Dear Mr Burglar, I am writing to …
This lesson is a fleshed out version of an idea I tweeted last week.
The video in question is the true story of a 16-year-old burglar who, as part of an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for young offenders, is made to write a letter of apology to the victim of his latest crime. However, far from expressing remorse, our hero shifts the blame onto the victim for not securing their home, and throws in a few insults for good measure.
The first three steps of the lesson (a lead-in conversation, the video and error-correcting the burglar’s semi-illiterate letter) build up to the main task of writing the victim’s reply to the teenage burglar.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin!
Step One : Lead-in conversation
Introduce the topic of burglary, then put your students into pairs or small groups and ask them to discuss the following questions.
.
Two : The video
- Show your students the video, which appeared on the BBC’s website on 24th November 2011.
- I haven’t had time to design a listening comprehension task for this, but you might like to ask your students to take notes on what is said and then hone in on some of the language used: I’m not bothered about …, He has a point, adjectives like obnoxious, rude, unrepentant etc
Step Three : Correcting the letter
- The burglar’s letter is full of wonderful spelling and punctuation errors. Ask your students to search and destroy (i.e. identify and correct) them in pairs.
- When you’ve discussed the errors ask them for their reactions to the content of the letter.
Step Four : Letter writing task
- Put your students in the role of the victim and ask them to write a letter of reply to the burglar.
- You may like to scaffold the task by feeding in some functional language such as How dare you … | Given the fact that … I am prepared to … | I hope you feel … | If I were you I’d … | You should be ashamed of yourself … | I wouldn’t have dreamt of … when I was your age | …. is no excuse for … etc
tefltecher 
ALice__M
November 28, 2011
A very good idea ! it reminds me of the French film I’ve seen recently”les neiges du Kilimanjaro”, where the* victim*feels sorry about the young offender because he was alone with two younger brothers he took care of.
ij64
November 29, 2011
Thanks, Alice! Haven’t seen the film, but will look out for it … I love a bit of French cinema on a Saturday night! :-)
datenglish
November 28, 2011
Thank you Ian. Your activities are always a great help in my classes. I wonder if it would be possible to include the level of the activities presented. Because it would help, us , teachers, also to assess the level of our students, don´t you think? For ex, this one, I think is very upper indermediate when it comes to the video act.- Thank you for sharing and I’m a loyal follower.
Debbie
ij64
November 29, 2011
Hi Debbie! Thanks for the comment! In future, I will try and remember to mention the level that activities are aimed at. In fact, I used to do it, but as almost all of them are for Upper-intermediate / Advanced / B2.1-C1 students I suppose I just didn’t bother in the end. Thanks for dropping by! :-)
Brad Patterson (@brad5patterson)
November 28, 2011
Love this idea… i think the twist in logic could be that extra element that keeps students engaged. Always like having students spot “mistakes” as it gives them confidence for knowing better ! Merci for the share. -Brad
ij64
November 29, 2011
I agree on the twist element … a bit of indignation/outrage works well too! Once again, I appreciate your visits/comments! :-)
Tyson Seburn
November 29, 2011
A fun lesson to go through with students, I’m sure!
ij64
November 29, 2011
Thanks, Tyson! Most kind! :-)
Rita Kwan
December 7, 2011
Interesting lesson. Inspired.
ij64
December 16, 2011
Thanks, Rita :-)
Ghulam Hussain
December 11, 2011
Thanks a lot for introducing such a wonderfull activity.It also gives me the idea how can be get best out of worst situation.Your lesson is activity based and result oriented.I am really impressed.Thanks once again
ij64
December 16, 2011
Thanks for the positive feedback, Ghulam! I really appreciate (but not deserve) such praise!
Ghulam Hussain
December 20, 2011
Thanks for reply but my remarks are once again the same because these are from my heart and are true.You have shown me a practical path and i can perform well by walking on it.
ij64
December 20, 2011
I’m glad the post was of such use to you, Ghulam! Thanks once again!
Albana
December 11, 2011
Interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ij64
December 16, 2011
Glad you were interested!!!!!!!!! Albana! Thanks for dropping by!
H.Indra
December 15, 2011
Thanks,Ian.You’re really a creataive teacher.
Blog Pengawas Sekolah Indonesia.
ij64
December 16, 2011
Thanks for your kind words, H.Indra! :-)
musarat.anjum
December 20, 2011
Very interesting lesson.
ij64
December 20, 2011
Thank you, Musarat! :-)
laura
January 10, 2012
Thanks for this wonderful lesson – my students loved it!
ij64
February 24, 2012
Sorry for the delay in replying, Laura. As you’ve probably noticed I’m having a bit of a break at the moment!
Just wanted to say thanks for your kind words!
Ian :-)
datenglish
January 10, 2012
Hi Ian,
I asked my students these questions as follow up to the video
What’s your reaction to the teenage burglar’s letter to his victim? (support your answer with voc. from the video) / Do you agree with the two ladies interviewed? / Why do you think the police decided to release the letter? / Do you think his community sentence should have been affected by the letter he wrote? (trying to get more critical work rather than just comprehension questions)
Love your work Ian and thankful as always!
Debbie
ij64
February 24, 2012
Apologies for the late reply, Debbie! Thanks once again for your support! Love the questions!
Ian :-)
marlon
January 25, 2012
Hello Ian,
I really hate burglaries and the burglars too.I find this piece very interesting though! (hehehehehe)
ij64
January 29, 2012
Thanks for dropping by, Marlon! :-)
Paul Berry
January 31, 2012
Hello there Ian,
I am a newcomer to your site, but I wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed doing the ‘Burglary’ lesson, my students loved it and it generated some very interesting discussions. Below is the audio-script from the BBC’s website. Hope it comes in handy…
Teen burglar tells victims it was their fault
It was supposed to be a letter of apology from a sixteen-year-old burglar to his victims, but instead, it was unrepentant and rude. Stating he didn’t know why he was writing the letter, he says:
“I’m not bothered or sorry about the fact that I burgled your house. Basically, it was your fault anyway…” “Firstly you didn’t close your curtains… Secondly, you’re dumb… Thick enough to leave your downstairs’ kitchen window open…”
And the reaction in the area he targeted:
“I think he’s obnoxious, it’s not remorse in any way. He’s just being rude and making another point for himself.”
“Well he had a point, you must make sure your house is safe, but on the other hand it doesn’t give him the right go in and take your stuff. I think a lot of young people are out of work and it’s just a quick way to make money.”
The sixteen-year-old burglar wrote the letter to a household he targeted here in north Leeds, but perhaps, unsurprisingly, when the youth offending team saw it, it was never sent. But the police who made it public said it is disgusting and says it shows the cold and dispassionate way that burglars target properties.
But what about the victims in this suburb? Some are questioning whether the letter should have been released.
“I just think the intentions were good, but there are many other ways of getting these kinds of messages across without harming or re-harming the people who really suffer when a burglary takes place.”
The teenager finishes his letter saying:
“I don’t feel sorry for you and I’m not going to show any sympathy or remorse.”
His community sentence for the burglary has not been affected by what he wrote.
ij64
February 24, 2012
Brilliant! Thanks Paul, the script’s really handy! Ta for sharing!
… and sorry for the late response, I’m having a bit of a rest at the moment but will hopefully be back after Easter!
Ian :-)
Harinder
February 15, 2012
An interesting lesson that will provoke discussions with my young learner class.
Thanks.
ij64
February 24, 2012
Thanks for your kind words … and apologies for not replying earlier! :-) Ian
Gabrielle Jones
March 5, 2012
Hi Ian,
This looks like a great class – I’m dying to try it out! I was just wondering how you can download the bbc video as I’ve been trying to do this and can’t. I don’t have an internet connection in my classtrooms so any way I can save the video to my laptop would be great.
Best wishes,
Gabrielle
ij64
March 16, 2012
Thanks for dropping by Gabrielle, and sorry for not replying earlier. Unfortunately, I don’t know of anyway of downloading BBC videos, I think they’ve got things pretty tied up on that front. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Ian
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Could you list of all of all your shared pages
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Thanks a lot!
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August 6, 2013
I have the same type of comments in my blog, actually they do not come into the comment box but to my email inbox. It’s weird, isn’t it?
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