B2 – Upper Intermediate
Drills are conducted for us to be prepared for unforeseen events such as natural disasters or school shootings, which we have unfortunately seen happening in the US.
Now, schools are conducting lockdown drills for children to know exactly what they need to do when such unprecedented event happens.
However, some of these drills are so realistic that they trigger unpleasant reactions from trauma.
To learn more about the lockdown exercise, watch the video below.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does the phrase “out of sight” mean? “Lock down. Locks. Lights. Out of sight. This is a drill.” Use this expression in your own sentence.
- What is the meaning of “one wrong move“? “If we do just one wrong move then we can be like goners.” Kindly create you own sentence.
- What does “siege” mean? “Although there is evidence hiding behind a locked door saves lives, it is very unlikely a child would be involved in a Columbine style siege.” Please make your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you think lockdown drills at schools are a good idea? Explain.
- What are the pros and cons of these lockdown drills?
- How do drills prepare you and your family/community for an unprecedented event?
- Talk about the different drills conducted in your school or community.
- What are some necessary drills that should be run in your country? What significance will it bring to your community?
2 replies on “Lockdown Drills for School Shootings”
1. I think it is not the best idea, but American community is very different to European community. In my contry people usually don´t have guns at home. Due to that this is not a problem, no one is going to go to a school to kill children.
2. I think the way that it is done can create more problems than solutions. For example, the stress that these children feel, the fear, is greater than the capacitation that they adquire.
3. No, never. I won´t put my family through that stress. I usually plan for the worst situation possible in a travel and work to find the way to overcome it.
4. The only drill we did at my school is just a fire drill. In my office, we make to this kind of drill.
5. The fire drills allow us to escape from a posible fire in the building. We have to find the best way to escape from a place. When you go to big nightclub or similar you should also focus on these posibilities.
Great hearing your thoughts on this topic!
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Until your next one!