English Club: #9
Topic: Crime.
Ice breaker: (15 min) Are you a good witness? Begin by saying the following: “The police need members of the public to give descriptions of people, places and events to solve crimes. Would you make a good witness? Can you remember things accurately? Let’s test your memory!” Ask your students to find a partner. Ask the first question below and have each student repeat this question to his or her partner and wait for an answer. Have them keep count of how many answers they know.
“Can you remember…”
1. What is the name of your first
school teacher?
2. What did you have for lunch yesterday?
3. What time did you wake up last Saturday?
4. Which month was your last trip to the dentist?
5. What were you wearing last Wednesday?
6. Who was the last person to enter this room?
7. Which cafe did you last eat at?
8. What did you do for your last birthday?
Scoring:
0-3: Terrible! 4-6: Good! 7-8: Well done!
Small groups: Divide into as many groups as there are facilitators.
1. (10 min) Witness dialogue. Read the small introductory paragraph at the top of the “Are you a good witness?” sheet and ask for two volunteers to read the “Police Sketch Artist Interview” dialogue. Next, go through any unfamiliar vocabulary or phrases in the dialogue. Finally, pass out several copies of the witness sheet and take a hand count for each of the six suspects by asking, “Who thinks suspect number one is the robber?” (The robber is number five.)
2. (15 min) Compare and contrast. Hand out the comparison sheets and go through these sentences as a class. Using the “Are you a good witness?” handout, have your students formulate sentences that compare and contrast the various suspects. Ask questions about the suspects using this grammar in order to start a discussion. For beginner groups: Have your students simply describe the six men. Focus on new vocabulary related to clothing, general appearance, and size.
3. (15 min) Magazine exercise. Have your students divide up into pairs and give each pair a magazine to look through. Ask them to find different things to compare and contrast using each sentence structure found on the comparison handout. After five minutes ask each group to share their pictures and comparisons to the rest of the class.
4. (15 min) Discussion. Talk about the following questions as a group:
Have you ever had anything stolen? What?
How do you protect yourself from crime?
Is there ever a good reason to steal from another person?
The symbol for justice is often a woman. Are women naturally better at judging than men?
What is the best way for a country to lower crime? (tougher punishments, legalize everything, shame tactics such as putting picture in newspaper)
What are the most common crimes in Kazakhstan?
What do you think is the best way to change criminals into good citizens?
5. (10 min) Oral anecdote. Explain to your group that they are to try and remember as much as they can about the anecdote as your read it to them. Read the anecdote twice to your group and ask questions to test their comprehension (examples found in part A). Next, ask if there are any unfamiliar words in this story. Finally, ask one student to summarize what happened in this story and have another student explain why this story is funny.
Large group: (10 min) Idioms. Go through the following idioms:
· To steal everything but the kitchen sink.
· To be trigger-happy.
· I got away with murder.
Peter is similar to his brother in many ways.
The two boys have a lot in common.
They both passed their exams.
Neither Alea nor Alex got a five on their exams.
His car is different (larger, smaller, etc.) than mine.
She has nothing in common with her sister.
Our new house is big compared to our old one.
He is (not) as tall as his friend.
The museum is open every day except for Sunday.
Peter is similar to his brother in many ways.
The two boys have a lot in common.
They both passed their exams.
Neither Alea nor Alex got a five on their exams.
His car is different (larger, smaller, etc.) than mine.
She has nothing in common with her sister.
Our new house is big compared to our old one.
He is (not) as tall as his friend.
The museum is open every day except for Sunday.
Police Sketch Artist Interview
T: Tim (or Tina), a police artist A: Anne (or Andrew), a young witness
T: My name’s Tim (Tina). What’s your name?
A: Andrew (Anne)
T: Nice to meet you, Andrew (Anne). Now, I want to draw the man you saw. So try and tell me everything you can about him, OK?
A: Well, he was big.
T: When you say big, do you mean fat (pretending to draw a person on a piece of paper).
A: No…He was tall and big, but not fat…
T: And what color were his eyes?
A: Er…blue, I think. But I’m not sure.
T: So, blue eyes. Can you remember what color hair he had?
A: Mmm…brown, I think.
T: OK. And did he have long hair?
A: No.
T: Like this? (shows Anne his sketch)
A: No, no. He didn’t have hair here, at the front (points to paper).
T: He was balding at the front, then. Like this? (shows Anne sketch again)
A: Yes, that’s right.
T: Did he have a beard? A moustache?
A: No, he didn’t.
T: OK. Was he wearing glasses?
A: No, he wasn’t.
T: How old do you think he was?
A: I guess about thirty, but I’m not sure.
T: So let’s say in his late twenties or early thirties. What was he wearing?
A: Jeans, a gray sweatshirt, and sports shoes.
T: You have a very good memory!
A: Yeah, well…I remember the sweatshirt, because it’s like the one we wear to school. It’s gray, with a hood.
T: Ah, I see. Can you remember anything else about him?
A: Well, he had fairly big ears, and he wasn’t very good-looking.
T: Oh, really? Like this, then? (showing sketch)
A: Yeah…but his nose wasn’t like that. It was bigger and more crooked.
T: Uh huh. Like this? (showing completed sketch)
A: Mm. That looks like him.
T: Good. Thank you very much, Andrew (Anne). You’ve been a big help.
A: Ok, goodbye.
T: Goodbye. I will call you if I need anything else from you.