The Pentagon has ended its investigation into the Koran abuse scandal. Guantanamo Bay spokesman General Jay Hood described five occasions when the Koran was mistreated. On one occasion the Koran was kicked and on another it was accidentally splashed with urine. The report said a guard had gone to the toilet against a prison wall, near an air vent. General Hood reported that "the wind blew his urine through the vent" and onto a prisoner and his Koran.

Newsweek magazine reported in May that a Koran was flushed in a toilet by prison guards. The article created fury and anger around the Muslim world. A total of 16 people died in protests. Muslims burned U.S. flags and shouted in the streets for revenge. As recently as June 1, the Pakistan Senate called for an international inquiry into the incident. Newsweek later said their story was probably untrue and apologized.

General Hood said the Koran cases happened in 2003. He explained that prisoners and their Korans are moved thousands of times every week, so accidents can and do happen. He stated: “Mishandling a Koran at Guantanamo Bay is a rare occurrence." Camp guidelines about touching the Koran are very strict. Only Muslim clergymen, interpreters or the prisoners can touch the holy book. Guards can no longer touch it.

WARM-UPS

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

The Pentagon / the Koran / Guantanamo Bay / toilets / Newsweek magazine / burning U.S. flags / revenge / accidents

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

2. THE PENTAGON: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the Pentagon. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them.

3. STORY PREDICTION: In pairs / groups, use the words from the “CHAT” activity to predict how the story in the article will unfold. Change partners and compare your stories. If you have different ideas, talk about which story you think will be closer to the article.

4. BACKGROUND SEARCH: Look at the headline. In pairs / groups, tell each other everything you know about the background to this story - the facts and timeline. Visit other pairs / groups to find out more information. When you have finished, write down three issues from your information. Give your opinions on the rights and wrongs of these issues. Find new partners and talk about rights and wrongs again.

5. PENTAGON REPORT OPINIONS: In pairs / groups, talk about the following opinions on the Koran abuse report. Which do you agree or disagree with? Do you agree/disagree slightly or strongly?

1. The report is from the U.S. military therefore it must be true.
2. I think it’s all lies – a cover-up.
3. The army has done a good job at finding the truth. The Muslim world can now be happy.
4. The editors and publishers from Newsweek magazine should go to prison. Their lies caused sixteen deaths.
5. I think this report will only make Muslims angrier.
6. It’s time to free the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. They have no information.
7. There will be another abuse against Muslims and their culture and religion. There are too many soldiers who don’t like Muslims.
8. If U.S. soldiers were in a Taliban or Saddam Hussein prison camp, I don’t think they’d get Bibles. Guantanamo Bay prisoners are lucky to have Korans.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	The U.S. military investigated abuses of the Koran by U.S. soldiers.	T / F
b.	A report says five incidents of “mishandling” the Koran occurred.	T / F
c.	A camp guard urinated over a Koran.	T / F
d.	Reports that a Koran was flushed down the toilet are true.	T / F
e.	Sixteen people died because of an incorrect Newsweek article.	T / F
f.	Pakistan wants an international inquiry into the Koran abuse.	T / F
g.	Korans are moved thousands of times every week at the camp.	T / F
h.	Guantanamo Bay guards are allowed to touch the Koran.	T / F

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

a.	investigation	wronged
b.	abuse	matter
c.	mistreated	happening
d.	vent	examination
e.	fury	getting even
f.	revenge	outlet
g.	incident	unusual
h.	rare	wrongdoing
i.	occurrence	clerics
j.	clergymen	outrage

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	ended its	vent
b.	splashed	into the incident
c.	air	in protests
d.	The article created fury	untrue
e.	16 people died	and anger
f.	As recently	clergymen
g.	an international inquiry	investigation
h.	their story was probably	book
i.	Muslim	as June 1
j.	holy	with urine

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the correct spaces.

Pentagon reports on Koran abuse

The Pentagon has ended its ________ into the Koran abuse scandal. Guantanamo Bay spokesman General Jay Hood described five ________ when the Koran was ________. On one occasion the Koran was kicked and on another it was accidentally ________ with urine. The report said a guard had gone to the toilet against a prison wall, near an air ________. General Hood reported that "the wind blew his urine through the vent" and onto a ________ and his Koran.		splashed occasions vent investigation prisoner mistreated
Newsweek magazine ________ in May that a Koran was flushed in a toilet by prison guards. The article created ________ and anger around the Muslim world. A total of 16 people died in ________. Muslims burned U.S. flags and shouted in the streets for ________. As recently as June 1, the Pakistan Senate called for an international ________ into the incident. Newsweek later said their story was probably untrue and ________.		apologized fury inquiry protests reported revenge
General Hood said the Koran ________ happened in 2003. He explained that prisoners and their Korans are ________ thousands of times every week, so accidents can and do ________. He stated: “Mishandling a Koran at Guantanamo Bay is a rare ________." Camp ________ about touching the Koran are very strict. Only Muslim ________, interpreters or the prisoners can touch the holy book. Guards can no longer touch it.		moved clergymen cases guidelines occurrence happen

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

• 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 gap fill. 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. STUDENT GUANTANAMO BAY SURVEY: In pairs / groups write down questions about Guantanamo Bay and the Koran abuse scandal.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make a mini-presentation to another group / the class on your findings.

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

investigation five splashed vent Newsweek Muslim world

flags apologized cases accidents guidelines clergymen

 DISCUSSION

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

1. What did you think when you read the headline?
2. Have you been following this news?
3. Are you surprised by the report’s findings?
4. Do you think the report has a fair conclusion?
5. Should the guard who kicked the Koran be punished?
6. Should Newsweek be punished?
7. Do you think the U.S. Army is anti-Muslim?
8. Do you think U.S. soldiers would be allowed a Bible if they were in Taliban prisons?
9. Do you think Guantanamo prisoners are fairly treated?
10. Do you think human rights are always given in Guantanamo?

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

1. Did you like reading the article?
2. How did this news make you feel?
3. Do you always read news about Guantanamo Bay?
4. Do you really believe that “the wind blew his urine through the vent”? Doesn’t that sound a bit fishy?
5. Why are there still prisoners in Guantanamo Bay?
6. Why is it taking more than three years to get information from prisoners?
7. What would you think if someone burned your country’s flag?
8. Should there be an international inquiry into the Koran abuse?
9. Do you think there’ll be more abuse stories?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

NEWS REPORT: You must prepare a report for tomorrow’s morning news. Your story is the Guantanamo Bay Koran abuse. The outline for your report is in the table. Think of three things to say about each of the words below to build into your report.

WORDS	THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THEM IN THE NEWS REPORT
The Pentagon report	1. 2. 3.
Guantanamo Bay	1. 2. 3.
Koran	1. 2. 3.
Newsweek	1. 2. 3.
Camp guidelines	1. 2. 3.
Conclusion	1. 2. 3.

After you have finished, change partners / groups. Report your news items to your new partner(s) to practice for tomorrow’s news programme. You may use the words in the column on the left as prompts. Do not look at the other column.

Give each other advice / feedback to make your reports better.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Pentagon reports on Koran abuse

The Pentagon has _____ ___ ____________ into the Koran abuse scandal. Guantanamo Bay spokesman General Jay Hood described five occasions when the Koran ___ _________. On one occasion the Koran was kicked and on another it was ____________ ________ with urine. The report said a guard had gone to the toilet against a prison wall, near an air vent. General Hood reported that "the wind blew his urine through the vent" and ____ __ ________ and his Koran.

Newsweek magazine reported in May that a Koran was _____ __ __ ____ by prison guards. The article created ____ ___ ______ around the Muslim world. A total of 16 people died in protests. Muslims burned U.S. flags and shouted in the streets ___ _______. As recently as June 1, the Pakistan Senate called for an international inquiry ____ ___ _________. Newsweek later said their story was probably untrue and apologized.

General Hood said the _____ _____ _________ in 2003. He explained that prisoners and their Korans are moved _________ __ ______ every week, so accidents can and do happen. He stated: “Mishandling a Koran at Guantanamo Bay is __ ____ ___________." Camp guidelines about touching the Koran are very strict. Only Muslim _________, interpreters or the prisoners can touch the holy book. _______ can no longer touch it.

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 more information on the Koran abuse scandal. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. HOLY BOOK: Choose a holy book from any religion other than your own. Make a fact sheet about the history of the book and its main teachings. Compare the histories and teachings of the different holy books in your next class. Discuss the similarities and differences in the teachings.

4. LETTER: Write a letter to Brigadier General Jay Hood telling him what you think of the conclusion of the Koran abuse scandal. Show your letter to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. T

f. T

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	investigation	examination
b.	abuse	wrongdoing
c.	mistreated	wronged
d.	vent	outlet
e.	fury	outrage
f.	revenge	getting even
g.	incident	matter
h.	rare	unusual
i.	occurrence	happening
j.	clergymen	clerics

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	ended its	investigation
b.	splashed	with urine
c.	air	vent
d.	The article created fury	and anger
e.	16 people died	in protests
f.	As recently	as June 1
g.	an international inquiry	into the incident
h.	their story was probably	untrue
i.	Muslim	clergymen
j.	holy	book

GAP FILL:

Pentagon reports on Koran abuse

The Pentagon has ended its investigation into the Koran abuse scandal. Guantanamo Bay spokesman General Jay Hood described five occasions when the Koran was mistreated. On one occasion the Koran was kicked and on another it was accidentally splashed with urine. The report said a guard had gone to the toilet against a prison wall, near an air vent. General Hood reported that "the wind blew his urine through the vent" and onto a prisoner and his Koran.

Newsweek magazine reported in May that a Koran was flushed in a toilet by prison guards. The article created fury and anger around the Muslim world. A total of 16 people died in protests. Muslims burned U.S. flags and shouted in the streets for revenge. As recently as June 1, the Pakistan Senate called for an international inquiry into the incident. Newsweek later said their story was probably untrue and apologized.

General Hood said the Koran cases happened in 2003. He explained that prisoners and their Korans are moved thousands of times every week, so accidents can and do happen. He stated: “Mishandling a Koran at Guantanamo Bay is a rare occurrence." Camp guidelines about touching the Koran are very strict. Only Muslim clergymen, interpreters or the prisoners can touch the holy book. Guards can no longer touch it.

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