Heist at the Louvre (Upper-Intermediate Lesson on Crime & Theft)

ESL/EFL Level: B2/C1 (Upper-Intermediate)
Lesson Topics: robbery, crime
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: louvre-heist-crime-upper-intermediate-102025.docx

  • Note: Some speaking activities in this lesson take a playful tone and have students imagine themselves in crime-related scenarios. If this is not appropriate for your class, then omit these activities or pick a different lesson.
  • The lesson begins with warm-up questions about Paris, crime, and theft.
  • Next, students preview sentences from the lesson's featured video and match 11 vocabulary items to their definitions.
  • The lesson's featured video is a short 2:01 clip about the high-profile heist at the Louvre that occurred on October 19, 2025. The video explains how the robbery was executed, the items stolen, and similar robberies that have occurred in France.
  • The video is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
  • For vocabulary practice, students create discussion questions with the 12 vocabulary items and then ask a partner.
  • The lesson has two debate topics about stealing from the rich and the moral duty to act as a witness.
  • As the main speaking activity, students have to devise a scheme to make three million dollars in a week in order to repay the mafia. Seven options are presented, some of them illegal (though not too dark), that the students must evaluate on a decision matrix that considers risk, possible payout, and potential consequences.
  • Next students review four famous quotations about crime and theft.
  • As a creative and consolidation activity, students then make up the second half of the Louvre robbery story. In their story, they should integrate some images and the lesson's key vocabulary.
  • As the lesson draws to a close, students review the key vocabulary and collocations. Finally, the lesson ends with some final discussion questions.

Thieves escaping after robbing the Louvre in Paris

UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on Crime & Theft (Web Preview)

Warm-up Questions        

  1. Have you ever visited Paris? If not, would you like to?
  2. Is crime a major issue in your country?
  3. If you could steal one famous object from anywhere in the world, what would it be and why?

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This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.

Comprehension Question Answer Key

  1. Recall & Retell: (open-ended) Students should summarize that four thieves disguised as construction workers used a portable elevator to break into the Louvre, stole royal jewels, and escaped on motorcycles in under seven minutes.
  2. How they entered / duration: They used a truck-mounted elevator to reach a balcony, cut through a window with angle grinders, and were inside for about seven minutes.
  3. Two failures:
  4. They failed to set their truck on fire before escaping.
  5. They dropped (and damaged) the 200-year-old crown belonging to Empress Eugénie.
  6. What they stole / why: They stole Napoleonic and royal jewels — diadems, necklaces, earrings, and brooches — likely because they are priceless, historic, and harder to trace than money.
  7. True or False: True — Museum officials had already warned about weak security.
  8. Will they be caught: (open-ended) Possible answers: maybe, because they left behind tools and clues; or unlikely, because they planned it well and fled quickly.
  9. Why public interest: (open-ended) Because heists feel cinematic, involve clever planning, and mix art, danger, and mystery — themes people find thrilling.

Vocabulary answer key: 1-evacuated, 2-burst into, 3-threaten, 4-flee, 5-dismantled, 6-portable, 7-recovered, 8-authorities, 9-set on fire, 10-took place, 11-targeted

Collocations: 1-f, 2-a, 3-e, 4-b, 5-d, 6-c

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