ESL Holiday Lessons.com: Suicide Prevention Day

THE READING / TAPESCRIPT

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we should all put on our calendars. It highlights a huge but often ignored problem in our society. Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day commit suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes ways to identify possible suicide cases and to prevent suicide. The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group acts as a forum for academics, mental health professionals, and suicide survivors to work together to understand suicide better. They raise awareness that suicide is a preventable cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world.

The word suicide comes from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone taking their own life. These include depression, shame, physical pain, anxiety, and relationship problems. A growing reason nowadays is financial difficulties. There is a sudden increase in suicide in rich nations when there is a downturn in the economy. Another worrying trend is the number of young people who resort to suicide because of bullying. Suicide is in fact one of the leading causes of death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end your life with others who are equally desperate. A hot topic today is assisted suicide – helping another person end his or her life.

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.

PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article.

Paragraph 1

1.	put on our	a.	suicide
2	people take their	b.	health
3.	attempt	c.	calendars
4.	identify possible	d.	own lives
5.	mental	e.	of deaths
6.	hundreds of thousands	f.	suicide cases

Paragraph 2

1.	to kill	a.	suicide
2	financial	b.	the economy
3.	a downturn in	c.	oneself
4.	the leading cause	d.	her life
5.	assisted	e.	of death
6.	end his or	f.	difficulties

LISTENING GAP FILL

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is __________________ put on our calendars. It highlights __________________ ignored problem in our society. Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day commit suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes __________________ identify possible suicide cases and to prevent suicide. The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group __________________ for academics, mental health professionals, and suicide survivors to work together to understand suicide better. They __________________ suicide is __________________ of hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world.

The word ____________________ Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone ____________________. These include depression, shame, physical pain, anxiety, and relationship problems. A ____________________ is financial difficulties. There is a sudden increase in suicide in rich nations when there ____________________ the economy. Another worrying trend is the number of young people ____________________ because of bullying. Suicide is in fact one of the leading causes of death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end your life with others who ____________________. A hot topic today is assisted suicide – helping another person end his or her life.

WHILE READING / LISTENING GAP FILL

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we ____________ all put on our calendars. It highlights a huge but often ____________ problem in our society. Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day ____________ suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes ways to ____________ possible suicide cases and to prevent suicide. The day is ____________ by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group acts as a ____________ for academics, mental health professionals, and suicide ____________ to work together to understand suicide better. They raise awareness that suicide is a preventable cause of ____________ of thousands of deaths around the world.

commit
forum
should
hundreds
organized
ignored
survivors
identify

The word suicide ____________ from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that ____________ to someone taking their own life. These include depression, shame, ____________ pain, anxiety, and relationship problems. A growing reason nowadays is financial difficulties. There is a sudden ____________ in suicide in rich nations when there is a downturn in the economy. Another worrying ____________ is the number of young people who resort to suicide because of bullying. Suicide is in fact one of the leading ____________ of death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end your life with others who are ____________ desperate. A hot topic today is ____________ suicide – helping another person end his or her life.

trend
lead
increase
causes
assisted
comes
physical
equally

CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD

Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs of italics.

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we should every / all put on our calendars. It highlights a huge but often ignores / ignored problem in our society. Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day commit / do suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes ways to identify possible suicide cases and to prevention / prevent suicide. The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group acts as / was a forum for academics, mental health professionals, and suicide survivors to work together for / to understand suicide better. They rise / raise awareness that suicide is a preventable cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths around the worldwide / world.

The word suicide comes / goes from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone taken / taking their own life. These include depression, shame, physical painful / pain, anxiety, and relationship problems. A growing reason nowadays is financial difficulties. There is a sudden raise / increase in suicide in rich nations when there is a downturn in the economy. Another worrying trendy / trend is the number of young people who resort to suicide because of bullying. Suicide is in fact one / two of the leading causes of death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end / send your life with others who are equally desperate. A hot topic today is assisted suicide – helping another / other person end his or her life.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we should (1) ____ put on our calendars. It highlights a huge but often ignored problem in our society. Every year thousands of people (2) ____ their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day (3) ____ suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes ways to (4) ____ possible suicide cases and to prevent suicide. The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group acts as a forum for academics, mental (5) ____ professionals, and suicide survivors to work together to understand suicide better. They raise awareness that suicide is a preventable cause of hundreds of thousands of (6) ____ around the world.

The word suicide (7) ____ from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone taking their own life. These include depression, shame, physical (8) ____, anxiety, and relationship problems. A growing reason nowadays is financial difficulties. There is a sudden increase in suicide in rich nations when there is a downturn in the (9) ____. Another worrying trend is the number of young people who resort to suicide because of bullying. Suicide is in fact one of the leading causes (10) ____ death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs (11) ____ you can end your life with others who are equally desperate. A hot topic today is (12) ____ suicide – helping another person end his or her life.

Put the correct words from this table into the article.

1.	(a)	every	(b)	everyone	(c)	all	(d)	among
2.	(a)	took	(b)	take	(c)	taken	(d)	taking
3.	(a)	commit	(b)	do	(c)	have	(d)	be
4.	(a)	identification	(b)	identifies	(c)	identified	(d)	identify
5.	(a)	healthy	(b)	healthily	(c)	healthier	(d)	health
6.	(a)	dying	(b)	dies	(c)	deaths	(d)	dead
7.	(a)	comes	(b)	goes	(c)	arrives	(d)	gets
8.	(a)	painful	(b)	pain	(c)	painless	(d)	pained
9.	(a)	economical	(b)	economics	(c)	economy	(d)	economize
10.	(a)	of	(b)	by	(c)	from	(d)	at
11.	(a)	to	(b)	however	(c)	though	(d)	so
12.	(a)	assist	(b)	assisted	(c)	assistant	(d)	assistance

SPELLING

Spell the jumbled words (from the text) correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	put on our raeldcnas
2.	often griedon
3.	tcimom suicide
4.	natlem health
5.	asrie awareness
6.	hnutsdoas of deaths
Paragraph 2
7.	to kill ofeseln
8.	someone gkaint their own life
9.	nancaifli difficulties
10.	Another worrying edtrn
11.	leading euacss of death
12.	tiedsssa suicide

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	group acts as a forum for academics, mental health professionals, and suicide survivors to work
( )	cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world.
( )	a day commit suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes ways to identify possible suicide
( )	The word suicide comes from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone taking
( )	together to understand suicide better. They raise awareness that suicide is a preventable
( )	nations when there is a downturn in the economy. Another worrying trend is the number of young people who resort
( )	reason nowadays is financial difficulties. There is a sudden increase in suicide in rich
( )	desperate. A hot topic today is assisted suicide – helping another person end his or her life.
( )	problem in our society. Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people
( )	cases and to prevent suicide. The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important
( )	teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end your life with others who are equally
( 1 )	World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we should all put on our calendars. It highlights a huge but often ignored
( )	their own life. These include depression, shame, physical pain, anxiety, and relationship problems. A growing
( )	to suicide because of bullying. Suicide is in fact one of the leading causes of death among

SCRAMBLED SENTENCES

With a partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1.	our A should on we put calendars day all.
2.	problem huge but It often highlights ignored a.
3.	3 people commit Around 000 day , a suicide.
4.	suicide to possible cases Ways identify.
5.	deaths Hundreds around of the thousands world of.
6.	from word comes Latin The suicide.
7.	that someone own Factors to their lead taking life.
8.	financial is nowadays reason growing A difficulties.
9.	bullying to suicide People because who of resort.
10.	is today topic hot A suicide assisted.

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

THE SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY SURVEY

Write five questions about World Suicide Prevention Day in the table. Do this in pairs/groups. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

Without your partner, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Return to your original partner(s) and share and talk about what you found out. Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

WRITING

Write about World Suicide Prevention Day for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

______________________________________________________________________________

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 more information about World Suicide Prevention Day. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about World Suicide Prevention Day. Write about what happens around the world. Include two imaginary interviews with people who did something on this day.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

4. POSTER: Make your own poster about World Suicide Prevention Day. Write about what will happen on this day around the world.