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Boy, 5, Takes Bags of Heroin to School (13th April, 2012)

A 35-year-old American man has been arrested on drugs charges after his five-year-old stepson took 50 packets of heroin to school for a "show and tell" presentation. The drugs had a street value of around $500. The Connecticut Post newspaper reported that the man, Santos Roman, was charged with risk of injury to a minor, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics and possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet (457 metres) of a school. He is being held by police in lieu of a $100,000 bail bond. The boy has been placed in state care in Bridgeport, Connecticut while police try to find other family members to look after him. They have requested relatives to come forward.

The Connecticut Post says the boy attended his kindergarten at the Barnum School as usual on Monday. He had decided to take Mr Roman's jacket with him for some unknown reason. When it was his turn to make his presentation to the class, he opened the jacket and showed off the stash of 10 small bags of heroin, each containing five measures of the drug. His teacher confiscated the jacket and its illegal contents and immediately notified the local police. Police spokesman Keith Bryant said Santos had realized that his jacket was missing and went to the school to get it back. He found it in an empty classroom but it was too late. Police arrested him as he left the building and took him into custody.

WARM-UPS

1. DRUGS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about drugs. 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.

 

arrested / drugs charges / show and tell / risk of injury / narcotics / bail / relatives / kindergarten / unknown reason / confiscated / illegal contents / too late / into custody

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

3. SHOW AND TELL: What would you present? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

About

What?

Why?

your childhood

 

 

your country

 

 

your hobby

 

 

your dream

 

 

your family

 

 

your best friend

 

 

4. DRUGS LAWS: Students A strongly believe drugs laws should be much stricter; Students B strongly believe otherwise.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. DRUGS: Which are the worst? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the worst at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

  • nicotine
  • heroin
  • alcohol
  • marijuana
  • sleeping pills
  • caffeine
  • steroids
  • ecstasy

6. NARCOTICS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'narcotics'. 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 kindergarten took drugs to school to sell for his stepfather.

T / F

b.

The drugs had a street value of $500.

T / F

c.

The stepfather is being charged with having drugs near a school.

T / F

d.

The little boy is now in the care of an aunt and uncle.

T / F

e.

Nobody knows why the little boy took his stepfather's jacket to school.

T / F

f.

The little boy's teacher took the drugs and called the police.

T / F

g.

The stepfather didn't find his jacket when he went to the school.

T / F

h.

Police arrested the stepfather after a chase through a shopping mall.

T / F

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

1.

charges

a.

seized

2.

value

b.

adolescent

3.

minor

c.

store

4.

possession

d.

turned up

5.

care

e.

told

6.

attended

f.

accusations

7.

stash

g.

ownership

8.

confiscated

h.

figured out

9.

notified

i.

worth

10.

realized

j.

protection

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

1.

a street

a.

state care

2.

possession of

b.

of 10 small bags

3.

held by police in lieu of a

c.

to come forward

4.

placed in

d.

his jacket was missing

5.

They have requested relatives

e.

into custody

6.

for some unknown

f.

value of around $500

7.

showed off the stash

g.

the jacket

8.

His teacher confiscated

h.

$100,000 bail bond

9.

Santos had realized that

i.

reason

10.

took him

j.

narcotics


 


 
 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

A 35-year-old American man has been arrested on drugs           (1) ____________ after his five-year-old stepson took 50 packets of heroin to school for a (2) "____________ and tell" presentation. The drugs had a (3) ____________ value of around $500. The Connecticut Post newspaper reported that the man, Santos Roman, was charged with risk of injury to a                   (4) ____________, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics and possession of narcotics (5) ____________ 1,500 feet (457 metres) of a school. He is being (6) ____________ by police in lieu of a $100,000 bail bond. The boy has been placed in state care in Bridgeport, Connecticut while police try to find other family members to      (7) ____________ after him. They have requested relatives to come (8) ____________.

 

 

 

held
minor
show
look
street
forward
charges
within

The Connecticut Post says the boy (9) ____________ his kindergarten at the Barnum School as usual on Monday. He had decided to take Mr Roman's jacket with him for some              (10) ____________ reason. When it was his turn to make his presentation to the class, he opened the jacket and showed     (11) ____________ the stash of 10 small bags of heroin, each containing five (12) ____________ of the drug. His teacher confiscated the jacket and its illegal (13) ____________ and immediately notified the local police. Police spokesman Keith Bryant said Santos had (14) ____________ that his jacket was missing and went to the school to get it back. He found it in an (15) ____________ classroom but it was too late. Police arrested him as he left the building and took him into (16) ____________.

 

 

contents
measures
custody
unknown
realized
attended
off
empty

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A 35-year-old American man has ___________________ drugs charges after his five-year-old stepson took 50 packets of heroin to school for a "show and tell" presentation. The drugs had a ___________________ $500. The Connecticut Post newspaper reported that the man, Santos Roman, was charged with risk of ___________________, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics and possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet (457 metres) of a school. He is ___________________ police in lieu of a $100,000 bail bond. The boy has been ___________________ care in Bridgeport, Connecticut while police try to find other family members to look after him. They have ___________________ to come forward.

The Connecticut Post says ___________________ his kindergarten at the Barnum School as usual on Monday. He had decided to take Mr Roman's jacket with him for some ___________________. When it was his turn to make his presentation to the class, he opened the jacket and showed ___________________ 10 small bags of heroin, each containing five measures of the drug. His teacher ___________________ jacket and its illegal contents and ___________________ the local police. Police spokesman Keith Bryant said Santos had realized that his jacket was missing and went to the school to get it back. He found it in an empty classroom but it was too late. Police arrested him as he left the building and took ___________________.


 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'street' and 'value'.

street

value

 

 

 

  • 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:

  • charges
  • show
  • street
  • risk
  • 1,500
  • look
  • usual
  • reason
  • turn
  • 10
  • missing
  • building

DRUGS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about drugs 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.


 
 

DRUGS 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 'drugs'?

c)

What do you think about what you read?

d)

What should happen to the stepfather?

e)

Should the boy go back to live with his stepfather?

f)

Are drugs a problem in schools in your country?

g)

How strict are drugs laws in your country?

h)

Do you think the little boy understands what happened?

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

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

a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

Why do you think the little boy took his stepfather's jacket?

c)

What was the last thing you presented in a show and tell?

d)

How did the teacher know the packets contained drugs?

e)

What do you think Mr Roman thinks of his stepson?

f)

Do you think this incident will affect the little boy in any way?

g)

What three adjectives best describe this story?

h)

What questions would you like to ask Santos Roman?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A 35-year-old American man has been arrested (1) ____ drugs charges after his five-year-old stepson took 50 packets of heroin to school for a "(2) ____ and tell" presentation. The drugs had a street value of around $500. The Connecticut Post newspaper reported that the man, Santos Roman, was charged with risk of injury to a (3) ____, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics and possession of narcotics (4) ____ 1,500 feet (457 metres) of a school. He is being held by police in lieu of a $100,000 bail bond. The boy has been placed in state (5) ____ in Bridgeport, Connecticut while police try to find other family members to look after him. They have requested relatives to come (6) ____.

The Connecticut Post says the boy attended his kindergarten at the Barnum School (7) ____ usual on Monday. He had decided to take Mr Roman's jacket with him for some (8) ____ reason. When it was his turn to make his presentation to the class, he opened the jacket and showed (9) ____ the stash of 10 small bags of heroin, each containing five measures of the drug. His teacher confiscated the jacket and (10) ____ illegal contents and immediately notified the local police. Police spokesman Keith Bryant said Santos had (11) ____ that his jacket was missing and went to the school to get it back. He found it in an empty classroom but it was too late. Police arrested him as he left the building and took him into (12) ____.

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

1.

(a)

in

(b)

at

(c)

on

(d)

by

2.

(a)

shower

(b)

show

(c)

showing

(d)

shows

3.

(a)

minor

(b)

miner

(c)

major

(d)

mariner

4.

(a)

without

(b)

with

(c)

wither

(d)

within

5.

(a)

looking after

(b)

nurture

(c)

care

(d)

prison

6.

(a)

backward

(b)

sideways

(c)

forward

(d)

upwards

7.

(a)

is

(b)

as

(c)

has

(d)

was

8.

(a)

unknown

(b)

knowledge

(c)

none

(d)

knew

9.

(a)

on

(b)

off

(c)

up

(d)

time

10.

(a)

its

(b)

their

(c)

it's

(d)

these

11.

(a)

neutralized

(b)

ratified

(c)

notified

(d)

realized

12.

(a)

parody

(b)

oddity

(c)

malady

(d)

custody


 
 

WRITING

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

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

4. BUSTED: Write a magazine article about a drug dealer caught by the police. Include imaginary interviews with the dealer and a police officer.

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 a narcotics expert. Ask him/her three questions about drugs. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to get them off the streets. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.


 


 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

F

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

charges

a.

accusations

2.

value

b.

worth

3.

minor

c.

adolescent

4.

possession

d.

ownership

5.

care

e.

protection

6.

attended

f.

turned up

7.

stash

g.

store

8.

confiscated

h.

seized

9.

notified

i.

told

10.

realized

j.

figured out

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

a street

a.

value of around $500

2.

possession of

b.

narcotics

3.

held by police in lieu of a

c.

$100,000 bail bond

4.

placed in

d.

state care

5.

They have requested relatives

e.

to come forward

6.

for some unknown

f.

reason

7.

showed off the stash

g.

of 10 small bags

8.

His teacher confiscated

h.

the jacket

9.

Santos had realized that

i.

his jacket was missing

10.

took him

j.

into custody

GAP FILL:

Boy, 5, takes bags of heroin to school

A 35-year-old American man has been arrested on drugs (1) charges after his five-year-old stepson took 50 packets of heroin to school for a (2) "show and tell" presentation. The drugs had a (3) street value of around $500. The Connecticut Post newspaper reported that the man, Santos Roman, was charged with risk of injury to a (4) minor, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics and possession of narcotics (5) within 1,500 feet (457 metres) of a school. He is being (6) held by police in lieu of a $100,000 bail bond. The boy has been placed in state care in Bridgeport, Connecticut while police try to find other family members to (7) look after him. They have requested relatives to come (8) forward.

The Connecticut Post says the boy (9) attended his kindergarten at the Barnum School as usual on Monday. He had decided to take Mr Roman's jacket with him for some (10) unknown reason. When it was his turn to make his presentation to the class, he opened the jacket and showed (11) off the stash of 10 small bags of heroin, each containing five (12) measures of the drug. His teacher confiscated the jacket and its illegal (13) contents and immediately notified the local police. Police spokesman Keith Bryant said Santos had (14) realized that his jacket was missing and went to the school to get it back. He found it in an (15) empty classroom but it was too late. Police arrested him as he left the building and took him into (16) custody.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - c

2 - b

3 - a

4 - d

5 - c

6 - c

7 - b

8 - a

9 - b

10 - a

11 - d

12 - d

 

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