Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Cigarettes

Images of a two-year-old toddler smoking cigarettes have shocked people in Indonesia. The little boy, Ardi Rizal from Sumatra, is addicted to nicotine and smokes 40 cigarettes a day. Videos of Ardi casually puffing away on a cigarette emerged this week on YouTube. The footage, now removed, shows him smoking like a true pro. His father, Mohammed Rizal, thinks there’s no problem with his son’s nasty habit. He told reporters that his child looked healthy and that was the only thing that was important. He went on to explain how Ardi took up smoking when he was 18 months old. That was when he gave his son his first cigarette. Now he’s totally hooked; he throws tantrums if his father does not let him smoke.

Ardi’s story is part of a worrying trend in Indonesia. Government statistics reveal 25 per cent of Indonesian kids aged between 3 and 15 have smoked and that over 3 per cent are regular smokers. Indonesia is the world’s third largest smoking nation. Cigarettes are everywhere and smoking is still seen as a socially acceptable practice. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said preventing youngsters from smoking would be very difficult because people believe smoking is a good thing. She said tobacco companies are well liked because they sponsor many things from education to sporting and public events. She added: “This is the challenge we face in protecting youth from the dangers of smoking.”

WARM-UPS

1. CIGARETTES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about cigarettes. 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.

images / toddlers / smoking / addicted / nicotine / nasty habits / throwing tantrums / worrying trends / statistics / smokers / tobacco companies / sponsors / challenges

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

3. ADDICTIONS: Do you have any? Complete this table. Show your partner what you wrote. Change partners and share what you heard.

Addicted to…	Yes / A little / No	Wanna stop?	How to stop?
nicotine
television / gaming
alcohol
chocolate
shopping
the Internet
shopping
love

4. QUIT IT: Students A strongly believe no one will smoke in 50 years; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. CIGARETTES ARE…: Complete the sentence using a choice below? Rank the words and share your rankings with your partner. Put the word you most agree with at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

socially acceptable
OK
killers

an individual's choice
good moneymakers
stress relievers

6. SMOKING: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'smoking'. 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 2-year-old in Indonesia smokes 2 packs of cigarettes a day.	T / F
b.	There is a video of the child smoking on YouTube.	T / F
c.	The toddler's father hates his son smoking.	T / F
d.	The little boy gets really angry if he can't have a cigarette.	T / F
e.	A survey shows 3% of Indonesian 3-year-olds smoke regularly.	T / F
f.	Indonesia is the world's third largest consumer of cigarettes.	T / F
g.	Smoking in Indonesia is largely seen as being anti-social behaviour.	T / F
h.	Indonesians generally have a good impression of tobacco companies.	T / F

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

1.	toddler	a.	show
2	addicted to	b.	leisurely
3.	casually	c.	back
4.	habit	d.	disturbing
5.	tantrums	e.	youngsters
6.	worrying	f.	fits of temper
7.	reveal	g.	infant
8.	seen	h.	custom
9.	sponsor	i.	viewed
10.	youth	j.	hooked on

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

1.	Images of a two-year-old	a.	hooked
2	addicted	b.	largest smoking nation
3.	casually puffing	c.	tantrums
4.	Now he's totally	d.	to nicotine
5.	he throws	e.	3 and 15 have smoked
6.	part of a worrying	f.	in protecting youth
7.	25%of Indonesian kids aged between	g.	toddler smoking
8.	the world's third	h.	acceptable practice
9.	smoking is still seen as a socially	i.	trend
10.	the challenge we face	j.	away on a cigarette

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Images of a two-year-old ____________ smoking cigarettes have shocked people in Indonesia. The little boy, Ardi Rizal from Sumatra, is ____________ to nicotine and smokes 40 cigarettes a day. Videos of Ardi casually ____________ away on a cigarette emerged this week on YouTube. The footage, now ____________, shows him smoking like a true pro. His father, Mohammed Rizal, thinks there's no problem with his son's ____________ habit. He told reporters that his child looked healthy and that was the only thing that was important. He went on to ____________ how Ardi took up smoking when he was 18 months old. That was when he gave his son his first cigarette. Now he's totally ____________; he throws tantrums if his father does not ____________ him smoke.

nasty
addicted
hooked
let
removed
toddler
explain
puffing

Ardi's story is part of a worrying ____________ in Indonesia. Government statistics ____________ 25 per cent of Indonesian kids aged between 3 and 15 have smoked and that over 3 per cent are ____________ smokers. Indonesia is the world's third largest smoking nation. Cigarettes are everywhere and smoking is still seen as a socially acceptable ____________. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said ____________ youngsters from smoking would be very difficult because people believe smoking is a good thing. She said tobacco companies are well liked because they ____________ many things from education to sporting and public ____________. She added: "This is the challenge we face in protecting ____________ from the dangers of smoking."

regular
preventing
reveal
events
practice
youth
trend
sponsor

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Images of ____________________ smoking cigarettes have shocked people in Indonesia. The little boy, Ardi Rizal from Sumatra, ____________________ and smokes 40 cigarettes a day. Videos of Ardi casually puffing away on a cigarette ____________________ YouTube. The footage, now removed, shows him smoking like a true pro. His father, Mohammed Rizal, thinks there's no problem with ____________________. He told reporters that his child looked healthy ____________________ thing that was important. He went on to explain how Ardi took up smoking when he was 18 months old. That was when he gave his son his first cigarette. Now he's totally hooked; ____________________ his father does not let him smoke.

Ardi's story is part ____________________ in Indonesia. Government ____________________ cent of Indonesian kids aged between 3 and 15 have smoked and that over 3 per cent are regular smokers. Indonesia is the world's third largest smoking nation. Cigarettes are everywhere and smoking is still seen as a ____________________. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said ____________________ from smoking would be very difficult because people believe smoking is a good thing. She said tobacco companies are well liked because ____________________ things from education to sporting and public events. She added: "This is the challenge we face in protecting ____________________ of smoking."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

cigarette

smoking

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:

images
casually
pro
nasty
18
throws

25
third
seen
difficult
sponsor
face

STUDENT CIGARETTES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about cigarettes 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.

CIGARETTES 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 'cigarette'?
c)	What do you think of people who smoke?
d)	What do you think of toddlers who smoke?
e)	What do you think of parents who let their toddlers / children smoke?
f)	Do you have any addictions?
g)	Why are addictions hard to break? Do you have experience of kicking a habit?
h)	Should Ardi's father be punished?
i)	Should Ardi be taken away from his parents and put in care?
j)	What three adjectives describe this story, and why?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What does your government do to stop people smoking?
c)	What's your history with cigarettes?
d)	Do you think there'll be a day when no one smokes?
e)	Why is it so many people still smoke? This is the 21^st century!
f)	How can Indonesia's government stop people smoking?
g)	Do tobacco companies have too much power?
h)	How do you think a tobacco company executive feels knowing his/her company makes so many people ill (or kills them)?
i)	Do smokers get too much of a hard time from those who don't smoke?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Mohammed Rizal?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Images of a two-year-old toddler (1) ____ cigarettes have shocked people in Indonesia. The little boy, Ardi Rizal from Sumatra, is addicted (2) ____ nicotine and smokes 40 cigarettes a day. Videos of Ardi casually puffing away (3) ____ a cigarette emerged this week on YouTube. The footage, now removed, shows him smoking like a true pro. His father, Mohammed Rizal, thinks there's no problem with his son's nasty (4) ____. He told reporters that his child looked healthy and that was the only thing that was important. He went on to explain how Ardi (5) ____ up smoking when he was 18 months old. That was when he gave his son his first cigarette. Now he's totally hooked; he (6) ____ tantrums if his father does not let him smoke.

Ardi's story is part of a worrying (7) ____ in Indonesia. Government statistics reveal 25 per cent of Indonesian kids aged between 3 and 15 have smoked and that over 3 per cent are (8) ____ smokers. Indonesia is the world's third largest smoking nation. Cigarettes are everywhere and smoking is still (9) ____ as a socially (10) ____ practice. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said preventing youngsters from smoking would be very difficult because people believe smoking is a good thing. She said tobacco companies are (11) ____ liked because they sponsor many things from education to sporting and public events. She added: "This is the challenge we face in protecting youth (12) ____ the dangers of smoking."

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

1.	(a)	smoker	(b)	smokes	(c)	smoked	(d)	smoking
2.	(a)	on	(b)	to	(c)	at	(d)	of
3.	(a)	on	(b)	to	(c)	at	(d)	of
4.	(a)	habitual	(b)	habitually	(c)	habit	(d)	habitat
5.	(a)	did	(b)	smoked	(c)	took	(d)	gave
6.	(a)	catches	(b)	throws	(c)	tosses	(d)	hurls
7.	(a)	trend	(b)	trendy	(c)	trendsetter	(d)	trendily
8.	(a)	regularly	(b)	regulation	(c)	regulars	(d)	regular
9.	(a)	looked	(b)	seen	(c)	watched	(d)	views
10.	(a)	accepts	(b)	acceptance	(c)	accept	(d)	acceptable
11.	(a)	good	(b)	goodly	(c)	well	(d)	better
12.	(a)	from	(b)	at	(c)	with	(d)	into

WRITING

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

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

4. SMOKING KILLS: Write a magazine article about the dangers of smoking. Include imaginary interviews with the CEO of a tobacco company and a doctor who treats lung cancer patients who smoke.

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 a tobacco company. Ask him/her three questions about cigarettes. Give him/her three of your opinions on tobacco company advertising. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	toddler	a.	infant
2	addicted to	b.	hooked on
3.	casually	c.	leisurely
4.	habit	d.	custom
5.	tantrums	e.	fits of temper
6.	worrying	f.	disturbing
7.	reveal	g.	show
8.	seen	h.	viewed
9.	sponsor	i.	back
10.	youth	j.	youngsters

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Images of a two-year-old	a.	toddler smoking
2	addicted	b.	to nicotine
3.	casually puffing	c.	away on a cigarette
4.	Now he's totally	d.	hooked
5.	he throws	e.	tantrums
6.	part of a worrying	f.	trend
7.	25%of Indonesian kids aged between	g.	3 and 15 have smoked
8.	the world's third	h.	largest smoking nation
9.	smoking is still seen as a socially	i.	acceptable practice
10.	the challenge we face	j.	in protecting youth

GAP FILL:

40-a-day smoking baby shocks Indonesia

Images of a two-year-old toddler smoking cigarettes have shocked people in Indonesia. The little boy, Ardi Rizal from Sumatra, is addicted to nicotine and smokes 40 cigarettes a day. Videos of Ardi casually puffing away on a cigarette emerged this week on YouTube. The footage, now removed, shows him smoking like a true pro. His father, Mohammed Rizal, thinks there's no problem with his son's nasty habit. He told reporters that his child looked healthy and that was the only thing that was important. He went on to explain how Ardi took up smoking when he was 18 months old. That was when he gave his son his first cigarette. Now he's totally hooked; he throws tantrums if his father does not let him smoke.

Ardi's story is part of a worrying trend in Indonesia. Government statistics reveal 25 per cent of Indonesian kids aged between 3 and 15 have smoked and that over 3 per cent are regular smokers. Indonesia is the world's third largest smoking nation. Cigarettes are everywhere and smoking is still seen as a socially acceptable practice. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said preventing youngsters from smoking would be very difficult because people believe smoking is a good thing. She said tobacco companies are well liked because they sponsor many things from education to sporting and public events. She added: "This is the challenge we face in protecting youth from the dangers of smoking."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

Breaking News English

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40-A-Day Smoking Baby Shocks Indonesia (29th May, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT CIGARETTES SURVEY

CIGARETTES DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

40-a-day smoking baby shocks Indonesia

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Sean Banville's Book

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My 1,000 Ideas e-Book	Breaking News English HOME \| HELP MY SITE \| 000s MORE FREE LESSONS	My 1,000 Ideas e-Book

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (1:58 - 942KB)

E-mail this lesson to a student or a colleague

40-A-Day Smoking Baby Shocks Indonesia (29th May, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT CIGARETTES SURVEY

CIGARETTES DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

40-a-day smoking baby shocks Indonesia

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities

E-mail this lesson
to a student or
a colleague