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ESL / EFL Lesson Plan on Babies - by Sean Banville

WARM-UPS

1. BABIES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about babies. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

charities / being in care / kids at risk / parenting / social workers / second chances / controversial comments / headlines / siblings / cannabis / drunk / toddlers / injuries

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. PROTECTION: How can we provide more protection for these members of society? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share your ideas. Change again and share what you heard.

	Do they have problems?	How can we protect them?
Babies
The aged
The homeless
The unemployed
AIDS sufferers
Minorities

4. CARE: Students A strongly believe putting into care babies who have violent parents is the best solution; Students B strongly believe putting children into care is TOTALLY wrong.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. HEADLINE KIDS: What do kids hit the headlines for in your country? Talk about these with your partner(s). Rank them – the most headlines at the top. Change partners and share what you heard.

abuse crimes Internet sport

English drink and drugs doing good things driving

6. CHILDHOOD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘childhood’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	A British charity said babies need to be more careful.	T / F
b.	A charity boss questioned some people's parenting skills.	T / F
c.	The boss said some families could not be fixed.	T / F
d.	The boss believes all parents need a second chance.	T / F
e.	Children have been in the U.K. newspapers a lot recently.	T / F
f.	Two boys aged 10 and 11 killed two other boys aged 11 and 9.	T / F
g.	A mother gave her two sons marijuana when they were little.	T / F
h.	A baby died from 15 different injuries to his body.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	recommended	a.	unchanging
2	poor	b.	disturbed
3.	urgent	c.	repaired
4.	fixed	d.	continually
5.	permanent	e.	hot
6.	controversial	f.	suggested
7.	shocking	g.	inadequate
8.	troubled	h.	awful
9.	injuries	i.	vital
10.	repeatedly	j.	wounds

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	more babies should be put	a.	of children first
2	the large number of parents with poor	b.	too late
3.	stop trying to fix families	c.	second chance
4.	society should put the interests	d.	dead
5.	giving violent parents a	e.	the headlines
6.	cases of abused children have hit	f.	in care at birth
7.	left for	g.	to protect him
8.	Many say this was years	h.	parenting skills
9.	Another high	i.	that can't be fixed
10.	Social workers repeatedly failed	j.	profile case

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

A British children’s ____________ has recommended more babies should be put in care at birth. The ____________ executive of Barnardo's, Martin Narey, told the Observer newspaper there were too many young children at ____________. He pointed to the large number of parents with poor parenting skills. He said children needed ____________ protection and that it was time for social workers to stop trying to “fix families that can't be ____________". Mr. Narey told reporters: "If you can take a baby very young and get them quickly into a permanent adoptive home, then we know that this is where we have ____________" He understands his views are shocking, but believes society should put the ____________ of children first. Narey thinks this is better than giving violent parents a ____________ chance.		risk second fixed charity interests chief success urgent
Mr. Narey’s controversial ____________ come at a time when many cases of abused children have ____________ the headlines in the U.K. Most recently is the shocking case of two young brothers aged just 10 and 11. They attacked and ____________ for dead two boys aged 11 and 9, causing them serious physical and mental damage. The two siblings had a very ____________ childhood. Their mother gave them cannabis when they were toddlers and their father was a ____________ drunk. Social services took the brothers into care three weeks before their violent attack. Many say this was years too late. Another high ____________ case in Britain is that of “Baby P”. He died aged 17 months from over 50 different ____________. Social workers repeatedly ____________ to protect him.		profile failed comments hit violent troubled injuries left

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A British children’s charity has recommended more ___________________ care at birth. The chief executive of Barnardo's, Martin Narey, told the Observer newspaper ___________________ young children at risk. He pointed to the large number of parents with poor parenting skills. He said children needed urgent protection ___________________ for social workers to stop trying to “fix families that can't be fixed". Mr. Narey told reporters: "If you can take a baby very young and get them quickly into a permanent adoptive home, then ___________________ is where we have success." He understands his views are shocking, but believes society should put the interests of children first. Narey ___________________ than giving violent parents ___________________.

Mr. Narey’s controversial comments ___________________ when many cases of abused children have ___________________ in the U.K. Most recently is the shocking case of two young brothers aged just 10 and 11. They attacked ___________________ boys aged 11 and 9, causing them serious physical and mental damage. The two siblings had a _____________________. Their mother gave them cannabis when they were toddlers and their father was a violent drunk. Social services took the brothers into care three weeks before their violent attack. Many say this ___________________. Another high profile case in Britain is that of “Baby P”. He died aged 17 months from over 50 different injuries. Social workers repeatedly ___________________.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘children’ and ‘charity’.

children

charity

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

charity risk poor quickly views second

comments shocking serious troubled say failed

STUDENT BABIES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about babies in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

BABIES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘babies’?
c)	What do you think of Mr.Narey’s recommendations?
d)	Do you think putting babies into care is a good idea?
e)	How can society make sure parents have better parenting skills?
f)	Should ‘failed parents’ be allowed to have more children?
g)	How can we identify babies and children who are at risk?
h)	Can all families be ‘fixed’? How?
i)	Does your country always put the interests of the child first?
j)	How many chances should abusive parents get?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do children often hit the headlines in your country?
c)	Is yours a child-friendly country?
d)	Why do you think there is a rise in the number of terrible crimes committed by children?
e)	Should children go to prison? At what age is a child a criminal?
f)	What should happen to the 10 and 11-year-old boys in the article?
g)	What can society do to help these children become better people?
h)	Were children really bad when you were younger?
i)	Do you ever think society is too violent to bring children into?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Martin Narey?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A British children’s charity has (1) ____ more babies should be put in care at birth. The chief executive of Barnardo's, Martin Narey, told the Observer newspaper there were too many young children at (2) ____. He pointed to the large number of parents with poor parenting skills. He said children needed urgent protection and that it was time for social workers to stop trying to “fix families that can't be       (3) ____ ". Mr. Narey told reporters: "If you can take a baby very young and get them (4) ____ into a permanent adoptive home, then we know that this is where we have (5) ____." He understands his views are shocking, but believes society should put the interests (6) ____ children first. Narey thinks this is better than giving violent parents a second chance.

Mr. Narey’s controversial comments come at a time when many cases of abused children have (7) ____ the headlines in the U.K. Most recently is the shocking case of two young brothers aged (8) ____ 10 and 11. They attacked and left for dead two boys aged 11 and 9, causing them serious physical and mental damage. The two siblings had a very (9) ____ childhood. Their mother gave them cannabis when they were toddlers and their father was a violent (10) ____. Social services took the brothers into care three weeks before their violent attack. Many say this was years too late. Another (11) ____ profile case in Britain is that of “Baby P”. He died aged 17 months from over 50 different injuries. Social workers (12) ____ failed to protect him.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	recommend	(b)	recommending	(c)	recommends	(d)	recommended
2.	(a)	risk	(b)	risky	(c)	risked	(d)	riskiness
3.	(a)	fixing	(b)	fixed	(c)	fix	(d)	fixes
4.	(a)	quick	(b)	quicker	(c)	quickly	(d)	quickness
5.	(a)	successful	(b)	successfully	(c)	success	(d)	successive
6.	(a)	by	(b)	of	(c)	at	(d)	in
7.	(a)	punched	(b)	slapped	(c)	smacked	(d)	hit
8.	(a)	just	(b)	justice	(c)	justness	(d)	adjust
9.	(a)	trouble maker	(b)	troubled	(c)	troubles	(d)	trouble
10.	(a)	drinking	(b)	drank	(c)	drink	(d)	drunk
11.	(a)	tall	(b)	height	(c)	high	(d)	big
12.	(a)	repeatedly	(b)	repeat	(c)	repeats	(d)	repetition

WRITING

Write about babies for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about the children’s charity Barnardo’s. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. BABIES: Make a poster about babies and how to look after them. Put the five most important things new parents need to know. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. IN CARE: Write a magazine article about a child in care. Include imaginary interviews with the child, its new parents and its real parents.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Martin Narey. Ask him three questions about children in care. Give him three suggestions on what he should do for new parents. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

T

c.

T

d.

F

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	recommended	a.	suggested
2	poor	b.	inadequate
3.	urgent	c.	vital
4.	fixed	d.	repaired
5.	permanent	e.	unchanging
6.	controversial	f.	hot
7.	shocking	g.	awful
8.	troubled	h.	disturbed
9.	injuries	i.	wounds
10.	repeatedly	j.	continually

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	more babies should be put	a.	in care at birth
2	the large number of parents with poor	b.	parenting skills
3.	stop trying to fix families	c.	that can't be fixed
4.	society should put the interests	d.	of children first
5.	giving violent parents a	e.	second chance
6.	cases of abused children have hit	f.	the headlines
7.	left for	g.	dead
8.	Many say this was years	h.	too late
9.	Another high	i.	profile case
10.	Social workers repeatedly failed	j.	to protect him

GAP FILL:

Put more babies into care: UK charity

A British children’s charity has recommended more babies should be put in care at birth. The chief executive of Barnardo's, Martin Narey, told the Observer newspaper there were too many young children at risk. He pointed to the large number of parents with poor parenting skills. He said children needed urgent protection and that it was time for social workers to stop trying to “fix families that can't be fixed". Mr. Narey told reporters: "If you can take a baby very young and get them quickly into a permanent adoptive home, then we know that this is where we have success. He understands his views are shocking, but believes society should put the interests of children first. Narey thinks this is better than giving violent parents a second chance.

Mr. Narey’s controversial comments come at a time when many cases of abused children have hit the headlines in the U.K. Most recently is the shocking case of two young brothers aged just 10 and 11. They attacked and left for dead two boys aged 11 and 9, causing them serious physical and mental damage. The two siblings had a very troubled childhood. Their mother gave them cannabis when they were toddlers and their father was a violent drunk. Social services took the brothers into care three weeks before their violent attack. Many say this was years too late. Another high profile case in Britain is that of “Baby P”. He died aged 17 months from over 50 different injuries. Social workers repeatedly failed to protect him.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

 

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