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Thursday November 25, 2004

THE ARTICLE

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s popularity ratings have seen a never-ending slide since the invasion of Iraq. A new low was hit yesterday when twenty three politicians lodged a motion to impeach him on charges of "gross misconduct" over his justification for invading Iraq. If it succeeds, the impeachment bid would be the first in Britain since a failed attempt in the mid-19th century. Blair would be arrested and face trial. However, its chances of success are minimal as it has very little political support. The main reason behind this action is to humiliate Blair and bring greater public attention to the scandal behind the reasons for attacking Iraq.

The group of 23 says a committee of lawmakers should consider the conclusions of the Iraq Survey Group, that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction capable of being mobilized within 45 minutes, and that of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's, who said that the war was unlawful. Actor Colin Redgrave added support to the proceedings by saying, “Tony Blair must be held accountable for lying to Parliament and to the people about the reasons for the Iraq war.” Blair is expected to win the next election, to be held next year. He has apologized for the wrong intelligence on Iraq but insists that he did not mislead parliament or the public, and continues to say the war is just.

POSSIBLE WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS

1. CHAT:  Talk in pairs or groups about Tony Blair, reasons for war on Iraq, George W. Bush’s influence, impeachment, British democracy, your country’s role in Iraq …

2. NICKNAMES: Ask students if they have any nicknames. Put the following nicknames on the board referring to Tony Blair – ‘Bliar’ - Coined by a US newspaper - the word "liar" is incorporated into his name by changing the letters of his family name, referring to claims that he lied to about Iraq; ‘Lap Dog’ or ‘Bush’s Poodle’ - Blair is always eager to support the foreign policy of George W. Bush and to act as Bush's ‘ambassador’; ‘Phony Blair’ - A reference to Blair's use of spin, by altering his forename – Phony and Tony rhyme; ‘Teflon Tony’ - states that much of what Blair says ‘doesn't stick’, this term is alliteration and originates from the non-stick frying pan material, Teflon; ‘Which Blair’ - This originates from a joke claiming that Blair is two-faced. It is based on the film The Blair Witch Project; Blair Witch - Another name based on the Blair Witch film.

Does your prime minister / president have any nicknames?

3. IMPEACH WHO?: Students talk about / rank which of these world leaders should be held to account: George W., Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroeder, Kofi Annan, Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi, your country’s leader …

4. 2-MINUTE DEBATES: Students face each other in pairs and engage in the following (for-fun) 2-minute debates. Students A are assigned the first argument, students B the second. Rotate pairs to ensure a lively pace and noise level is kept: Blair should be impeached vs. Shouldn’t; The Iraq war was just vs unjust; All politicians lie vs. only some do, the majority are squeaky clean; Blair vs. Bliar; Iraq War should stop today vs. Continue ‘til the job’s done …


 
 

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. IMPEACH: Students look in their dictionaries, encyclopaedia, the Internet to find a working understanding of the meaning and process of impeachment. Remind them of the Bill Clinton/Monika Lewinsky affair in America in 2001.

2. TRUE/FALSE: Students predict whether they believe the following statements about the article headline are true or false:
(a)  Tony Blair is more popular than ever.  T / F
(b)  Tony Blair reached a new political high yesterday.  T / F
(c)  Twenty three poli ticians expressed their doubts about Tony Blair’s integrity.  T / F
(d)  Impeachment proceedings are common in Britain.  T / F
(e)  There’s an excellent chance this impeachment will succeed.  T / F
(f)  There’s a chance Tony Blair could be arrested.  T / F
(g)  Lawmakers should consider the conclusions of Kofi Annan. T / F
(h)  Blair is expected to win the next election, to be held next year.  T / F
(i)  Tony Blair has apologized for the wrong intelligence on Iraq  T / F
(j)  Tony Blair continues to say the war is unjust.  T / F

3. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

 (a)

popularity

trial

 (b)

a new low

motion

 (c)

lodge a

was hit

 (d)

gross

support

 (e)

face

accountable (for)

 (f)

mass

ratings

 (g)

be held

just

 (h)

added

destruction

 (i)

war is

misconduct

  .


 
 

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

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

Impeach Tony Blair?

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ________ ratings have seen a never-ending slide since the invasion of Iraq. A new ________ was hit yesterday when twenty three politicians lodged a motion to impeach him on charges of "gross misconduct" over his ________ for invading Iraq. If it succeeds, the impeachment ________ would be the first in Britain since a failed attempt in the mid-19th century. Blair would be arrested and face trial. However, its chances of success are ________ as it has very little political support. The main reason behind this action is to ________ Blair and bring greater public attention to the scandal behind the reasons for attacking Iraq.
 

 

low
humiliate
popularity
bid
justification
minimal

The group of 23 says a committee of ________ should consider the conclusions of the Iraq Survey Group, that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction ________ of being mobilized within 45 minutes, and that of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's, who said that the war was ________. Actor Colin Redgrave added support to the proceedings by saying, “Tony Blair must be held ________ for lying to Parliament and to the people about the reasons for the Iraq war.” Blair is expected to win the next election, to be held next year. He has ________ for the wrong intelligence on Iraq but insists that he did not mislead parliament or the public, and continues to say the war is ________.

 

capable
accountable
just
lawmakers
apologized
unlawful

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

3. PHRASE MATCH: Students check their answers to the word match exercise.

4. WOW: Students circle anything in the text they went ‘wow’ about.

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

6. 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. WOW:  Students tell each other about the things they circled. Introduce the following language
I thought / think it’s amazing / unreal / incredible / awesome … that …
I can’t believe   …
Wow, Tony Blair …
It’s [totally] [utterly] [completely] [totally, utterly and completely] ridiculous that …
I’m [shocked] [amazed] [not surprised] that …
[Opportunity to focus on emotional reactions / opinions]

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

6. TO IMPEACH?: In pairs groups students decide whether Tony Blair should be impeached or held accountable for ‘gross misconduct’, and decide a penalty for him. Change pairs / groups and report conclusions. Pick holes in new partner’s arguments.

7. IN THE DOCK ROLE PLAY: Role play the proceedings in a British court with Tony Blair facing impeachment. The witnesses include George W. Bush, Kofi Annan, Saddam Hussein, a resident of Baghdad, Jacques Chirac, your country’s leader, anyone else of relevance.

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 Tony Blair. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. LETTER TO TONY: Write an imaginary letter to Tony Blair telling him your thoughts on his possible impeachment.

4. BILL AND TONY: Write a brief report on which leader was more at fault in their respective impeachment cases.

ANSWERS

TRUE/FALSE:
(a)  Tony Blair is more popular than ever.  F
(b)  Tony Blair reached a new political high yesterday.  F
(c)  Twenty three politicians expressed their doubts about Tony Blair’s integrity.  T
(d)  Impeachment proceedings are common in Britain.  F
(e)  There’s an excellent chance this impeachment will succeed.  F
(f)  There’s a chance Tony Blair could be arrested.  T
(g)  Lawmakers should consider the conclusions of Kofi Annan. T
(h)  Blair is expected to win the next election, to be held next year.  T
(i)  Tony Blair has apologized for the wrong intelligence on Iraq  T
(j)  Tony Blair continues to say the war is unjust.  F

PHRASE MATCH: :

 (a)

popularity

trial

 (b)

a new low

motion

 (c)

lodge a

was hit

 (d)

gross

support

 (e)

face

accountable (for)

 (f)

mass

ratings

 (g)

be held

just

 (h)

added

destruction

 (i)

war is

misconduct

 

GAP FILL:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s popularity ratings have seen a never-ending slide since the invasion of Iraq. A new low was hit yesterday when twenty three politicians lodged a motion to impeach him on charges of "gross misconduct" over his justification for invading Iraq. If it succeeds, the impeachment bid would be the first in Britain since a failed attempt in the mid-19th century. Blair would be arrested and face trial. However, its chances of success are minimal as it has very little political support. The main reason behind this action is to humiliate Blair and bring greater public attention to the scandal behind the reasons for attacking Iraq.

The group of 23 says a committee of lawmakers should consider the conclusions of the Iraq Survey Group, that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction capable of being mobilized within 45 minutes, and that of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's, who said that the war was unlawful. Actor Colin Redgrave added support to the proceedings by saying, “Tony Blair must be held accountable for lying to Parliament and to the people about the reasons for the Iraq war.” Blair is expected to win the next election, to be held next year. He has apologized for the wrong intelligence on Iraq but insists that he did not mislead parliament or the public, and continues to say the war is just.

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