You can’t have good without bad, right? Well, the same goes for laws and crimes! Get your students involved in a B2 crime vocabulary lesson they won’t forget anytime soon. Hear someone share their story of a crime that happened to them, and then get into a discussion about all the different types of crimes that are happening in the world today.
I had a blast putting together a class on legal English and somehow ended up exploring the more intriguing side of law by looking at different types of crimes. The idea actually hit me while I was checking out the English File B2.2 by Oxford University Press lesson on safety, where they briefly touched on various crimes in the vocabulary section. I found the topic so interesting that I decided to grab the word list and prepare a lesson plan focused on different types of crimes. I even created a quiz on Italki about it, and to my surprise, it turned out to be my most popular quiz by far! Just goes to show that while students might not talk about it much, they’re definitely intrigued by it!
Just keep scrolling until you reach the end of the post to grab the presentation, the worksheet, and of course, the teacher’s notes for this class.
Warmer: Talk about safety
Start by having everyone share how safe they think their country or city is (why not both?). Once everyone’s had a chance to answer, compare ideas – this should be especially fun in an international classroom! Then, talk about the kinds of crimes that are common in your countries. No need to worry about the fancy terms just yet – just let everyone describe the crimes in their own words for now.
Listening: What crime is it?
I put together this class around an awesome audio I found on the English Listening Lesson Library Online, which is a super handy site with totally free audio clips! Check out the recording where Gareth shares a scary story with his friend Rebecca about an encounter with some criminal behaviour. Play it and pause at 2:17 to give everyone a moment to think about what kind of crime he’s talking about.
Keep playing the recording until the end and then check the answers. The crime talked about in the recording is… mugging. I bet a lot of B2-level students will be surprised and kind of curious about this word since they probably have a different way of describing this act.
Check out the entire recording this time without pausing. Focus on the details Gareth talks about. Think about the location where everything went down, the encounter with the stranger, and what ended up preventing the crime from taking place.
Wrap up this part of the class by chatting about Gareth’s behaviour and how he could’ve handled things differently to maybe steer clear of this awkward situation. This could definitely lead to some fun stories from students who’ve experienced something like this before.
Vocabulary: Types of Crimes
This B2 crime vocabulary lesson is based on a vocabulary list that gave me the idea for this class. Have a look at the list of crimes and let students check it out on their own. Since the listening part was about mugging, I thought it’d be a good idea to start by matching mugging to its description (A man grabbed a woman’s handbag on the street and ran away). Some crimes included in this task are stalking, hacking, hijacking, and blackmail. Students can read through the other crime examples and then compare their answers with a partner. There’s a good chance some of them might know even trickier words from reading or catching news on the internet or TV.
Speaking: Describe the crime
Since the last task was all about criminal behaviour, I thought it would be fun for students to come up with their own examples and play a game. They can describe different crimes while the rest of the group tries to guess what crime it is. It’s a fun way to practice speaking and remember the new vocabulary they’ve learned.
Finish the class by chatting about which crimes from today’s lesson students consider the worst. Think about what type of punishment might fit different criminal activities. This could lead to a really interesting discussion about how serious certain crimes are and what kind of punishment makes sense for them.
I really think this kind of lesson will get even the most doubtful students involved and spark some interesting chats about their own experiences and opinions on punishments for different crimes. If you’re looking for an engaging B2 crime vocabulary lesson, don’t hesitate – click the links below to get your own copies of the class on types of crimes.
Have you ever brought this topic in your classroom? Do you believe it has a place in educational discussions, or do you think it should be kept outside the curriculum?
