Some bad people took two big trucks full of a special drink called champagne. The drink was very expensive, like 600,000 money coins. The police cars went very fast to catch the trucks. They found the trucks because they had special things that told the police where they were. But the bad people got away and left the trucks.

The police got all the special drinks back. They were not broken. The bad people tried to make the police cars go away by driving crazy. One bad person got out of a truck and into another car. The police are still looking for them.

Original news source: French police thwart €600,000 champagne heist (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Using a whiteboard, have one student from each team come up to the front. The teacher will show them a word from the article (e.g., truck, champagne, police, etc.) without the rest of the class seeing. The students will then draw the word on the board, and their teammates must guess the word in English. This helps students associate vocabulary with images, which is especially useful for ESL beginners.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Pair up the students and assign them roles: one as a news reporter and the other as a witness or a police officer. Provide them with a simplified script based on the article, leaving blanks for key words. Students take turns to role-play and fill in the blanks during the interview. This encourages speaking practice and the use of specific vocabulary.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Play a game of hangman using keywords from the article (e.g., champagne, trucks, police). This will help students recognize and remember new words. Write the blank spaces for the letters of the word on the board and have students guess the letters. For each incorrect guess, draw a part of the hangman. This activity is especially engaging and interactive for beginners.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Give students a set amount of time (e.g., 2 minutes) to write a brief summary of the article in their own words. They should aim to use keywords from the article and keep it as simple as possible. Afterward, they can share their summaries with a partner or the whole class. This helps students with comprehension and summarizing skills.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Have students work in small groups. Give each group a sheet of paper and have them draw a scene from the article, such as the police chasing the trucks or finding the champagne. They should label each part of their drawing with the English word for it (e.g., truck, police car, road, etc.). Afterward, each group can present their drawing and explain what’s happening in the scene. This encourages vocabulary usage and speaking skills.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the bad people take?
2. How many trucks did the bad people take?
3. What kind of drink was in the trucks?
4. How much was the drink worth?
5. Did the police catch the bad people?
6. Were the special drinks broken when the police found them?
7. What did one bad person do to try and get away from the police?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some bad people took two big (1)______ full of a special drink called (2)______. The drink was very expensive, like 600,000 money coins. The police cars went very fast to (3)______ the trucks. They (4)______ the trucks because they had special things that told the police where they were. But the bad (5)______ got away and left the trucks.

The police got all the special drinks back. They were not broken. The bad people (6)______ to make the (7)______ (8)______ go away by driving crazy. One bad person got out of a truck and into another car. The police are still looking for them.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a truck?
2. Do you like special drinks like juice or soda?
3. How would you feel if someone took your favorite drink?
4. What do you think the police do when they are looking for bad people?
5. Do you think it’s good to take things that are not yours? Why or why not?
6. How would you feel if you lost something very expensive?
7. What is a special thing that can tell you where something is?
8. Do you think driving crazy is safe? Why or why not?
9. Have you ever seen a police car go very fast? How did it make you feel?
10. What would you do if you found something that was not yours?
11. Do you think the bad people should say sorry for taking the trucks? Why or why not?
12. If you were a police officer, how would you try to find the bad people?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. trucks
2. champagne
3. expensive
4. police
5. catch
6. fast
7. broken
8. car

Meanings:
(a) People who help keep others safe
(b) Costing a lot of money
(c) Moving quickly
(d) Not in one piece
(e) A special type of drink
(f) To stop someone or something from getting away
(g) Big vehicles that carry things
(h) Something you drive
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the bad people take?
(a) Two big trucks full of champagne
(b) Two small cars full of water
(c) Two bicycles full of juice
(d) Two airplanes full of soda

2. How much money were the drinks worth?
(a) 500 money coins
(b) 600,000 money coins
(c) 1 million money coins
(d) 100 money coins

3. How did the police find the trucks?
(a) The police used their superpowers to find the trucks
(b) The bad people told the police where they were hiding
(c) The police randomly guessed where the trucks were
(d) The trucks had special things that told the police where they were

4. What happened to the trucks?
(a) The trucks crashed into each other
(b) The police took the trucks
(c) The bad people left the trucks
(d) The trucks disappeared

5. Did the police get the special drinks back?
(a) Yes, they got all the special drinks back
(b) No, they couldn’t find the special drinks
(c) Yes, but the special drinks were broken
(d) No, the bad people drank all the special drinks

6. How did the bad people try to make the police cars go away?
(a) By giving the police cars a present
(b) By saying sorry to the police cars
(c) By driving crazy
(d) By hiding the trucks

7. What did one bad person do?
(a) Got out of a truck and ran away
(b) Got out of a truck and started dancing
(c) Got out of a truck and started singing
(d) Got out of a truck and into another car

8. Are the police still looking for the bad people?
(a) No, the police caught all the bad people
(b) Yes, the police are still looking for them
(c) Yes, but the bad people are hiding very well
(d) No, the bad people turned themselves in to the police

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. One good person got out of a truck and got into another car. The police are no longer looking for them.
2. The police got all the special drinks back and they were not broken.
3. The good people tried to make the police cars go away by driving crazy.
4. The police cars went very fast to catch the trucks.
5. The police found the trucks because they had special things that told them where the trucks were.
6. Some bad people stole two big trucks full of a special drink called champagne.
7. The drink was very cheap, like 600 money coins.
8. The good people got caught and left the trucks.
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 bad people take?
2. How much money were the special drinks worth?
3. Did the police cars go slow or fast?
4. Did the police find the trucks?
5. Are the police still looking for the bad people?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did the bad people take?
The bad people took special drinks called champagne.

2. How many trucks did the bad people take?
The bad people took two big trucks.

3. What kind of drink was in the trucks?
The drink in the trucks was champagne.

4. How much was the drink worth?
The drink was worth 600,000 money coins.

5. Did the police catch the bad people?
No, the police did not catch the bad people.

6. Were the special drinks broken when the police found them?
No, the special drinks were not broken when the police found them.

7. What did one bad person do to try and get away from the police?
One bad person got out of a truck and into another car to try and get away from the police.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) trucks
(2) champagne
(3) catch
(4) found
(5) people
(6) tried
(7) police
(8) cars
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. trucks
Answer: (g) Big vehicles that carry things

2. champagne
Answer: (e) A special type of drink

3. expensive
Answer: (b) Costing a lot of money

4. police
Answer: (a) People who help keep others safe

5. catch
Answer: (f) To stop someone or something from getting away

6. fast
Answer: (c) Moving quickly

7. broken
Answer: (d) Not in one piece

8. car
Answer: (h) Something you drive
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the bad people take?
Answer: (a) Two big trucks full of champagne

2. How much money were the drinks worth?
Answer: (b) 600,000 money coins

3. How did the police find the trucks?
Answer: (d) The trucks had special things that told the police where they were

4. What happened to the trucks?
Answer: (c) The bad people left the trucks

5. Did the police get the special drinks back?
Answer: (a) Yes, they got all the special drinks back

6. How did the bad people try to make the police cars go away?
Answer: (c) By driving crazy

7. What did one bad person do?
Answer: (d) Got out of a truck and into another car

8. Are the police still looking for the bad people?
Answer: (b) Yes, the police are still looking for them
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. One good person got out of a truck and got into another car. The police are no longer looking for them. (Answer: False)
2. The police got all the special drinks back and they were not broken. (Answer: True)
3. The good people tried to make the police cars go away by driving crazy. (Answer: False)
4. The police cars went very fast to catch the trucks. (Answer: True)
5. The police found the trucks because they had special things that told them where the trucks were. (Answer: True)
6. Some bad people stole two big trucks full of a special drink called champagne. (Answer: True)
7. The drink was very cheap, like 600 money coins. (Answer: False)
8. The good people got caught and left the trucks. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧