Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Air Traffic Control

Most parents love taking their kids into work with them, once in a while. One father in New York did just that and is now in hot water. Air traffic controller Glenn Duffy not only took his two children into work, he let them have a go at his job. Newspapers and television stations have released audio files of Duffy’s children talking to pilots at New York’s busy JFK airport. The nine-year olds both gave instructions to pilots before they took off. The airplanes they were directing had 200 passengers on board. This has raised further concerns about the safety of air travel and angered passengers. Mr. Duffy has been suspended until America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finish investigating the incidents.

An FAA spokesman recognized Mr. Duffy’s behaviour was wrong, saying: "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees." He said the air traffic control tower is a highly secure area and only airport employees should be there. An aviation official, Ray LaHood, also commented on Duffy’s lapse of judgment: "This is a stunning example of a lack of professionalism; not following the rules and not using common sense," he said. Duffy’s children are very upset and worried about their father. His brother-in-law, Larry Johnstone, told a local newspaper: "The kids are upset. They feel it's their fault. They're thinking, ‘Daddy's in trouble because of me.’”

WARM-UPS

1. AIR SAFETY: Walk around the class and talk to other students about air safety. 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.

parents / taking kids to work / hot water / audio files / busy airports / passengers / wrong behaviour / professionalism / aviation / lapse of judgment / common sense

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

3. KIDS AT WORK: Should parents take their kids to work? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Kids of…	Yes / No (Why?)	What would the kids like?
pilots
surgeons
English teachers
farmers
police officers
factory workers

4. FIRED: Students A strongly believe people who take their kids to work should be fired; Students B strongly believe it’s good for kids to see where their parents work. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. WORST WORKPLACE: Where is worst for kids to go to see their parents working? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Change partners and share your rankings again. (Put the worst is at the top of your list.)

operating theatre
president’s / prime minister’s office
crime scene
research laboratory

battlefield
prison
coal mine
Air traffic control tower

6. COMMON SENSE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the term ‘common sense’. 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 father was burnt with hot water for taking his kids to his workplace.	T / F
b.	The father allowed his children to fly a passenger jet.	T / F
c.	The children directed an airplane with 200 people on board.	T / F
d.	The father is not working at the moment.	T / F
e.	An aviation body said the father’s behaviour was unprofessional	T / F
f.	Children of airport staff are allowed in the traffic control tower.	T / F
g.	Another aviation official said the father showed no common sense.	T / F
h.	The children are at fault in this story.	T / F

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

1.	love	a.	made public
2	hot water	b.	show
3.	released	c.	extremely
4.	further	d.	trouble
5.	incidents	e.	failure
6.	demonstrate	f.	happenings
7.	highly	g.	absence
8.	lapse	h.	adore
9.	lack	i.	worried
10.	upset	j.	more

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

1.	once in	a.	not acceptable
2	now in	b.	suspended
3.	gave instructions to pilots	c.	secure area
4.	200 passengers	d.	hot water
5.	Mr. Duffy has been	e.	a while
6.	This behaviour is	f.	because of me
7.	a highly	g.	sense
8.	Duffy’s lapse	h.	on board
9.	not using common	i.	before they took off
10.	Daddy's in trouble	j.	of judgment

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Most parents love taking their kids into work with them, once in a ____________. One father in New York did ____________ that and is now in hot water. Air traffic controller Glenn Duffy not only took his two children into work, he let them ____________ a go at his job. Newspapers and television stations have ____________ audio files of Duffy’s children talking to pilots at New York’s busy JFK airport. The nine-year olds both ____________ instructions to pilots before they took off. The airplanes they were directing had 200 passengers on ____________. This has raised further concerns about the safety of air travel and ____________ passengers. Mr. Duffy has been suspended until America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finish investigating the ____________.

released
angered
just
board
incidents
while
gave
have

An FAA spokesman ____________ Mr. Duffy’s behaviour was ____________, saying: "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism ____________ from all FAA employees." He said the air traffic control tower is a highly secure area and only airport ____________ should be there. An aviation official, Ray LaHood, also commented on Duffy’s lapse of judgment: "This is a ____________ example of a lack of professionalism; not ____________ the rules and not using common sense," he said. Duffy’s children are very ____________ and worried about their father. His brother-in-law, Larry Johnstone, told a local newspaper: "The kids are upset. They feel it's their ____________. They're thinking, ‘Daddy's in trouble because of me.’”

employees
fault
wrong
following
recognized
expected
stunning
upset

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Most parents love taking their kids into work with them, _______________. One father in New York did just that and is _______________. Air traffic controller Glenn Duffy not only took his two children into work, he let them _______________ job. Newspapers and television stations have released audio files of Duffy’s children talking to pilots at New York’s busy JFK airport. The nine-year olds both gave instructions to pilots _______________. The airplanes they were directing had 200 passengers on board. This has raised __________________ the safety of air travel and angered passengers. Mr. Duffy has been _______________ America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finish investigating the incidents.

An FAA spokesman recognized Mr. Duffy’s behaviour was wrong, saying: "This behaviour is not acceptable and _______________ the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees." He said the air traffic control tower is a _________________ and only airport employees should be there. An aviation official, Ray LaHood, also commented on Duffy’s lapse of judgment: "This is a stunning _______________ of professionalism; not following the rules and not _________________," he said. Duffy’s children are very upset and worried about their father. His brother-in-law, Larry Johnstone, told a local newspaper: "The kids are upset. They __________________. They're thinking, ‘Daddy's _______________ of me.’”

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

common

sense

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:

love
hot
files
nine
raised
finish

wrong
highly
official
example
common
fault

STUDENT AIRPORT SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about airports 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.

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 term ‘common sense’?
c)	What do you think of Mr. Duffy’s actions?
d)	What (if any) punishment should he get?
e)	When was the last time you were in hot water?
f)	Do you think the kids had a good time?
g)	Did you ever visit your parent’s place of work? Was it good?
h)	Do you think the pilots were surprised at being directed by nine-year-olds?
i)	If you were a passenger on one of the planes, what would you think?
j)	Are you concerned about air safety?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	How unprofessional was Mr. Duffy?
c)	How do you think Mr. Duffy feels now?
d)	Do you think Mr. Duffy agrees with the aviation officials?
e)	Is the airport also wrong for allowing Mr. Duffy’s children in the control tower?
f)	Has anyone ever said you have no common sense?
g)	When was the last time you had a lapse of judgment?
h)	What’s the most unprofessional thing you’ve ever done?
i)	Do you think Mr. Duffy was in total control, even though his kids were giving directions?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Mr. Duffy?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Most parents love taking their kids into work with them, once in a (1) ____. One father in New York did just that and is now in hot (2) ____. Air traffic controller Glenn Duffy not only took his two children into work, he let them have a (3) ____ at his job. Newspapers and television stations have released audio files of Duffy’s children talking to pilots at New York’s busy JFK airport. The nine-year olds both (4) ____ instructions to pilots before they took off. The airplanes they were directing had 200 passengers (5) ____ board. This has raised further concerns about the safety of air travel and (6) ____ passengers. Mr. Duffy has been suspended until America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finish investigating the incidents.

An FAA spokesman (7) ____ Mr. Duffy’s behaviour was wrong, saying: "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism (8) ____ from all FAA employees." He said the air traffic control tower is a (9) ____ secure area and only airport employees should be there. An aviation official, Ray LaHood, also commented on Duffy’s lapse of judgment: "This is a stunning example of a (10) ____ of professionalism; not following the rules and not using common (11) ____," he said. Duffy’s children are very upset and worried about their father. His brother-in-law, Larry Johnstone, told a local newspaper: "The kids are upset. They feel it's their fault. They're thinking, ‘Daddy's (12) ____ trouble because of me.’”

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

1.	(a)	when	(b)	whenever	(c)	whilst	(d)	while
2.	(a)	water	(b)	seas	(c)	liquid	(d)	milk
3.	(a)	do	(b)	have	(c)	go	(d)	take
4.	(a)	took	(b)	gave	(c)	did	(d)	had
5.	(a)	in	(b)	at	(c)	on	(d)	to
6.	(a)	angers	(b)	angrily	(c)	angered	(d)	angry
7.	(a)	recognized	(b)	reorganized	(c)	retrained	(d)	recorded
8.	(a)	expects	(b)	except	(c)	expecting	(d)	expected
9.	(a)	height	(b)	lowly	(c)	longish	(d)	highly
10.	(a)	slack	(b)	lack	(c)	flack	(d)	rack
11.	(a)	sense	(b)	scents	(c)	cents	(d)	tents
12.	(a)	on	(b)	out	(c)	in	(d)	up

WRITING

Write about air traffic control for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 this story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Make a poster about air traffic controllers and the job they do. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. PASSENGER: Write a magazine article about Mr. Duffy’s lapse of judgment. Include imaginary interviews with him and an angry passenger.

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 boss of an airline. Ask him/her three questions about this story. Give him/her three opinions on how to make flying safer / better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	love	a.	adore
2	hot water	b.	trouble
3.	released	c.	made public
4.	further	d.	more
5.	incidents	e.	happenings
6.	demonstrate	f.	show
7.	highly	g.	extremely
8.	lapse	h.	failure
9.	lack	i.	absence
10.	upset	j.	worried

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	once in	a.	a while
2	now in	b.	hot water
3.	gave instructions to pilots	c.	before they took off
4.	200 passengers	d.	on board
5.	Mr. Duffy has been	e.	suspended
6.	This behaviour is	f.	not acceptable
7.	a highly	g.	secure area
8.	Duffy’s lapse	h.	of judgment
9.	not using common	i.	sense
10.	Daddy's in trouble	j.	because of me

GAP FILL:

Kids direct New York air traffic at JFK

Most parents love taking their kids into work with them, once in a while. One father in New York did just that and is now in hot water. Air traffic controller Glenn Duffy not only took his two children into work, he let them have a go at his job. Newspapers and television stations have released audio files of Duffy’s children talking to pilots at New York’s busy JFK airport. The nine-year olds both gave instructions to pilots before they took off. The airplanes they were directing had 200 passengers on board. This has raised further concerns about the safety of air travel and angered passengers. Mr. Duffy has been suspended until America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finish investigating the incidents.

An FAA spokesman recognized Mr. Duffy’s behaviour was wrong, saying: "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees." He said the air traffic control tower is a highly secure area and only airport employees should be there. An aviation official, Ray LaHood, also commented on Duffy’s lapse of judgment: "This is a stunning example of a lack of professionalism; not following the rules and not using common sense," he said. Duffy’s children are very upset and worried about their father. His brother-in-law, Larry Johnstone, told a local newspaper: "The kids are upset. They feel it's their fault. They're thinking, ‘Daddy's in trouble because of me.’”

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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Breaking News English

March 6, 2010

Kids Direct New York Air Traffic at JFK