artofheist

Lesson 16 The Art of the Heist

It reads like something out of a The thief—or thieves—entered the
Hollywood script: A thief pulls off a brilliant museum, identified the most valuable works,
heist. He eludes authorities. Finally, he’s and removed all 7 within 96 seconds. The
discovered. Then, the brilliant plot twist: alarm sounded only when the art left the
After his arrest, no one can find the art. building.

The setting is Rotterdam, Netherlands, at Security cameras show only blurry
the Kunsthal Musuem. It’s 3 o’clock in the images. Yet months later, authorities track
morning on October 16, 2012. the works to Romania, where 29-year-old
Radu Dogaru is looking for a buyer. Radu
No guards are on duty. The museum confesses. But he won’t explain how he did
relies on a security alarm and video to it or where the paintings are.
protect its works. Currently, a Dutch
investor’s 150-piece collection is being Enter Radu’s mother. Olga is talking.
shown publicly for the first time. The art She spins a yarn about burying the paintings
includes pieces by Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, in a suitcase. Then, she says she burned the
and Matisse. artwork in her stove. Next, another tale: A
mysterious man in a black car took them.
An alarm at the museum alerts local
police. They arrive within five minutes. Tests on Olga’s stove reveal she did burn
There is no trace of a thief. But seven art within it. Nails, tacks, pigments, and
paintings are missing—the seven most canvas are among the ash. But it’s impossible
expensive paintings. Together, they are to say if she burned the stolen pieces.
worth $65 million.
The world may never know how the
heist was pulled off or where the art went.
With Olga’s lies and Radu’s silence, hope for
recovery is slim.

Top 5 Art Thefts in Recent History

$600 $500 $163 $142 $141

million million million million million

Musee d’Art Isabella Stewart E.G. Buehrle A manor house Munch
Moderne Gardner Museum Collection in England Museum
2010 2006
1990 2008 2004

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Word Work 16

Part 1: Spell Correctly

Directions: Rewrite each word, leaving off the last letter each time. Be sure to whisper the
spelling of the word each time you write it, including the omitted letter(s). Afterward, cover
up all the spellings of the word and write it on the last line. Then, check your spelling that
you did not omit any letters.

guard heist museum thief

1 guard ____g_u_a_r_____ _____g_u_a_____ ______g_u___ _______g___ ____g_u_a_r_d____
2 heist ____________ ____________ __________ __________ ____________
3 museum __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________
4 thief ____________ ____________ __________ __________ ____________

Part 2: Language and Vocabulary

Directions: Use the vocabulary words below to complete the sentences.

elude heist pigments recovery valuable

1 The sculpture in the South gallery is the most _________________________ work of art

in the museum.

2 The thieves hoped to make millions of dollars from the daring art

_________________________.

3 The thief knew he could _________________________ the police if he fled to South

America.

4 The art collector hoped he would hear news about the _________________________ of

his stolen paintings soon.

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Lesson Name: _____________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________

16 Fact Finding

Directions: Record key facts and ideas from each text in the chart below.

The Art of the Heist Top 5 Art Thefts in Recent History

98 21180—Focused Reading—Student Guided Practice Book © Teacher Created Materials

Name: _____________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Lesson

What I Learned 16

Directions: Integrate (combine) the facts you learned from The Art of the Heist and Top 5
Art Thefts in Recent History to complete the statement below.
I learned…
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Challenge: List at least three questions you still have about art theft below.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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Lesson Name: _____________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________

16 Written Response

Directions: Integrate the information you read in The Art of the Heist and Top
5 Art Thefts in Recent History into a memo from the director of a European
museum to the museum’s head of security.

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

100 21180—Focused Reading—Student Guided Practice Book © Teacher Created Materials

Name: _____________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Lesson

Quick Check 16

1 Which of these words is spelled 2 Which of these words means “to

correctly? escape” or “to avoid?”

A gards A valuable
B museeum B recovery
C heist C elude
D theeves D pigments

3 In what year did the most recent 4 Think about both passages. From

art theft occur? Be sure to read the where are most paintings stolen?
entire passage to find the answer.
A museums
A 2012 B colleges
B 2010 C manor homes
C 2006 D offices
D 2004

© Teacher Created Materials 21180—Focused Reading—Student Guided Practice Book 1B01