A car bomb killed at least 30 people and wounded a further 38 when it detonated at a Baghdad marketplace on Saturday. It is just the latest in a series of deadly suicide bombings that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis, predominantly Shiites, in the past few days. Al-Qaeda's main operative in Iraq, Abu al-Zarqawi, has announced the escalation in violence constitutes civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country. Despite the recent onslaught against them, Shiites have so far refrained from retaliatory attacks, which would seemingly plunge Iraq into further chaos and perhaps destroy the chance of peace and democracy. Insurgents appear to be timing their attacks to derail next month’s referendum on Iraq’s fledgling constitution.

The latest wave of atrocities and mayhem against civilians, who are trying to go about their daily lives, is part of what Zarqawi terms “total war”. He called it revenge for a massive assault by US and Iraqi troops, who were hunting down Sunni insurgents in the northern town of Tal Afar last week. The bloodiest response since then was a giant car bomb on Wednesday that killed 112 Shiite laborers, part of a series of explosions that rocked Baghdad and caused 182 fatalities. On Friday a suicide bomber killed himself and at least 20 worshippers as they left a mosque in central Iraq. On Thursday, 29 people died in two blasts in the capital. In other violence yesterday, 11 handcuffed and blindfolded corpses were found in Baghdad, all shot at close range.

WARM-UPS

1. MY COUNTRY: Iraqi civilians live under the constant threat of violence and violent death. In pairs / groups, talk about what it must be like to live in such conditions. What are the greatest dangers in your town?

2. SENTENCE STARTERS: In pairs / groups, agree on an ending to the following sentence starters about Iraq. Talk about them. Change partners and compare your sentence endings.

1. Suicide bombings are _____________________________________________.
2. Al-Qaeda in Iraq will ______________________________________________.
3. An Iraqi civil war _________________________________________________.
4. Living in Baghdad ________________________________________________.
5. Sunni Muslims should _____________________________________________.
6. The future of Iraq ________________________________________________.
7. Peace and democracy _____________________________________________.
8. The world ______________________________________________________.

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

Car bombs / Baghdad / marketplaces / Al-Qaeda / violence / civil war / chaos / peace / referenda / democracy / constitutions / explosions / mosques

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

4. BAGHDAD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Baghdad. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. MY HEADLINES: In pairs / groups, write down three headlines you would like to see come from Iraq. Talk about the possibility of these headlines coming true.

6. 2-MINUTE DEBATES: Engage in the following 2-minute debates. Students A take the first argument, students B the second. Change partners often.

1. Peace will come to Iraq. vs. Peace will never come to Iraq.
2. It was a mistake to invade Iraq. vs. Invading Iraq was essential.
3. Arab countries should help keep order in Iraq. vs. The UN should help keep order.
4. The suicide bombers will win. vs. The suicide bombers will fail.
5. Iraq should break up into different states. vs. Iraq should stay unified.
6. NATO should step in to help find insurgents. vs. That would make things worse.
7. The constitution will help bring peace. vs. The constitution will not bring peace.
8. The UN should broker a ceasefire. vs. Al-Qaeda would never listen to the UN.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	A car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad police station killing 30.	T / F
b.	All of the victims were Sunni Muslims.	T / F
c.	The head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq said it was part of a new civil war.	T / F
d.	Recent attacks appear timed to derail an upcoming referendum.	T / F
e.	Civilians going about their daily lives are the victims of the atrocities.	T / F
f.	US and Iraqi troops have been hunting down Shiite insurgents.	T / F
g.	Many people were killed with rocks in Baghdad last week.	T / F
h.	High death tolls have been seen every day since Wednesday.	T / F

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

a.	detonated	attacks
b.	predominantly	explosions
c.	onslaught	new
d.	refrained	barbarities
e.	fledgling	lead
f.	atrocities	resisted
g.	mayhem	exploded
h.	go about	dead bodies
i.	blasts	chaos
j.	corpses	mainly

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

a.	wounded a	have claimed the lives of hundreds
b.	deadly suicide bombings that	Baghdad and caused 182 fatalities
c.	the escalation	about their daily lives
d.	Despite the recent onslaught	on Iraq’s fledgling constitution
e.	to derail next month’s referendum	at close range
f.	The latest wave of atrocities	against them
g.	trying to go	further 38
h.	revenge for a massive	and mayhem against civilians
i.	a series of explosions that rocked	in violence
j.	all shot	assault by US and Iraqi troops

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Baghdad car bomb kills 30

A car bomb killed at least 30 people and wounded a _______ 38 when it detonated at a Baghdad marketplace on Saturday. It is just the latest in a series of deadly suicide bombings that have _______ the lives of hundreds of Iraqis, predominantly Shiites, in the past few days. Al-Qaeda's main _______ in Iraq, Abu al-Zarqawi, has announced the escalation in violence _______ civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country. Despite the recent onslaught against them, Shiites have so far _______ from retaliatory attacks, which would _______ plunge Iraq into further chaos and perhaps destroy the chance of peace and democracy. Insurgents appear to be timing their attacks to _______ next month’s referendum on Iraq’s _______ constitution.		operative fledgling further seemingly constitutes derail claimed refrained
The latest _______ of atrocities and mayhem against civilians, who are trying to _______ their daily lives, is part of what Zarqawi terms “total war”. He called it revenge for a massive _______ by US and Iraqi troops, who were hunting down Sunni _______ in the northern town of Tal Afar last week. The _______ response since then was a giant car bomb on Wednesday that killed 112 Shiite laborers, part of a series of explosions that rocked Baghdad and caused 182 _______. On Friday a suicide bomber killed himself and at least 20 worshippers as they left a mosque in central Iraq. On Thursday, 29 people died in two _______ in the capital. In other violence yesterday, 11 handcuffed and blindfolded corpses were found in Baghdad, all shot at _______ range.		fatalities wave close insurgents blasts go about assault bloodiest

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

• 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 “IRAQ” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Iraq and the chances of peace in the next six months.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups 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:

least claimed escalation onslaught plunge derail

wave massive bloodiest rocked blasts range

DISCUSSION

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

1. How many times have you seen headlines similar to this one?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. What adjectives describe your feelings about Iraq’s future?
4. What adjectives describe your feelings about suicide bombers?
5. What do you think are the chances of civil war breaking out in Iraq?
6. Do you think Iraq is a new Vietnam for America?
7. What do you think can be done to end the threat of insurgency?
8. If you were Iraqi, would you stay in the country?
9. Do you think the referendum on the constitution will change events on the ground in Baghdad?
10. What single step would help achieve peace in Iraq?

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

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. What do you think about the idea of a federal Iraq?
4. What are the insurgents fighting for?
5. Do you think the fighting would lessen if Sunnis were given a fairer role in the Iraqi constitution?
6. We always hear the insurgents are being beaten. What do you think about this?
7. Why do you think Shiites have so far refrained from retaliating against Sunnis?
8. What would be the consequences of civil war in Iraq?
9. What kind of future do you see for Iraq?
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

IRAQI PREDICTIONS: In pairs / groups, make predictions about the future of Iraq. Use the items in the column on the left. Write a timescale in the other column outlining what you think will (or will not) happen.

ITEMS	PREDICTION AND TIMESCALE
Referendum
Free elections
Civil war
Suicide bombings
US forces in Iraq
Saddam Hussein
Al-Qaeda

Change partners and share your predictions and timescales. Discuss how far you agree with your partner’s predictions.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Baghdad car bomb kills 30

A car bomb killed at least 30 people and wounded __ _________ ___ when it detonated at a Baghdad marketplace on Saturday. It is just the latest in __ ________ ___ deadly suicide bombings that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis, predominantly Shiites, in the past few days. Al-Qaeda's main ___________ in Iraq, Abu al-Zarqawi, has announced the escalation in violence constitutes civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country. Despite ____ _______ __________ against them, Shiites have so far refrained from retaliatory attacks, which would seemingly ______ Iraq into further chaos and perhaps destroy the chance of peace and democracy. Insurgents appear to be timing their attacks to ______ next month’s referendum on Iraq’s fledgling constitution.

The latest wave of atrocities and ________ against civilians, who are trying to __ ______ their daily lives, is part of what Zarqawi terms “total war”. He called it revenge for a massive assault by US and Iraqi troops, who were hunting down Sunni ___________ in the northern town of Tal Afar last week. The bloodiest response since then was a giant car bomb on Wednesday that killed 112 Shiite laborers, part of a series of explosions that _______ Baghdad and caused 182 fatalities. On Friday a suicide bomber killed himself and at least 20 ___________ as they left a mosque in central Iraq. On Thursday, 29 people died in two ______ in the capital. In other violence yesterday, 11 handcuffed and blindfolded corpses were found in Baghdad, ___ _____ ___ close range.

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 Tal Afar. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. THE PLAYERS: Make a poster describing the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in Iraq. Try to explain some of their demands and differences. Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. DIARY / JOURNAL: You are an Iraqi civilian trying to go about your everyday life. Write your diary / journal entry for one day in Baghdad. Write about your feelings towards the bombers, the Americans and the world community. Read your diary / journal to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. T

d. T

e. T

f. F

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	detonated	exploded
b.	predominantly	mainly
c.	onslaught	attacks
d.	refrained	resisted
e.	fledgling	new
f.	atrocities	barbarities
g.	mayhem	chaos
h.	go about	lead
i.	blasts	explosions
j.	corpses	dead bodies

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	wounded a	further 38
b.	deadly suicide bombings that	have claimed the lives of hundreds
c.	the escalation	in violence
d.	Despite the recent onslaught	against them
e.	to derail next month’s referendum	on Iraq’s fledgling constitution
f.	The latest wave of atrocities	and mayhem against civilians
g.	trying to go	about their daily lives
h.	revenge for a massive	assault by US and Iraqi troops
i.	a series of explosions that rocked	Baghdad and caused 182 fatalities
j.	all shot	at close range

GAP FILL:

Baghdad car bomb kills 30

A car bomb killed at least 30 people and wounded a further 38 when it detonated at a Baghdad marketplace on Saturday. It is just the latest in a series of deadly suicide bombings that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis, predominantly Shiites, in the past few days. Al-Qaeda's main operative in Iraq, Abu al-Zarqawi, has announced the escalation in violence constitutes civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country. Despite the recent onslaught against them, Shiites have so far refrained from retaliatory attacks, which would seemingly plunge Iraq into further chaos and perhaps destroy the chance of peace and democracy. Insurgents appear to be timing their attacks to derail next month’s referendum on Iraq’s fledgling constitution.

The latest wave of atrocities and mayhem against civilians, who are trying to go about their daily lives, is part of what Zarqawi terms “total war”. He called it revenge for a massive assault by US and Iraqi troops, who were hunting down Sunni insurgents in the northern town of Tal Afar last week. The bloodiest response since then was a giant car bomb on Wednesday that killed 112 Shiite laborers, part of a series of explosions that rocked Baghdad and caused 182 fatalities. On Friday a suicide bomber killed himself and at least 20 worshippers as they left a mosque in central Iraq. On Thursday, 29 people died in two blasts in the capital. In other violence yesterday, 11 handcuffed and blindfolded corpses were found in Baghdad, all shot at close range.

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