In Peru, three people made a mistake while stealing from a shoe store. They took over 200 shoes, but all the shoes were for the right foot. The store owner thinks the shoes are worth more than $13,000. The thieves might find it hard to sell the shoes.
The bad robbery was seen on security cameras. The cameras saw the criminals breaking the lock on the store at night. They used a tricycle to take boxes of shoes from different brands. The police are using the video and fingerprints to find the thieves. They think it is strange that only right-foot shoes were stolen.
Original news source: Peru robbery: Shoe-shop thieves get off on the wrong foot (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Shoe Store Roleplay
Instructions: Have students work in pairs to create a dialogue between a shoe store owner and a customer. Encourage them to use vocabulary from the article, such as “shoe store,” “right foot,” “brands,” and “thieves.” After practicing their dialogue, students can present it to the class.
– Guess the Word Mime
Instructions: Write several vocabulary words from the article on slips of paper (e.g., shoe store, thieves, tricycle, robbery, fingerprints, security cameras). Have one student at a time draw a slip of paper and act out the word without speaking. The other students must guess the word in English. This activity helps students practice vocabulary and encourages creativity in expressing ideas without speaking.
– Story Sequencing
Instructions: Write the main events of the article in simple sentences on separate slips of paper. Divide the students into small groups and give each group a set of the slips. Students must work together to put the events in the correct order. This activity helps students practice reading comprehension and understanding the sequence of events in a story.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Where did the people make a mistake while stealing?
2. What did the people steal from the store?
3. How many shoes did they take?
4. What is special about the shoes they took?
5. How much does the store owner think the shoes are worth?
6. What did the security cameras see?
7. What did the criminals use to take the boxes of shoes?
8. What are the police using to find the thieves?
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
In Peru, three people made a (1)________ while stealing from a shoe store. They took over 200 shoes, but all the shoes were for the right foot. The store owner thinks the shoes are worth more than $13,000. The thieves might find it hard to sell the shoes.
The bad robbery was seen on security cameras. The cameras saw the criminals breaking the (2)________ on the store at night. They used a tricycle to take boxes of shoes from different (3)________. The police are using the video and fingerprints to find the thieves. They think it is (4)________ that only right-foot shoes were stolen.
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Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. Do you like shoes?
2. What is your favorite shoe?
3. How many pairs of shoes do you have?
4. Is stealing bad? Why?
5. What do you think of the people who stole the shoes?
6. Why can’t we wear two right foot shoes?
7. How do you feel when you make a mistake?
8. What do cameras do?
9. Why do stores have cameras?
10. What is a tricycle?
11. Have you ever seen a tricycle?
12. What do police do?
13. How do fingerprints help the police?
14. Why is it important to lock your things?
15. Can you think of a funny mistake you made?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. mistake
2. stealing
3. shoe store
4. worth
5. robbery
6. security cameras
7. tricycle
8. fingerprints
Shuffled Meanings:
A) Things you leave on objects when you touch them
B) A small vehicle with three wheels
C) Taking something that does not belong to you
D) A place where you can buy shoes
E) A bad thing that happens when you do something wrong
F) How much money something can be sold for
G) A crime where someone takes things from a place
H) Machines that watch and record what is happening
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Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What did the people steal from the shoe store?
(a) socks
(b) sandals
(c) shoes
(d) slippers
2. How many shoes did they take?
(a) 100
(b) 200
(c) 300
(d) 400
3. What was special about the shoes they stole?
(a) They were all for the left foot
(b) They were all for the right foot
(c) They were all red
(d) They were all very big
4. How much does the store owner think the shoes are worth?
(a) $3,000
(b) $5,000
(c) $13,000
(d) $20,000
5. How did the thieves break into the store?
(a) They broke the lock
(b) They used a key
(c) They climbed through a window
(d) They dug a tunnel
6. What did they use to take the boxes of shoes?
(a) A bicycle
(b) A car
(c) A truck
(d) A tricycle
7. What are the police using to find the thieves?
(a) A map
(b) A phone
(c) Video and fingerprints
(d) A dog
8. Why might it be hard for the thieves to sell the shoes?
(a) They are too small
(b) They are too big
(c) They are all the same color
(d) They are all for the right foot
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True or False Questions:
1. The thieves stole shoes from a toy store.
2. They took over 200 shoes.
3. All the shoes were for the left foot.
4. The shoes are worth more than $13,000.
5. The robbery was not seen on security cameras.
6. The criminals used a tricycle to take the shoes.
7. The police are using the video to find the thieves.
8. The police think it is strange that only left-foot shoes were stolen.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. What did the thieves steal from the shoe store?
2. How many shoes did the thieves take?
3. Were the shoes for both feet or only one foot?
4. How much does the store owner think the shoes are worth?
5. Did the security cameras see the thieves breaking into the store?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Where did the people make a mistake while stealing?
The people made a mistake while stealing in Peru.
2. What did the people steal from the store?
The people stole shoes from the store.
3. How many shoes did they take?
They took over 200 shoes.
4. What is special about the shoes they took?
All the shoes they took were for the right foot.
5. How much does the store owner think the shoes are worth?
The store owner thinks the shoes are worth more than $13,000.
6. What did the security cameras see?
The security cameras saw the criminals breaking the lock on the store at night.
7. What did the criminals use to take the boxes of shoes?
The criminals used a tricycle to take the boxes of shoes.
8. What are the police using to find the thieves?
The police are using the video and fingerprints to find the thieves.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. mistake
2. lock
3. brands
4. strange
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Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. mistake
Answer: E) A bad thing that happens when you do something wrong
2. stealing
Answer: C) Taking something that does not belong to you
3. shoe store
Answer: D) A place where you can buy shoes
4. worth
Answer: F) How much money something can be sold for
5. robbery
Answer: G) A crime where someone takes things from a place
6. security cameras
Answer: H) Machines that watch and record what is happening
7. tricycle
Answer: B) A small vehicle with three wheels
8. fingerprints
Answer: A) Things you leave on objects when you touch them
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What did the people steal from the shoe store?
Answer: (c) shoes
2. How many shoes did they take?
Answer: (b) 200
3. What was special about the shoes they stole?
Answer: (b) They were all for the right foot
4. How much does the store owner think the shoes are worth?
Answer: (c) $13,000
5. How did the thieves break into the store?
Answer: (a) They broke the lock
6. What did they use to take the boxes of shoes?
Answer: (d) A tricycle
7. What are the police using to find the thieves?
Answer: (c) Video and fingerprints
8. Why might it be hard for the thieves to sell the shoes?
Answer: (d) They are all for the right foot
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. The thieves stole shoes from a toy store.
Answer: False
2. They took over 200 shoes.
Answer: True
3. All the shoes were for the left foot.
Answer: False
4. The shoes are worth more than $13,000.
Answer: True
5. The robbery was not seen on security cameras.
Answer: False
6. The criminals used a tricycle to take the shoes.
Answer: True
7. The police are using the video to find the thieves.
Answer: False
8. The police think it is strange that only left-foot shoes were stolen.
Answer: False
Go back to questions ⇧
