Breaking News English

        

1. RITUALS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about rituals. 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.

killing / sacrifices / unheard of / boom / investigated / ritual / in response / journalist / sudden increase / elite / huge amounts / wealth / lovers of money / commodity

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

3. CHILDREN: How can we protect them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

	How can we protect children
Child sacrifices
Child labour
Bullying
Domestic violence
Child soldiers
Cyber-bullying

4. KILLING: Students A strongly believe we will stop killing each other one day; Students B strongly believe that will never happen.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. CHILD FEARS: What do you think children worry about most? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most worrying at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

the dark the dentist other schoolchildren parents

horror movies spiders old age strangers

6. BOOM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘boom’. 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.	The killing of children in Uganda in rituals is increasing.	T / F
b.	The killing has been going on for three decades.	T / F
c.	In 2006 there was just one reported case of a child being sacrificed.	T / F
d.	There are another 900 possible cases of child sacrifice.	T / F
e.	The killings are happening due to a downturn in Uganda’s economy.	T / F
f.	Some people believe killing a child will bring them more money.	T / F
g.	Child sacrifice has not yet become a commercial enterprise.	T / F
h.	Witch doctors charge more for animal sacrifices than child sacrifices.	T / F

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

1.	killing	a.	practice
2	ritual	b.	enterprise
3.	alongside	c.	secret
4.	response	d.	increased
5.	undercover	e.	reply
6.	elite	f.	murder
7.	huge	g.	high society
8.	risen	h.	prepared
9.	business	i.	next to
10.	willing	j.	enormous

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

1.	almost unheard	a.	amounts of money
2	a boom in the	b.	records
3.	police	c.	to be investigated
4.	try and put an end to	d.	of
5.	900 more cases have yet	e.	elite
6.	The sudden increase	f.	country's economy
7.	the country's new	g.	buy these children
8.	paying witch doctors huge	h.	the murderous rituals
9.	people who are willing to	i.	business
10.	a commercial	j.	in the ritualistic killings

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

The BBC has (1) ____________ that the killing of children in Uganda as sacrifices for wealth and good health is increasing. The news agency says the (2) ____________ “was almost unheard of in the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, (3) ____________ alongside a (4) ____________ in the country's economy”. In 2006, there was just one                 (5) ____________ of child sacrifice reported in the country. However, police records show this is increasing. In 2008, police investigated 25 ritual murders, and in 2009, another 29 killings. In (6) ____________, Uganda launched the Anti-Human Sacrifice Police Task Force to try and (7) ____________ an end to the murderous rituals. Undercover BBC journalist Chris Rogers reports 900 more (8) ____________ have yet to be investigated.		seemingly ritual response cases boom reported put case
The (9) ____________ increase in the ritualistic killings coincides with Uganda’s economic boom. Many believe the country's new (10) ____________ is paying witch doctors huge amounts of money for the sacrifices to increase their (11) ____________. The BBC interviewed pastor Peter Sewakiryanga about the child sacrifice. He said: "[It] has risen because people have become (12) ____________ of money.…They have a belief that when you sacrifice a child you get wealth, and there are people who are  (13) ____________ to buy these children for a price. So they have become a commodity of (14) ____________, child sacrifice has become a (15) ____________ business." A witch doctor explained he got $390 for an animal sacrifice but much more for the most powerful (16) ____________ - the sacrifice of a child.		lovers elite commercial exchange sudden wealth spell willing

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The BBC has _______________________ of children in Uganda as sacrifices for wealth and good health is increasing. The news agency says the ritual “was _______________________ the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, seemingly _______________________ the country's economy”. In 2006, there was just one case of child sacrifice reported in the country. However, _______________________ is increasing. In 2008, police _______________________ murders, and in 2009, another 29 killings. In response, Uganda launched the Anti-Human Sacrifice Police Task Force to try and put an end _______________________. Undercover BBC journalist Chris Rogers reports 900 more cases have yet to be investigated.

The sudden increase in the ritualistic _______________________ the Uganda’s economic boom. Many believe the country's new elite is paying witch doctors _______________________ for the sacrifices to increase their wealth. The BBC interviewed pastor Peter Sewakiryanga about the child sacrifice. He said: "[It] has risen because people _______________________ money.…They have a belief that when you sacrifice a child you get wealth, and there are _______________________ to buy these children for a price. So they have become a commodity of exchange, child sacrifice has become _______________________." A witch doctor explained he got $390 for an animal sacrifice but much more for the _______________________ - the sacrifice of a child.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

child

sacrifice

• 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:

reported agency alongside 25 try 900

coincides elite lovers belief price spell

STUDENT RITUALS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about rituals 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.

CHILD SACRIFICE 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 ‘sacrifice’?
c)	What do you think of what you read?
d)	Why does this kind of thing still happen today?
e)	What should Uganda’s government be doing about this?
f)	What should the rest of the world do to stop these killings?
g)	Have you heard of anything like this in another part of the world?
h)	What do you think the people who order a child sacrifice think about the life of children?
i)	Are those who order sacrifices murderers?
j)	What kind of damage does this do to Uganda’s reputation?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Why do rich (and therefore, perhaps, intelligent) people think child sacrifices will bring them good health and wealth?
c)	Are the witch doctors murderers?
d)	What three adjectives describe this story?
e)	Why and how do you think this ritual started?
f)	What should Ugandan parents do to protect their children against being kidnapped?
g)	Do you think there will always be witch doctors in Uganda?
h)	What could you do to help highlight and end these ritualistic killings?
i)	In what other ways are children in danger in the world?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Uganda’s leader?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The BBC has reported that the killing of children in Uganda (1) ____ sacrifices for wealth and good health is increasing. The news agency says the ritual “was almost (2) ____ of in the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, (3) ____ alongside a boom in the country's economy”. In 2006, there was just one case of child sacrifice reported in the country. However, police records show this is increasing. In 2008, police (4) ____ 25 ritual murders, and in 2009, another 29 killings. In (5) ____, Uganda launched the Anti-Human Sacrifice Police Task Force to try and put an end to the murderous rituals. Undercover BBC journalist Chris Rogers reports 900 more cases have (6) ____ to be investigated.

The sudden increase in the ritualistic killings (7) ____ with Uganda’s economic boom. Many believe the country's new (8) ____ is paying witch doctors huge amounts of money for the sacrifices to increase their wealth. The BBC interviewed pastor Peter Sewakiryanga about the child sacrifice. He said: "[It] has (9) ____ because people have become (10) ____ of money.…They have a belief that when you sacrifice a child you get wealth, and there are people who are (11) ____ to buy these children for a price. So they have become a commodity of exchange, child sacrifice has become a commercial business." A witch doctor explained he got $390 for an animal sacrifice but much more for the most powerful (12) ____ - the sacrifice of a child.

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

1.	(a)	is	(b)	has	(c)	was	(d)	as
2.	(a)	unheard	(b)	hearing	(c)	hears	(d)	heard
3.	(a)	willingly	(b)	chillingly	(c)	seemingly	(d)	alarmingly
4.	(a)	investigation	(b)	investigated	(c)	investigates	(d)	investigative
5.	(a)	suppose	(b)	response	(c)	propose	(d)	suspense
6.	(a)	so	(b)	more	(c)	yet	(d)	are
7.	(a)	coincides	(b)	coincidence	(c)	coincidental	(d)	coins
8.	(a)	elan	(b)	elf	(c)	elector	(d)	elite
9.	(a)	rising	(b)	rose	(c)	arose	(d)	risen
10.	(a)	romantics	(b)	lovers	(c)	boyfriends	(d)	spouses
11.	(a)	willing	(b)	will	(c)	would	(d)	wouldn’t
12.	(a)	numeral	(b)	alphabet	(c)	spell	(d)	digit

 
 

WRITING

Write about rituals 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 rituals. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. RITUALS: Make a poster about rituals. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. CHILD SACRIFICE: Write a magazine article about child sacrifice. Include imaginary interviews with the police investigating it and worried 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 the police chief in charge of the investigation. Ask him/her three questions about the murders. Give him/her three ideas to prevent them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

T

d.

T

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	killing	a.	murder
2	ritual	b.	practice
3.	alongside	c.	next to
4.	response	d.	reply
5.	undercover	e.	secret
6.	elite	f.	high society
7.	huge	g.	enormous
8.	risen	h.	increased
9.	business	i.	enterprise
10.	willing	j.	prepared

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	almost unheard	a.	of
2	a boom in the	b.	country's economy
3.	police	c.	records
4.	try and put an end to	d.	the murderous rituals
5.	900 more cases have yet	e.	to be investigated
6.	The sudden increase	f.	in the ritualistic killings
7.	the country's new	g.	elite
8.	paying witch doctors huge	h.	amounts of money
9.	people who are willing to	i.	buy these children
10.	a commercial	j.	business

GAP FILL:

Child sacrifice in Uganda increasing

The BBC has (1) reported that the killing of children in Uganda as sacrifices for wealth and good health is increasing. The news agency says the (2) ritual “was almost unheard of in the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, (3) seemingly alongside a (4) boom in the country's economy”. In 2006, there was just one (5) case of child sacrifice reported in the country. However, police records show this is increasing. In 2008, police investigated 25 ritual murders, and in 2009, another 29 killings. In (6) response, Uganda launched the Anti-Human Sacrifice Police Task Force to try and (7) put an end to the murderous rituals. Undercover BBC journalist Chris Rogers reports 900 more (8) cases have yet to be investigated.

The (9) sudden increase in the ritualistic killings coincides with Uganda’s economic boom. Many believe the country's new (10) elite is paying witch doctors huge amounts of money for the sacrifices to increase their (11) wealth. The BBC interviewed pastor Peter Sewakiryanga about the child sacrifice. He said: "[It] has risen because people have become (12) lovers of money.…They have a belief that when you sacrifice a child you get wealth, and there are people who are (13) willing to buy these children for a price. So they have become a commodity of (14) exchange, child sacrifice has become a (15) commercial business." A witch doctor explained he got $390 for an animal sacrifice but much more for the most powerful (16) spell - the sacrifice of a child.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - c

4 - b

5 - b

6 - c

7 - a

8 - d

9 -d

10 - b

11 - a

12 - c

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