Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Sexting

A British anti-bullying group has issued a report on the new problem of ‘sexting’ among teenagers. ‘Sexting’ is the sending of naked photos via text and e-mail. The word is a combination of ‘sex’ and 'texting’. BeatBullying.com’s research reveals that over a third (38%) of under-18s have received a ‘sext’, a text with an image of someone naked. The pictures young boys and girls are sending each other would be viewed as pornographic by most people. Many of the photos are breaking child pornography laws. Emma–Jane Cross, head of BeatBullying, said: “It is important that parents and schools are aware that sexting is a significant issue amongst our children…so together we can act to stop this kind of behaviour.”

BeatBullying says sexting is increasing at an alarming rate. More and more young people are using it to bully others online. This often leads to tragedy. Many teenagers have committed suicide after bullies spread their private photos online. One case that made Americans aware of the problem was that of eighteen-year-old Jessica Logan. She sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. After she broke up with him, he sent the picture to hundreds of teenagers in her hometown. Jessica’s friends said she felt like “she was being attacked and tortured”. Jessica ended her own life because of the pain she felt. BeatBullying says sexting “is one of the biggest threats facing our young people today online”.

WARM-UPS

1. TEXTING: Walk around the class and talk to other students about text messages. 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.

bullying / teenage problems / text messages / pornography / significant issues / tragedies / suicide / breaking up with boyfriends / being attacked / feeling pain

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

3. TEENAGE PROBLEMS: What are the biggest problems for teenagers? Complete this table. Talk about what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change again and share what you heard.

Problem	A problem for you?	In your country?	Solutions
Bullying
No confidence
Issues with parents
Spots / Acne
No boy/girlfriend
Studying

4. MOBILE PHONES: Students A strongly believe children should not have mobile phones until they are 18; Students B strongly believe it’s OK for four-year-olds to have mobile phones. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. ONLINE THREATS: Are these big threats? Rate these and share your ratings with your partner: 10 = this is a huge threat for me; 1 = I really don’t care about this. Change partners and share your ratings again.

your photo being shared online
stolen passwords
spam mail
cyberbullying

sites using your name illegally
computer viruses
Internet attacks on your country
phishing

6. BULLY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘bully’. 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.	British teenagers are mailing each other naked photos.	T / F
b.	Over one third of British teenagers have sent naked images.	T / F
c.	Many of the photos teenagers are sending are illegal.	T / F
d.	An anti-bullying group wants parents and schools to solve the problem.	T / F
e.	Messages from sexting sets off an alarm on mobile phones.	T / F
f.	Many bullies are posting naked images online and committing suicide.	T / F
g.	A girl who killed herself said her experience felt like torture.	T / F
h.	An anti-bullying group said texting is a major treat for young people.	T / F

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

1.	issued	a.	shows
2	naked	b.	tormented
3.	reveals	c.	major
4.	viewed	d.	finished
5.	significant	e.	nude
6.	alarming	f.	disaster
7.	tragedy	g.	worrying
8.	tortured	h.	published
9.	ended	i.	dangers
10.	threats	j.	seen

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

1.	a report on the new problem	a.	18s have received a ‘sext’
2	the sending of naked	b.	others online
3.	over a third (38%) of under-	c.	suicide
4.	viewed as pornographic	d.	of ‘sexting’
5.	act to stop this kind	e.	our young people
6.	sexting is increasing at	f.	photos via text and e-mail
7.	people are using it to bully	g.	her own life
8.	Many teenagers have committed	h.	of behaviour
9.	Jessica ended	i.	by most people
10.	one of the biggest threats facing	j.	an alarming rate

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

A British anti-bullying group has ____________ a report on the new problem of ‘sexting’ among teenagers. ‘Sexting’ is the sending of naked photos ____________ text and e-mail. The word is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’. BeatBullying.com’s research ____________ that over a third (38%) of under-18s have received a ‘sext’, a text with an image of someone ____________. The pictures young boys and girls are sending each other would be ____________ as pornographic by most people. Many of the photos are ____________ child pornography laws. Emma–Jane Cross, head of BeatBullying, said: “It is important that parents and schools are ____________ that sexting is a significant ____________ amongst our children…so together we can act to stop this kind of behaviour.”

aware
viewed
reveals
issue
issued
naked
via
breaking

BeatBullying says sexting is increasing at an ____________ rate. More and more young people are using it to bully others online. This often ____________ to tragedy. Many teenagers have committed suicide after ____________ spread their private photos online. One case that made Americans ____________ of the problem was that of eighteen-year-old Jessica Logan. She sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. After she ____________ up with him, he sent the picture to hundreds of teenagers in her hometown. Jessica’s friends said she felt like “she was being ____________ and tortured”. Jessica ended her own life because of the pain she ____________. BeatBullying says sexting “is one of the biggest ____________ facing our young people today online”.

aware
felt
leads
alarming
threats
bullies
attacked
broke

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A British anti-bullying group ________________ report on the new problem of ‘sexting’ among teenagers. ‘Sexting’ is the sending of naked photos ________________ e-mail. The word is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’. BeatBullying.com’s research reveals __________________ (38%) of under-18s have received a ‘sext’, a text with an image of someone naked. The pictures young boys and girls are sending each other ________________ pornographic by most people. Many of the photos are breaking child pornography laws. Emma–Jane Cross, head of BeatBullying, said: “It is important that parents and schools ________________ sexting is a significant issue amongst our children…so together ________________ this kind of behaviour.”

BeatBullying says sexting is ________________ alarming rate. More and more young people are using it to bully others online. This often leads to tragedy. Many teenagers have committed suicide ________________ their private photos online. One case that made Americans ________________ problem was that of eighteen-year-old Jessica Logan. She sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. After she ________________, he sent the picture to hundreds of teenagers in her hometown. Jessica’s friends said she felt like “she was _________________ tortured”. Jessica ended her own life because of the pain she felt. BeatBullying says sexting “is one of the biggest threats ________________ people today online”.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

beat

bullying

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:

report
via
third
viewed
breaking
issue

rate
tragedy
aware
broke up
attacked
threats

STUDENT TEXTING SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about texting 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 word ‘texting’?
c)	Are you concerned about the dangers of the Internet?
d)	What do you think of this new problem of ‘sexting’?
e)	What would you do if you found lots of private photos of you on the Internet?
f)	Why do you think ‘sexting’ has suddenly become a problem?
g)	Do you think the photos young people are sending each other are pornography?
h)	If someone sends or forwards a photo of a child, is this illegal?
i)	What can parents and schools do to stop this behaviour?
j)	What would you do if someone bullied you online?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	How can people fight back if they are bullied online?
c)	Do you think online bullying is really bullying?
d)	If someone commits suicide because of online bullying, should the bully be arrested?
e)	What do you think of Jessica Logan’s ex-boyfriend?
f)	What message do you have for Jessica Logan’s ex-boyfriend?
g)	Have you ever done anything bad to an ex-boyfriend / ex-girlfriend?
h)	What other current crazes are there among young people today?
i)	What other threats do youngsters face online today?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Emma–Jane Cross?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A British anti-bullying group has (1) ____ a report on the new problem of ‘sexting’ among teenagers. ‘Sexting’ is the (2) ____ of naked photos via text and e-mail. The word is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’. BeatBullying.com’s research reveals that over a (3) ____ (38%) of under-18s have received a ‘sext’, a text with an image of someone naked. The pictures young boys and girls are sending each other would be viewed (4) ____ pornographic by most people. Many of the photos are breaking child pornography laws. Emma–Jane Cross, head of BeatBullying, said: “It is important (5) ____ parents and schools are aware that sexting is a significant issue amongst our children…so together we can act to stop (6) ____ kind of behaviour.”

BeatBullying says sexting is increasing at an (7) ____ rate. More and more young people are using it to bully others online. This often leads (8) ____ tragedy. Many teenagers have committed suicide after bullies spread their private photos online. One case that made Americans aware of the problem was that of eighteen-year-old Jessica Logan. She sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. After she broke (9) ____ with him, he sent the picture to hundreds of teenagers in her hometown. Jessica’s friends said she felt (10) ____ “she was being attacked and tortured”. Jessica ended her own (11) ____ because of the pain she felt. BeatBullying says sexting “is one of the biggest threats (12) ____ our young people today online”.

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

1.	(a)	issued	(b)	issues	(c)	issuing	(d)	issuer
2.	(a)	sender	(b)	sent	(c)	sending	(d)	sends
3.	(a)	thirdly	(b)	third	(c)	thirds	(d)	threesome
4.	(a)	so	(b)	from	(c)	for	(d)	as
5.	(a)	for	(b)	so	(c)	that	(d)	with
6.	(a)	this	(b)	these	(c)	them	(d)	they
7.	(a)	alarm	(b)	alarms	(c)	alarmed	(d)	alarming
8.	(a)	in	(b)	to	(c)	at	(d)	for
9.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	up	(d)	of
10.	(a)	like	(b)	liked	(c)	likely	(d)	likelihood
11.	(a)	lives	(b)	life	(c)	live	(d)	alive
12.	(a)	faces	(b)	face-to-face	(c)	faced	(d)	facing

WRITING

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

3. BULLYING: Make a poster about bullying. Write about different kinds, e.g. bullying at school, in the office, in the army, online, etc. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. BULLIED: Write a magazine article about someone who was bullied online Include imaginary interviews with that person and the bully.

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 cyber-bully. Ask him/her three questions about bullying. Give him/her three reasons why bullying is a terrible thing to do. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	issued	a.	published
2	naked	b.	nude
3.	reveals	c.	shows
4.	viewed	d.	seen
5.	significant	e.	major
6.	alarming	f.	worrying
7.	tragedy	g.	disaster
8.	tortured	h.	tormented
9.	ended	i.	finished
10.	threats	j.	dangers

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a report on the new problem	a.	of ‘sexting’
2	the sending of naked	b.	photos via text and e-mail
3.	over a third (38%) of under-	c.	18s have received a ‘sext’
4.	viewed as pornographic	d.	by most people
5.	act to stop this kind	e.	of behaviour
6.	sexting is increasing at	f.	an alarming rate
7.	people are using it to bully	g.	others online
8.	Many teenagers have committed	h.	suicide
9.	Jessica ended	i.	her own life
10.	one of the biggest threats facing	j.	our young people

GAP FILL:

‘Sexting’ craze increasing among children

A British anti-bullying group has issued a report on the new problem of ‘sexting’ among teenagers. ‘Sexting’ is the sending of naked photos via text and e-mail. The word is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’. BeatBullying.com’s research reveals that over a third (38%) of under-18s have received a ‘sext’, a text with an image of someone naked. The pictures young boys and girls are sending each other would be viewed as pornographic by most people. Many of the photos are breaking child pornography laws. Emma–Jane Cross, head of BeatBullying, said: “It is important that parents and schools are aware that sexting is a significant issue amongst our children…so together we can act to stop this kind of behaviour.”

BeatBullying says sexting is increasing at an alarming rate. More and more young people are using it to bully others online. This often leads to tragedy. Many teenagers have committed suicide after bullies spread their private photos online. One case that made Americans aware of the problem was that of eighteen-year-old Jessica Logan. She sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. After she broke up with him, he sent the picture to hundreds of teenagers in her hometown. Jessica’s friends said she felt like “she was being attacked and tortured”. Jessica ended her own life because of the pain she felt. BeatBullying says sexting “is one of the biggest threats facing our young people today online”.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a

2 - c

3 - b

4 - d

5 - c

6 - a

7 - d

8 - b

9 - c

10 - a

11 - b

12 - d

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Breaking News English

August 5, 2009

'Sexting' Craze Increasing Among Children