Warm-up | Discussion

What is happening in the photo?

Warm-up | Who is who?

Who is the shopper, the bank robber, the customer,  the security guard, the bank cashier, the assistant bank manager?

Warm-up | Speaking

• Have you been the victim of a crime, for example a burglary, a theft, an attack, etc.?
  • What happened? Tell all. What were the circumstances surrounding the event?
  • Did you report it?
  • What did the police say?

Grammar | Past Tenses

1. We were looking out of the window when we saw them.
2. We had just finished dinner when we saw them.
3. I heard some music and turned around and saw.

Grammar | Past Simple / Past Continuous / Past Perfect

1. What did Tracy do when the clown gave her a piece of paper?
2. What was Eve doing on the day before Christmas?
3. Why was Chris in the manager's office?
4. What were the clowns doing when Bill turned around?
5. What did they do next?
6. What had Sol just done before he felt a gun on his back?
7. Why was there no signal on Chris' office phone?

Grammar | Speaking

• Retell your stories from earlier. Use the past simple, past perfect and past continuous.

Pre-Reading | Creative Punishments

Which of the following would be effective methods of punishment to dissuade people from reoffending?

1. Public shaming - including putting mugshots (face photos) of criminals on public screens.
2. Isolation chambers - Isolating prisoners from other humans
3. Restorative Justice Programmes - where the prisoners meet the victims.
4. Labour camps - Prisoners can understand what it means for everyday hardworking people to earn a living.
5. Offence Tattoos - Similar to a criminal record, but which cannot be hidden.
6. Outdoor adventure programmes - Prisoners participate in outdoor activities that encourage teamwork, discipline and growth.
7. Exile - throw them out of the country!

Pre-Reading (Business) | Creative Workplace Discipline

Which of the following would be effective methods of discipline to discourage underperforming in the workplace?

1. Public shaming - including putting mugshots (face photos) of underperformers on screens.
2. Isolation chambers - Isolating workers from others until productivity increases
3. Restorative Justice Programmes - where employees meet the people affected by their poor work ethic.
4. Labour "camps" - Office workers can be sent to camps to get some perspective and see how everyday hardworking people doing physical labour earn a living.
5. Offence Tattoos - Similar to a criminal record, but which cannot be hidden.
6. Outdoor adventure programmes - employees participate in outdoor activities that encourage teamwork, discipline and growth.
7. Exile - throw them out to a subsidiary!

Reading | Creative Punishments - True or False?

Post-Reading | Creative Punishments

What crimes were committed for these punishments?

1. A spent a night on the streets as a homeless person.

2. B invited a family to his house and asked them to take anything they wanted.

3. C had to visit nine fire stations and apologise to the fire-fighters

• What do yoyu think about Judge Cicconetti's creative punishments?

Pre-Listening | Opinion

• Do you believe it's okay to:
  • Watch YouTube with an adblocker
  • Exceed driving limits just a little
  • Place or remove posters on public buildings
  • Graffiti in public spaces
  • Take drugs at home
  • Fly-tipping (improperly disposing of waste / furniture in public spaces)
  • Hacking / Connecting to another person's online account. Sharing passwords.
  • Buying counterfit goods (fake products)
  • Underreporting or evading taxes
  • Download/stream music / films without paying 
• If you witness (see) people commiting these crimes, e.g. littering (throwing rubbish on the ground):
  • do you confront them?
  • do you report them?
  • do you accept it, accepting it is unfortunate but the system has to change?

Listening | Piracy Report

Listening | Piracy Report
Match Opinions to Justifications

Pre-Speaking | Piracy Report
Giving and Justifying Opinions

Speaking | Are The Punishments Fair?

• A sixteen-year-old girl downloaded 5,000 illegal MP3 files.
  Her parents had to pay a fine of $30,000.
• A thirty-year-old man made a fortune selling pirated DVDs from a market stall.
  He had to pay a fine of $500.
• Two twenty year old students set up a website where thousands of people could share films, music and books online. They didn't make money from the website.
  They received a seven-year prison sentence.
• A musician attacked a fan selling pirated CDs and T-shirts at his concert.
  He received an 8-year prison sentence.

Speaking | Are The Punishments Fair?

• A manager shouted at an employee during a team meeting, causing emotional distress.
  The manager received a formal warning but kept their position.

• An employee was caught using company resources to complete personal projects without permission.
  They were suspended for two weeks without pay.

• A senior staff member was found guilty of harassment toward a colleague over several months.
  They were terminated immediately and reported to the authorities.

• Two colleagues had a heated argument in the office that disrupted others and caused tension in the team.
  Both were required to attend a conflict resolution workshop.

• An intern accidentally shared confidential company data with a third party.
  They received mentoring on data handling and were not penalized further.

• A team leader consistently ignored employee complaints about excessive workload, leading to stress-related absenteeism.
  The employees were fired.

• An employee repeatedly arrived late to work without a valid reason.
  They were given a written warning and put on a performance improvement plan.

• A staff member was caught falsifying expense reports to claim additional reimbursements.
  They were dismissed and required to repay the stolen amount.