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Œ Warm Up What did you do in your free time when you were a teenager? Make notes in the box.

 Vocabulary #1 Match the word with its correct definition.

baffled (adj) information shown by a number

a statistic (n) a plan decided by the government etc.
a policy (n) a gradual change
minor (adj) contact
keep in touch (expression) feeling confused
a trend (v) small

Ž Reading Read the text. Guess which three words are missing.

1
Recently, there have been stories in the .................. that crime rates 1

are falling in many countries. This is, of course, good news.

However, many experts are baffled by this statistic. Usually, when
the economy is poor, crime rates increase. However, the opposite
is happening. 5

There are a number of possible reasons for the fall in crime.

Politicians say that it is because of their policies. Some police
forces are now stricter than before about antisocial behavior.

There is a particularly large fall in minor crime - including

vandalism and graffiti. This kind of crime is often committed by 10
teenagers. Sociologists have looked for changes in teenage
lifestyles. Twenty years ago, the main evening and weekend
2
entertainment was television. Nowadays, teenagers ................. much less television than
before. Instead, they spend a lot of time online, keeping in touch with friends through services
3
such as Facebook. In the US, an average teenager is online for ................. hours per week. They 15

are also spending many hours playing video games - often chatting online to other players.

Experts think that teenagers today are less bored, and so they are committing fewer crimes.
Nowadays, they are writing on friends' Facebook walls, instead of writing on real walls. Many
people complain that teenagers spend too much time surfing the Internet or sending text
20
messages. However, perhaps this trend is not all bad.

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 Comprehension Ask and answer the questions with a partner.

1. What has happened to crime rates recently?

2. Why is this surprising?

3. Why, perhaps, are teenagers committing fewer crimes than twenty years ago?

 Vocabulary #2 Match the two halves of the expressions.

1. spend a lot of time

2. surf rates
3. crime a crime
4. antisocial the Internet
5. commit behavior

‘ Vocabulary #3 Cover exercise five. Fill in the spaces using the expressions you have studied.

1. C r were higher ten years ago.

2. There is a lot of a b downtown on Saturday nights. People are always

shouting and singing in the street.

3. Jack is always s the I in his bedroom. He never comes downstairs!

4. Andy s a lot of t checking his Facebook status.

5. If you c ac , you might go to prison.

’ Discussion Ask your partner(s) these questions. Ask follow-up questions!

Questions Related to the Text

Ø Do you think that crime rates have fallen in your country?

Ø Is there much vandalism or graffiti in your country?

Ø What other kinds of minor crime are common?

Ø Do you think that teenagers are less bored than twenty years ago?

Other Questions

Ø Why do you think people commit minor crime?

Ø Have you seen any antisocial behaviour recently?

Ø How safe is your country? Are you nervous if you are outside at night?

Ø Do you spend a lot of time texting friends / playing video games / watching TV?

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Target Structure: Reading and Discussion

Vocabulary: General
Level: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour, depending on discussion
Preparation: None

Suggested Teaching Method

This worksheet looks at the surprising news that crime in many countries is falling. Students will have the
chance to talk about minor crime, and the idea that teenagers are less bored than before, and so are less
likely to commit crime.

Œ Give one worksheet to each student. Give an example from your teenage years, and than have students make
brief notes in the box. They can discuss their answers with a partner. Elicit some feedback after a few minutes.

 Introduce the vocabulary work as a scanning exercise. Tell students to look for the words in the text and underline
them before proceeding further. If necessary, explain the concept of scanning compared to detailed reading. A
good example is a bus timetable – you look for a specific time, rather than read the timetable from top to bottom.

Students should work alone, and then check in pairs.

Go through the answers with the group, clarifying as necessary. Statistic may be tricky. Give an example: '20% of
children like broccoli.' Show how 'Mario likes broccoli' is not a statistic, as there is no number.

Ž Pre-teach vocabulary as you feel is necessary. Suggestions include:

crime / rates / the economy / vandalism / graffiti

Set a task for the reading: students need to guess from context which three words are missing.

Students can compare their (educated) guesses with a partner.

 Have students ask and answer the comprehension questions with a partner. Go through the answers with the
group.

 Students can work alone and check with a partner. After checking, they can refer to the original text to see if they
were right.

‘ Students can work alone and check in pairs. Go through the answers with the group.

’ Leave plenty of time for class discussion. To maximize student talking time, it’s best to put students in pairs, or
small groups. Students should read all the questions first, before beginning the discussion.

While the students are speaking, monitor the conversations, but try not to interrupt. When the discussion comes to
a close, ask a few of the questions yourself, and go through any points of English you made a note of while
monitoring.

The answer key is on next page. Ü

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Answer Key (Other answers are possible for some exercises.)

 baffled (adj) feeling confused

a statistic (n) information shown by a number
a policy (n) a plan decided by the government etc.
minor (adj) small
keep in touch (expression) contact
a trend (v) a gradual change

Ž 1. news
2. watch
3. sixteen

 1. Crime rates have fallen recently.

2. Usually crime rates rise when the economy is poor.
3. They are less bored. / They are busier.

 1. spend a lot of time

2. surf the Internet
3. crime rates
4. antisocial behavior
5. commit a crime

‘ 1. Crime rates were higher ten years ago.

2. There is a lot of antisocial behavior downtown on Saturday nights. People are always shouting and singing in
the street.
3. Jack is always surfing the Internet in his bedroom. He never comes downstairs!
4. Andy spends a lot of time checking his Facebook status.
5. If you commit a crime, you might go to prison.

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Updated 2/6/2013

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