Saturday January 22, 2005
Intermediate +

THE ARTICLE

President George W. Bush was sworn into office in the inauguration for his second term in office promising to fight tyranny and bring freedom around the world, saying that is the only way to prevent other 9-11s form occurring in the United States,

“We have seen our vulnerability – and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny – prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder – violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.”

President Bush stated spreading democracy around the world was the only way to end tyrant,

“it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. … Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.”

He said that however culturally different a nation is, America will respect its people and customs,

“when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own.  America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.”

He concluded his speech by saying, “we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom. May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America.”

Lesson & plan in Word.doc     Example Class Handout in .pdf

POSSIBLE WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS

1. CHAT:  Talk in pairs or groups about President George W. Bush / Freedom / the United States of America / tyranny and terror / democracy / respect for other cultures / …
To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to energize the class.

2. PRESIDENT BUSH BRAINSTORM: Ask students to have a paper and pen ready. Tell them you are going to say something, and that after you have said it, they must immediately write on their paper the first word that enters their head. Class then mill around telling people their word and why they chose it. The ‘something’ you say is ‘President George W. Bush’.

3. MY COUNTRY: Students talk about the similarities and differences between the USA and their own countries, and how George W. Bush is viewed in their own countries. Follow up with another chat about what role America has played in the history of their own countries.

4. 2-MINUTE DEBATES: Students face each other in pairs and engage in the following (for-fun) 2-minute debates. Students A are for argument, students B against. Rotate pairs to ensure a lively pace and noise level is kept:
(a)  The world is lucky to have George W. Bush as US president.
(b)  The War on Terror will be won.
(c)  The Republican party will als o win the next American election.
(d)  The United States of America is the greatest model of freedom in the world.
(e)  Peace will come to Afghanistan and Iraq.
(f)  Iran and North Korea will listen to president Bush and end their nuclear weapons programmes.
(g)  Britain will follow Europe more, instead of following America.
(h)  President Bush will finally bring peace and freedom to the Middle East.
(i)  The world is a safer place today than before Mr. Bush became president.
(j)  President Bush should receive a Nobel Peace Prize.
(k)  Other teacher / student created mini-debates – dependent on cultures of students.

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘promise’, and ‘freedom’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Students look at the headline and predict whether they believe the following statements are true or false:
(a)  This is President Bush’s third inauguration.  T / F
(b)  President Bush said freedom is the only way to stop another 9-11.  T / F
(c)  President Bush said resentment and tyranny are the only ways to bring world freedom.  T / F
(d)  President Bush stated democracy must be spread around America.  T / F
(e)  President Bush wants to see the growth of American-style democracy in every nation and culture.  T / F
(f)  He said that however culturally different a nation is, America will respect its people and customs.  T / F
(g)  President Bush said he has already achieved the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.  T / F
(h)  President Bush ended his speech asking God to bless and watch over the world.  T / F

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Students match the following synonyms from the article:

(a)	office	weakness
(b)	tyranny	regard
(c)	vulnerability	open-minded
(d)	mortal	rule
(e)	reign	expression
(f)	tolerant	position
(g)	ultimate	greatest
(h)	respect	lethal
(i)	voice	evil
(j)	bless	favor

 

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP-FILL:  Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps.

Bush promises the world Freedom

President George W. Bush was sworn into office in the inauguration for his second term in office promising to fight __________ and bring __________ around the world, saying that is the only way to prevent other 9-11s form occurring in the United States, “We have seen our vulnerability – and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world __________ in resentment and tyranny – prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder – violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a __________ threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.” President Bush stated spreading democracy around the world was the only way to end tyranny, “it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the __________ of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. … Freedom, by its nature, must be __________, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.” He said that however culturally different a nation is, America will __________ its people and customs, “when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own.  America will not __________ our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.” He concluded his speech by saying, “we are ready for the __________ achievements in the history of freedom. May God __________ you, and may He watch over the United States of America.”

respect tyranny chosen bless freedom mortal impose simmer growth greatest

2. TRUE/FALSE:  Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYMS:  Students check their answers to the synonyms exercise.

4. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

5. VOCABULARY:  Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise.

2. QUESTIONS:  Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT-GENERATED SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class.

5. ‘PROMISE’/ ‘FREEDOM’: Students make questions based on their findings from pre-reading activity #1.

6. DISCUSSION:  Students ask each other the following questions:
(a)  What do you think of US President George W. Bush?
(b)  Is the world a safer place under his leadership?
(c)  How will he be remembered in history?
(d)  What one question would you ask if you met him?
(e)  What is his greatest mistake?
(f)  What is his greatest achievement?
(g)  Why does President Bush always say ‘God Bless America’, but never ‘God Bless the world’?
(h)  Why is President Bush disliked in many countries?
(i)  Which one adjective would you use to describe President Bush, and why?
(j)  If you were to compare President Bush to an animal, what would best represent him?
(k)  What do you think the President’s greatest aim is?
(l)  If you were President Bush, what is the first thing you would do?
(m)  Some people believe he should receive the Nobel peace prize, some believe he should be tried for war crimes. What do you think?
(n)  Will President Bush win his war on terror?
(o)  What would Osama Bin Laden say to President Bush if they met each other?
(p)  What is freedom?
(q)  Teacher’s / Students’ additional questions.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCAB EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or the Google search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on George Bush's speeches. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. FREEDOM  POSTER: Create a poster explaining ‘freedom’.

4. LETTER TO GEORGE W.: Write a letter to the US President George W. Bush explaining what you think he should do over the next four years.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:
(a)  This is President Bush’s third inauguration.  F
(b)  President Bush said freedom is the only way to stop another 9-11.  T
(c)  President Bush said resentment and tyranny are the only ways to bring world freedom.  F
(d)  President Bush stated democracy must be spread around America.  F
(e)  President Bush wants to see the growth of American-style democracy in every nation and culture.  ?
(f)  He said that however culturally different a nation is, America will respect its people and customs.  T
(g)  President Bush said he has already achieved the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.  F
(h)  President Bush ended his speech asking God to bless and watch over the world.  F

DEFINITIONS:

(a)	tyranny (n)	(b) absolute, total power, especially when exercised unjustly or cruelly
(b)	freedom (n)	(b) liberty of a person from slavery, detention, or oppression, the ability to exercise choice
(c)	vulnerability (n)	(a) susceptible to physical or emotional injury or attack
(d)	resentment (n)	(b) a feeling of deep and bitter anger and hatred against another person, people or country
(e)	mortal threat (n)	(a) a very serious or deadly danger that may come in the near future
(f)	democracy (n)	(a) government by the people, exercised either directly or through fair elections and elected representatives (b) when the people of a country have only two parties to vote for
(g)	minorities (n)	(b) a group having little power or representation relative to other groups within a society
(h)	respect (n)	(a) willingness to show consideration or appreciation to others
(i)	voice (n)	(a) the right or opportunity to express a choice or opinion
(j)	achievements (n)	(b) something accomplished successfully, especially by means of exertion, skill, practice, or perseverance

 

SYNONYM MATCH:

(a)	office	position
(b)	tyranny	evil
(c)	vulnerability	weakness
(d)	mortal	lethal
(e)	reign	rule
(f)	tolerant	open-minded
(g)	ultimate	greatest
(h)	respect	regard
(i)	voice	expression
(j)	bless	favor

Bush promises the world Freedom

President George W. Bush was sworn into office in the inauguration for his second term in office promising to fight tyranny and bring freedom around the world, saying that is the only way to prevent other 9-11s form occurring in the United States,

“We have seen our vulnerability – and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny – prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder – violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.”

President Bush stated spreading democracy around the world was the only way to end tyranny,

“it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. … Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.”

He said that however culturally different a nation is, America will respect its people and customs,

“when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own.  America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.”

He concluded his speech by saying, “we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom. May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America.”