions)

Answer all eight questions before grading. You get one score and clear per question feedback.

0 of 8 answered

1. What time do the announcements start?

Not answered

Nora says the announcements start at eight twenty-five.

2. What is the first problem?

Not answered

The red light is off, so they first fix the microphone.

3. Where do they find the lunch menu?

Not answered

Leo tells Nora to check under the keyboard.

4. What is for lunch?

Not answered

Nora reads chicken, rice and vegetables from the menu.

5. What is the weather like?

Not answered

Students need jackets because it is cold and rainy.

6. Why is football practice inside?

Not answered

Practice moves to the sports hall because the field is wet.

7. What does Nora read?

Not answered

Nora welcomes everyone and reads the weather.

8. What will Leo do tomorrow?

Not answered

At the end, Leo promises to arrive ten minutes early.

Score pending.

Speaking task

Morning Rescue Mission

Task: Your school broadcast begins in five minutes. Work with a partner or your teacher and create a fast team plan.

Scenario: Four problems happen before the school broadcast. Each speaker has different information.

Steps

  • Open only your own role card.
  • Tell your partner one problem at a time.
  • Make requests and offers, then choose who does each job.
  • Put the jobs in order and present the final plan.

Role cards

Open only your own card.

Student A: Studio presenter

Open only this card. Do not show it to Student B.

  • The microphone has no sound.
  • The lunch card is missing.
  • Ask for help and decide which job is first.
Student B: Outside helper

Open only this card. Do not show it to Student A.

  • Rain has moved the outdoor assembly into the hall.
  • The other presenter has not arrived.
  • Offer help and decide who does each job.

Language box

  • We need to…
  • Can you…?
  • I'll…
  • Let's do this first.
  • After that, we can…

Checklist

Output goal: Give a one-minute rescue plan. Say who does each job and what happens first, next and last.

Solo option: Working alone? Play both roles and record a one-minute voice message with your plan.