London Speaking Mysteries: The Sunflowers Heist

ESL Speaking Mystery Lesson for B1–C1 Learners

Turn your ESL speaking lesson into a London mystery investigation.

The Sunflowers Heist is a no-prep ESL speaking mystery lesson for B1–C1 learners. Students become detectives, analyse clues, question suspects, discuss evidence and present their final theory.

Set in London, this case follows the disappearance of a valuable painting after closing time. Students must examine CCTV evidence, alibis, a receipt, a message fragment, a witness statement and suspect profiles to decide who planned the theft — and who helped.

This is a visually engaging, ready-to-use lesson designed to get students speaking with a clear purpose.

Perfect for

• B1, B2 and C1 ESL / EFL learners
• adult learners and older teens
• conversation classes
• 1:1 lessons
• pair work and group work
• mystery-themed lessons
• critical thinking and deduction practice
• end-of-term or special speaking lessons

What students practise

Students practise speaking naturally while using language for:

• giving opinions
• agreeing and disagreeing
• asking follow-up questions
• speculating
• describing evidence
• supporting ideas with reasons
• presenting a theory
• using modal verbs of deduction, such as might, may, could, must and can’t

What’s included

This 18-page PDF includes:

• teacher overview
• student case introduction
• mystery vocabulary
• suspect profiles
• alibi cards
• evidence pages
• CCTV clue
• receipt clue
• message fragment
• route/map clue
• gallery floor plan
• witness statement
• contradictory alibi task
• interrogation role-play cards
• theory-building worksheet
• final accusation task
• full solution / answer key
• teacher notes and extension ideas

Lesson details

Level: B1–C1
Time: approximately 60–90 minutes
Format: printable PDF / screen-friendly PDF
Preparation: no prep required
Best for: adults, teens, 1:1 lessons, pairs and small groups

Why teachers will love it

This lesson gives students a real reason to speak. Instead of answering disconnected discussion questions, they must work together, compare clues, challenge each other’s ideas and build a convincing theory.

The case-file design creates atmosphere, while the structured tasks make the lesson easy to teach and simple to follow.

Download, print or display on screen — and let your students solve the case.