Discussion Starters

Drones
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. How does a drone differ from a warplane?

2. What are drones used for?

3. Is the use of drones a form of terrorism?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

1. surveillance a)  a person who is not a member of the police or armed forces

2. capture b)  not physical

3. civilian c)  close observation (sometimes spying)

4. terrorizing d)  an everyday person

5. whiplash e)  movement from one thing to the next

6. transition f)  to take a person or thing into one’s own possession

7. virtual g)  causing fear and great stress

8. assess h)  relating to or in one’s own country

9. domestic i)  a sudden jerking motion in a new direction

10. average Joe j)  to evaluate something

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Drones
Discussion Starters

Reading
DRONES
Robot assassin or modern air patrol?

1. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated from the “A man on a mission
ground. Some drones are used for surveillance. Others are armed is far different
for targeted attacks. Several countries have military drones in use,
including the US, the UK, Israel, and China. The US has hundreds of
from a drone
drones in active use, and drone technology is spreading fast. When on a deadline.”
an American drone was captured in Iran in 2011, many feared the —Rheta Grimsley Johnson, reporter
technology would be copied. This is called reverse-engineering.

2. Are targeted killings by drones legal? Many people don’t think so.
A recent study suggests that drones kill far more innocent civilians
than targeted leaders. One UN investigator believes that drone strikes
are a war crime. He believes that terrorists should be captured,
not murdered.

3. What does it feel like to live under drones? Citizens in countries

like Pakistan and Afghanistan say they live in fear of drones. They
describe the terrorizing sound that drones make above their homes
and businesses. Drones have powerful weapons that leave homes,
buildings, and victims unidentifiable. In Pakistan, many people say
they are anti-American because they oppose America’s use of drones.

4. What about the drone pilots on the ground? Are these true combat
pilots? Psychologists say that these pilots experience an odd form of
trauma called whiplash transition. They go from a virtual war zone
to regular family life with no time in between.

5. Not all drones are used in warfare. Drones are sometimes used to
assess damage after natural disasters. In 2011, drones were used
to assess radiation levels after the Fukushima power plant accident.
Police forces are experimenting with drones for domestic use.
Drones may be policing the skies above your home already. What
happens when an average Joe can build a drone that interrupts
a commercial flight?

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Drones
Discussion Starters

Comprehension
Discuss these questions in pairs, and write the answers in your notebook.

1. What does UAV stand for?

2. Why does the reading mention Iran?

3. What does the reading say about the sound that drones make?

4. Why are many people in Pakistan anti-American?

5. What were drones used for after the nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011?

Vocabulary Review
A. Chunking

Create six words or expressions Word List

by pairing the words that are • American • camera • innocent • surveillance
commonly found together in • anti- • civilian • Joe • war
English. Then write a sentence • average • disaster • natural • zone
for each example.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Drones
Discussion Starters

Vocabulary Review cont.

B. Odd One Out

Choose the word or phrase that does NOT belong in the group.

1. a) assess 2. a) scare 3. a) motion 4. a) take 5. a) virtual

b) determine b) worry b) whiplash b) capture b) movement
c) unidentifiable c) terrorize c) sudden c) surveillance c) transition
d) evaluate d) domestic d) civilian d) possess d) change

Discussion
1. Will domestic drones create a surveillance society? If yes, when?

2. When do you think pilotless planes will be used for passenger flights?

3. Drones as small as birds are being developed in some countries.

What do you think these will be used for?

4. What will happen if the paparazzi* start using drones?

*Paparazzi
Paparazzi refers to people who spy on celebrities
and take photographs for gossip media.

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Drones
Discussion Starters

Listening
Fill in the blanks as you listen to the recording.

DRONES
Robot assassin or modern air patrol?

1. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated from the

ground. Some drones are used for                .
Others are armed for targeted attacks. Several countries have military
drones in use, including the US, the UK, Israel, and China. The US has
hundreds of drones in active use, and drone technology is spreading
fast. When an American drone was                in
Iran in 2011, many feared the technology would be copied. This is
called reverse-engineering.

2. Are targeted killings by drones legal? Many people don’t think

so. A recent study suggests that drones kill far more innocent
               than targeted leaders. One UN
investigator believes that drone strikes are a war crime. He believes
that                should be captured, not murdered.

3. What does it feel like to live under drones? Citizens in countries

like Pakistan and Afghanistan say they live in fear of drones. They
describe the                sound that drones
make above their homes and businesses. Drones have powerful
weapons that leave homes, buildings, and victims unidentifiable.
In Pakistan, many people say they are anti-American because
they                America’s use of drones.

4. What about the drone pilots on the ground? Are these true combat
pilots? Psychologists say that these pilots experience an odd form of
trauma called                     . They go from
a                war zone to regular family life with no
time in between.

5. Not all drones are used in warfare. Drones are sometimes used to
               damage after natural disasters. In
2011, drones were used to assess radiation levels after the Fukushima
power plant accident. Police forces are experimenting with drones
for                use. Drones may be policing
the skies above your home already. What happens when an
               can build a drone that interrupts a
commercial flight?

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Drones
Discussion Starters

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: TEACHING TIPS: LEVEL: Int

Students read about the controversial use See Discussion Starters Teaching Guide TIME: 1.5–2 hours
of drones in warfare and the potential for (https://esllibrary.com/courses/72/lessons/)
TAGS:  discussion, drones, drone,
domestic use in the future. for a variety of ways to use the reading.
surveillance, military, war

Pre-Reading Vocabulary Review

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS A. CHUNKING

Have students work in small groups or as a class. Answers for sentences will vary. Have more advanced students
write a short story, dream, or fictional news article using all six
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW pairings. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups.

1. c 3. a 5. i 7. b 9. h 1. anti-American 4. surveillance camera

2. f 4. g 6. e 8. j 10. d 2. average Joe 5. war zone
3. innocent civilian 6. natural disaster
Reading (and/or Listening)
B. ODD ONE OUT
Read individually, in small groups, or as a class. Discuss the quote.
1. c 2. d 3. d 4. c 5. a
You can also play the listening as your students read along. A gap-
fill version of the reading is available on page 5. Help your students
with vocabulary and expressions that they are unfamiliar with.
Discussion

Answers will vary.

Comprehension
Can be done individually or in small groups or pairs.

1. UAV stands for “unmanned aerial vehicle.”

2. The reading mentions Iran because Iran captured a US drone Listening
in 2011 and people feared the technology would be copied.
3. The reading says the sound of drones 1. surveillance, captured

is terrorizing to civilians below. 2. civilians, terrorists

4. Many people in Pakistan are anti-American 3. terrorizing, oppose

because they disagree with the US drone program. 4. whiplash transition, virtual

5. Drones were used to assess radiation levels 5. assess, domestic, average Joe

after the nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.

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