KS3 Spanish: Safecracking - 'La Caja Fuerte'

Video summary

A criminal gang attempt to crack a safe. But what they discover inside is unexpected.

The story begins as the gang bring the safe into their lair and Miguel, the crime boss, reads out the numbers. He gets annoyed when Javier – keen to be in command – attempts to read them too.

Pepe, the gang idiot, oversees the opening the safe. He gets frustrated when Pili constantly repeats the numbers that Miguel is reading, only to then get the numbers wrong twice; most notably going to 10 instead of 100 and getting annoyed when the safe doesn’t open. When Javier points out his mistake, it works.

Just before opening the safe, Pepe insists that as the eldest he should get more money than the rest. Javier refutes him being oldest and claims to be the same age (patently not) and demonstrates on a calendar that the month they were born shows that he is in fact older. Javier realises as he reads out the months of the year that actually, Pepe is older ‘in months’. He still argues that it’s not fair however and Miguel, as the boss, imposes order and backed up by Pili says they all receive the same amount.

The safe is opened. The four criminals are dumbfounded as the safe contains four dolls. Miguel is confused, but decides to hand one out to each. Javier is delighted with his doll. But Pepe is furious, he hates dolls. He is so angry that he decides to throw his out of the window.

The remaining criminals look at their doll. Pili notices that the dolls make a funny noise and decides to take the head off one. This upsets Javier.

Inside the doll's head are diamonds. Miguel suggests they guess how much they are worth. After suggesting E100 and E1000, Miguel reveals they are worth E1,000,000. The three who have their dolls are amazed. But Pepe, who threw his away, is devastated and runs off in the (vain) hope of retrieving his.

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Teacher Notes

You could get some shoe boxes and put a different number on each lid. Pupils are chosen to say the numbers correctly, in order to see what is in the box. It could be a reward used at school e.g. house points.

A game of Bingo is always popular when teaching or reviewing numbers.

This clip is relevant for teaching Spanish at Key Stage 3 in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and at Third Level in Scotland.

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Explore Spanish vocabulary around travel, geography, food and paella as the police try to make sense of the criminals' movements.

Spanish KS3: The search widens - 'Se Buscan En El Extranjero' (part 3/10)

Expand understanding around games, hobbies and music as the police go undercover.

Spanish KS3: Undercover - 'De Incognito' (part 7/10)

Understanding infinitives and tenses are key to making sense of the criminals' heist plans.

Spanish KS3: The heist - 'Planeando El Atraco' (part 2/10)

Explore greetings, vocabulary, adjectives, colours and clothing as the police try to make sense of the evidence.

Spanish KS3: The search begins - 'Se Buscan' (part 1/10)

Explore Spanish grammar and vocabulary around planning directions as the criminals plan their escape.

Spanish KS3: The getaway - "Planeando la fuga" (Part 4/10)

Expand understanding around daily routines and geography as the criminal gets tickled in the interrogation room.

Spanish KS3: The interrogation - 'El Interrogatorio' (part 9/10)

Explore Spanish vocabulary around truth and identity as the police go through their undercover training.

Spanish KS3: Undercover training - 'Como Ir De Incognito' (part 5/10)
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