Breaking News English

Home | Help This Site

Burglary a threat to mental health (22nd June, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

A professor from the British Psychological Society warned that people underestimate how serious burglary is. It can leave people traumatised. She said: "Burglary is frequently seen as a minor crime….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of being burgled is likely to have a severe emotional outcome for many victims who were, up to then, leading ordinary lives." She said the experience led some people to want to move to a different house. Other people got depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even had marital breakdowns.

Professor Paula Nicolson from the British Psychological Society warned that people and the police underestimate how serious a crime burglary is. Many people fail to realise it can leave people traumatised. She said: "Burglary is frequently seen as a minor crime – one that may be resolved and forgotten by the victim….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of being burgled is likely to have a severe emotional outcome for many victims who were, up to then, leading ordinary lives." She added the undue trauma resulted for some people in "the compulsion to move house, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even marital breakdown".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.bps.org.uk/news/burglary-seriously-damages-mental-health
http://news.uk.msn.com/study-reveals-impact-of-burglary-1

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. BURGLARY: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about burglary. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

burglary / threat / mental health / quarter / anxiety / protect / insecurity / streets / psychological / / traumatised / minor crime / depression / marital breakdown

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

3. PREVENTION: How can we prevent burglaries? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

Ideas	Pros	Cons
Stronger locks
Neighbourhood watch
Better policing
CCTV
Burglar alarms
Web cams in the house

4. SERIOUS CRIME: Students A strongly believe burglary is a serious crime, not a minor one; Students B strongly disagree. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. BURGLED: Rank these with your partner. Put the things you would not want to be stolen at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• mobile phone

• passport

• family photos

• jewellery

• computer

• game console

• TV

• money

6. SECURITY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "security". 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.	The study is from a U.K. prison service.	T / F
b.	Over 10,000 people took part in the study.	T / F
c.	A quarter of participants were sad they could not protect their home.	T / F
d.	Over a quarter of those burgled are now afraid of street crime.	T / F
e.	A professor thought police should view burglary being more seriously.	T / F
f.	The professor said most people though burglary was a serious crime.	T / F
g.	The professor said most people forget the experience of being burgled.	T / F
h.	Some burglaries result in the break-up of marriages.	T / F

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

1.	serious	a.	miscalculate
2.	forms	b.	consequence
3.	insecurity	c.	attacked
4.	mugged	d.	understand
5.	feared	e.	grave
6.	underestimate	f.	worried about
7.	realise	g.	marriage
8.	resolved	h.	types
9.	outcome	i.	cleared up
10.	marital	j.	defencelessness

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

1.	home	a.	suffered from anxiety
2.	a quarter of them	b.	emotional outcome
3.	feelings of	c.	security company
4.	afraid of being	d.	before being burgled
5.	something they had not feared	e.	people traumatised
6.	police underestimate how serious	f.	ordinary lives
7.	people fail to realise it can leave	g.	mugged in the streets
8.	likely to have a severe	h.	a crime burglary is
9.	leading	i.	breakdown
10.	marital	j.	insecurity

GAP FILL

A new study shows that experiencing a burglary is a (1) ____________ threat to people's mental health. The survey is from the British (2) ____________ Victim Support and the home security company ADT. Researchers interviewed 1,000 people who had been (3) ____________. They found that a quarter of them suffered from (4) ____________ or forms of depression, while a further 25 per cent felt saddened by the thought they could no longer (5) ____________ their home and family. The researchers said that feelings of (6) ____________ set in for many people after a burglary. They reported that 37 per cent of burglary victims suddenly became afraid of being (7) ____________ in the streets, something they had not (8) ____________ before being burgled.

protect
feared
burgled
serious
insecurity
charity
mugged
anxiety

Professor Paula Nicolson from the British Psychological Society warned that people and the police underestimate how (9) ____________ a crime burglary is. Many people fail to realise it can leave victims (10) ____________. She said: "Burglary is (11) ____________ seen as a minor crime – one that may be (12) ____________ and forgotten by the victim….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of being burgled is (13) ____________ to have a severe emotional outcome for many victims who were, up to then, leading (14) ____________ lives." She added the undue trauma (15) ____________ for some people in "the compulsion to move house, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even (16) ____________ breakdown".

likely
marital
frequently
ordinary
serious
resolved
traumatised
resulted

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	A new study shows that experiencing a burglary is ______
	a. a seriously threat b. a series threat c. a serious threat d. a series as threat
2)	They found that a quarter of them suffered from anxiety or ______
	a. forms of depression b. conforms of depression c. firms of depression d. farms of depression
3)	a further 25 per cent felt saddened by the thought they could no ______
	a. longer protects their home b. larger protect their home c. longer protect that home d. longer protect their home
4)	The researchers said that feelings of insecurity ______ people
	a. set in for many b. setting for many c. set out for many d. set tin for many
5)	afraid of being mugged in the streets, something they had ______
	a. not feared before b. not afraid before c. not fearing before d. not fared before
6)	Many people fail to realise it can leave ______
	a. people are traumatised b. people trauma timed c. people being traumatised d. people traumatised
7)	She said: "Burglary is frequently seen as ______..."
	a. a mirror crime b. a minor crime c. a miner crime d. a minors crime
8)	the experience of being burgled is likely to have a ______
	a. severely emotional outcome b. severe emotionall outcome c. severe emotional income d. severe emotional outcome
9)	She added the undue trauma resulted for some people in "the ______ house
	a. compassion to move b. propulsion to move c. compulsion to move d. compulsive to move
10)	depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even ______
	a. marital breakdown b. martial breakdown c. material breakdown d. partial breakdown

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A new study shows that experiencing a burglary (1) ___________________ to people's mental health. The survey is from the British charity Victim Support and the (2) ___________________ ADT. Researchers interviewed 1,000 people who had been burgled. They found (3) ___________________ them suffered from anxiety or forms of depression, while a further 25 per cent (4) ___________________ the thought they could no longer protect their home and family. The researchers said that feelings (5) ___________________ for many people after a burglary. They reported that 37 per cent of burglary victims suddenly became afraid of being mugged in the streets, something they had not feared (6) ___________________.

Professor Paula Nicolson from the British Psychological Society warned that people and the police underestimate (7) ___________________ burglary is. Many people fail to realise it can leave victims traumatised. She said: "Burglary is frequently seen (8) ___________________ – one that may be resolved and forgotten (9) ___________________ ….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of being burgled is likely to have a severe emotional outcome for many victims who (10) ___________________, leading ordinary lives." She added (11) ___________________ resulted for some people in "the compulsion to move house, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even (12) ___________________".

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What kind of company partly conducted the survey?
2.	How many participants were there in the survey?
3.	What fraction of participants suffered from anxiety or depression?
4.	What were people sad at the thought of not being able to protect?
5.	What were 37% of people who were burgled now afraid of?
6.	Who underestimated the seriousness of burglary?
7.	How can burglary leave people feeling?
8.	What kind of crime did a professor say burglary is seen as?
9.	What kind of lives did many victims lead?
10.	What happens to many marriages after a house is burgled?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What kind of company partly conducted the survey?	6.	Who underestimated the seriousness of burglary?
	a) a therapy company b) a publishing company c) a construction company d) a home security company		a) victims b) insurance companies c) the police d) the government
2.	How many participants were there in the survey?	7.	How can burglary leave people feeling?
	a) 2,000 b) 1,000 c) 11,000 d) 22,000		a) traumatised b) numb c) furious d) up in the air
3.	What fraction of participants suffered from anxiety or depression?	8.	What kind of crime did a professor say burglary is seen as?
	a) four-fifths b) two-thirds c) half d) a quarter		a) common b) everyday c) minor d) organised
4.	What were people sad at the thought of not being able to protect?	9.	What kind of lives did many victims lead?
	a) their privacy b) their TV c) their home d) their money		a) wealthy b) ordinary c) dull d) busy
5.	What were 37% of people who were burgled now afraid of?	10.	What happens to many marriages after a house is burgled?
	a) the burglar returning b) the dark c) noises at night d) being mugged		a) they end b) they get stronger c) they are tested d) nothing

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Stronger locks

You think stronger locks is the best defence against burglary. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things are not so good. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): a neighbourhood watch scheme, better policing or web cams in the house.

Role B – Neighbourhood watch

You think a neighbourhood watch scheme is the best defence against burglary. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things are not so good. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): stronger locks, better policing or web cams in the house.

Role C – Better policing

You think better policing is the best defence against burglary. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things are not so good. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): a neighbourhood watch scheme, stronger locks or web cams in the house.

Role D – Web cams in the house

You think web cams in the house is the best defence against burglary. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things are not so good. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): a neighbourhood watch scheme, better policing or stronger locks.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

mental

health

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:

charity
1,000
forms
home
37
feared

police
fail
minor
likely
ordinary
marital

BURGLARY SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about burglary 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.

BURGLARY 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 'burglary'?
c)	How common is burglary in your country?
d)	What is the punishment for burglary in your country?
e)	How do you think burglary affects mental health?
f)	What can be done to support burglary victims?
g)	How can people protect their home against burglars?
h)	What are the differences between burglary and robbery?
i)	What is a "cat burglar"?
j)	Do you worry about being burgled?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Why do people underestimate how serious a crime burglary is?
c)	Why are people left with mental health problems after burglaries?
d)	What can communities do to reduce the risk of burglaries?
e)	Is burglary a serious or minor crime?
f)	Would you like CCTV cameras in your house?
g)	Do you do anything before you leave your house to keep it safe?
h)	Are you afraid of crimes happening to you?
i)	What should the punishment for a burglar be?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

A new study shows that experiencing a burglary is a serious threat to people's mental health. The survey is from the British (1) ____ Victim Support and the home security company ADT. Researchers interviewed 1,000 people who had been burgled. They found that a quarter of them suffered from (2) ____ or forms of depression, (3) ____ a further 25 per cent felt saddened by the (4) ____ they could no longer protect their home and family. The researchers said that feelings of insecurity set (5) ____ for many people after a burglary. They reported that 37 per cent of burglary victims suddenly became afraid of being (6) ____ in the streets, something they had not feared before being burgled.

Professor Paula Nicolson from the British Psychological Society warned that people and the police underestimate how serious (7) ____ crime burglary is. Many people fail to realise it can (8) ____ victims traumatised. She said: "Burglary is frequently seen as a (9) ____ crime – one that may be resolved and forgotten by the victim….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of being burgled is (10) ____ to have a severe emotional outcome for many victims who were, up to then, leading ordinary lives." She added the (11) ____ trauma resulted for some people in "the compulsion to move house, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even (12) ____ breakdown".

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

1.	(a)	threaten	(b)	threat	(c)	treat	(d)	threatening
2.	(a)	anxious	(b)	anxiety	(c)	anxiously	(d)	stressing
3.	(a)	whoever	(b)	which	(c)	when	(d)	while
4.	(a)	dream	(b)	thought	(c)	cognition	(d)	knowing
5.	(a)	out	(b)	in	(c)	up	(d)	on
6.	(a)	bugged	(b)	hugged	(c)	mugged	(d)	tugged
7.	(a)	of	(b)	for	(c)	a	(d)	such
8.	(a)	feel	(b)	do	(c)	leave	(d)	have
9.	(a)	main	(b)	mine	(c)	miner	(d)	minor
10.	(a)	likely	(b)	likened	(c)	likelihood	(d)	likeliest
11.	(a)	undue	(b)	untrue	(c)	unruly	(d)	undo
12.	(a)	martial	(b)	material	(c)	marital	(d)	Martian

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	a uirsseo threat
2.	a quarter of them suffered from ntaixye
3.	forms of epneodsirs
4.	a rfrtheu 25 per cent
5.	feelings of ncyiiustre set in
6.	afraid of being mdugge in the streets
Paragraph 2
7.	the police iaseurmteedtn how
8.	it can leave people stiemdauatr
9.	netyfuqrel seen as a minor crime
10.	one that may be rdlesoev and forgotten
11.	have a eeesvr emotional outcome
12.	mtaalir breakdown

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( 1 )	A new study shows that experiencing a burglary is a serious threat to people's mental health. The survey is
( )	from the British charity Victim Support and the home security company ADT. Researchers
( )	interviewed 1,000 people who had been burgled. They found that a quarter of
( )	by the thought they could no longer protect their home and family. The researchers said that feelings of
( )	became afraid of being mugged in the streets, something they had not feared before being burgled.
( )	them suffered from anxiety or forms of depression, while a further 25 per cent felt saddened
( )	Professor Paula Nicolson from the British Psychological Society warned that people and the police
( )	resolved and forgotten by the victim….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of
( )	being burgled is likely to have a severe emotional outcome for many
( )	people in "the compulsion to move house, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and even marital breakdown".
( )	victims who were, up to then, leading ordinary lives." She added the undue trauma resulted for some
( )	insecurity set in for many people after a burglary. They reported that 37 per cent of burglary victims suddenly
( )	underestimate how serious a crime burglary is. Many people fail to realise it can leave people
( )	traumatised. She said: "Burglary is frequently seen as a minor crime – one that may be

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	health is threat mental Burglary serious people's a to.
2.	they longer home thought no their The could protect.
3.	of for Feelings in set people insecurity many.
4.	of afraid became suddenly Victims mugged being.
5.	not feared Something before they being had burgled.
6.	is serious a Police crime underestimate burglary how.
7.	fail it people People realise leave to can traumatised.
8.	as Burglary a is minor frequently crime seen.
9.	then, to up were, who Victims lives ordinary leading .
10.	compulsion some the move for in to Resulted people.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A new study shows that experiencing / experiential a burglary is a serious threat to people's mental health. The survey / surveillance is from the British charity Victim Support and the home securities / security company ADT. Researchers interviewed 1,000 people who had been burgled. They found that a quarter of them / those suffered from anxiety or / of forms of depression, while a farther / further 25 per cent felt saddened by the thought they could no longer / lengthen protect their home and family. The researchers said that feelings of insecurity set out / in for many people after a burglary. They reported that 37 per cent of burglary / burglar victims suddenly became afraid of being mugged in the streets, something they had not fearsome / feared before being burgled.

Professor Paula Nicolson from the British Psychological Society warned that people and the police overestimate / underestimate how serious / seriously a crime burglary is. Many people fail / pass to realise it can leave victims traumatised. She said: "Burglary is frequent / frequently seen as a mirror / minor crime – one that may be resolved / dissolved and forgotten by the victim….However psychologically and emotionally the experience of being / been burgled is likely to have a severe emotional outcome / income for many victims who were, up to then, leading ordinarily / ordinary lives." She added the undue trauma resulted for some people in "the compulsion to move house, depression, anxious / anxiety, sleeplessness and even marital breakdown".

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

_ n_w st_dy sh_ws th_t _xp_r__nc_ng _ b_rgl_ry _s _ s_r___s thr__t t_ p__pl_'s m_nt_l h__lth. Th_ s_rv_y _s fr_m th_ Br_t_sh ch_r_ty V_ct_m S_pp_rt _nd th_ h_m_ s_c_r_ty c_mp_ny _DT. R_s__rch_rs _nt_rv__w_d 1,000 p__pl_ wh_ h_d b__n b_rgl_d. Th_y f__nd th_t _ q__rt_r _f th_m s_ff_r_d fr_m _nx__ty _r f_rms _f d_pr_ss__n, wh_l_ _ f_rth_r 25 p_r c_nt f_lt s_dd_n_d by th_ th__ght th_y c__ld n_ l_ng_r pr_t_ct th__r h_m_ _nd f_m_ly. Th_ r_s__rch_rs s__d th_t f__l_ngs _f _ns_c_r_ty s_t _n f_r m_ny p__pl_ _ft_r _ b_rgl_ry. Th_y r_p_rt_d th_t 37 p_r c_nt _f b_rgl_ry v_ct_ms s_dd_nly b_c_m_ _fr__d _f b__ng m_gg_d _n th_ str__ts, s_m_th_ng th_y h_d n_t f__r_d b_f_r_ b__ng b_rgl_d.

Pr_f_ss_r P__l_ N_c_ls_n fr_m th_ Br_t_sh Psych_l_g_c_l S_c__ty w_rn_d th_t p__pl_ _nd th_ p_l_c_ _nd_r_st_m_t_ h_w s_r___s _ cr_m_ b_rgl_ry _s. M_ny p__pl_ f__l t_ r__l_s_ _t c_n l__v_ v_ct_ms tr__m_t_s_d. Sh_ s__d: "B_rgl_ry _s fr_q__ntly s__n _s _ m_n_r cr_m_ – _n_ th_t m_y b_ r_s_lv_d _nd f_rg_tt_n by th_ v_ct_m….H_w_v_r psych_l_g_c_lly _nd _m_t__n_lly th_ _xp_r__nc_ _f b__ng b_rgl_d _s l_k_ly t_ h_v_ _ s_v_r_ _m_t__n_l __tc_m_ f_r m_ny v_ct_ms wh_ w_r_, _p t_ th_n, l__d_ng _rd_n_ry l_v_s." Sh_ _dd_d th_ _nd__ tr__m_ r_s_lt_d f_r s_m_ p__pl_ _n "th_ c_mp_ls__n t_ m_v_ h__s_, d_pr_ss__n, _nx__ty, sl__pl_ssn_ss _nd _v_n m_r_t_l br__kd_wn".

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a new study shows that experiencing a burglary is a serious threat to people's mental health the survey is from the british charity victim support and the home security company adt researchers interviewed 1000 people who had been burgled they found that a quarter of them suffered from anxiety or forms of depression while a further 25 per cent felt saddened by the thought they could no longer protect their home and family the researchers said that feelings of insecurity set in for many people after a burglary they reported that 37 per cent of burglary victims suddenly became afraid of being mugged in the streets something they had not feared before being burgled

professor paula nicolson from the british psychological society warned that people and the police underestimate how serious a crime burglary is many people fail to realise it can leave victims traumatised she said "burglary is frequently seen as a minor crime – one that may be resolved and forgotten by the victim…however psychologically and emotionally the experience of being burgled is likely to have a severe emotional outcome for many victims who were up to then leading ordinary lives" she added the undue trauma resulted for some people in "the compulsion to move house depression anxiety sleeplessness and even marital breakdown"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Anewstudyshowsthatexperiencingaburglaryisaseriousthreattope
ople'smentalhealth.ThesurveyisfromtheBritishcharityVictimSupp
ortandthehomesecuritycompanyADT.Researchersinterviewed1,0
00peoplewhohadbeenburgled.Theyfoundthataquarterofthemsuff
eredfromanxietyorformsofdepression,whileafurther25percentfelt
saddenedbythethoughttheycouldnolongerprotecttheirhomeandfa
mily.Theresearcherssaidthatfeelingsofinsecuritysetinformanypeo
pleafteraburglary.Theyreportedthat37percentofburglaryvictimss
uddenlybecameafraidofbeingmuggedinthestreets,somethingthey
hadnotfearedbeforebeingburgled.ProfessorPaulaNicolsonfromthe
BritishPsychologicalSocietywarnedthatpeopleandthepoliceunder
estimatehowseriousacrimeburglaryis.Manypeoplefailtorealiseitca
nleavevictimstraumatised.Shesaid:"Burglaryisfrequentlyseenasa
minorcrime–onethatmayberesolvedandforgottenbythevictim….H
oweverpsychologicallyandemotionallytheexperienceofbeingburgl
edislikelytohaveasevereemotionaloutcomeformanyvictimswhow
ere,uptothen,leadingordinarylives."Sheaddedtheunduetraumare
sultedforsomepeoplein"thecompulsiontomovehouse,depression,
anxiety,sleeplessnessandevenmaritalbreakdown".

FREE WRITING

Write about burglary for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Burglary is one of the worst crimes. Discuss this and three ways to stop 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 out more about burglary and mental health. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. SERIOUS CRIME: Write a magazine article about making burglary one of the most serious crimes. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.

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. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a crime expert. Ask him/her three questions about burglary. Give him/her three ideas on how to stop it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

$US 9.99

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

T

f

F

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	serious	a.	miscalculate
2.	forms	b.	consequence
3.	insecurity	c.	attacked
4.	mugged	d.	understand
5.	feared	e.	grave
6.	underestimate	f.	worried about
7.	realise	g.	marriage
8.	resolved	h.	types
9.	outcome	i.	cleared up
10.	marital	j.	defencelessness

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	A home security company
2.	1,000
3.	25%
4.	Their home and family
5.	Being mugged
6.	The police (and many people)
7.	Traumatised
8.	A minor crime
9.	Ordinary lives
10.	They break up

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

d

2.

b

3.

d

4.

c

5.

d

6.

c

7.

a

8.

c

9.

b

10.

a

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

Back to the top

Help Support This Web Site

Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Download a sample of my book "1,000 Ideas & Activities for Language Teachers".

Breaking News English

Home | Help This Site

Burglary a threat to mental health (22nd June, 2014)

PRINT

LISTEN

READ

GRAMMAR

SPELL

WORDS