Answer Key: Juvenile Criminals

 

Lesson Plan: The Plight of Juvenile Criminals

II. While Reading Activities

Vocabulary

Word Inference

  1. automatically  |-ik(ə)lē|  adverb-done or occurring spontaneously, without conscious thought or intention: automatic physical functions such as breathing.
  2. hardened  |ˈhärdnd| adjective -• utterly fixed in a habit or way of life seen as bad: hardened criminals.
  3. prosecution |ˌpräsiˈkyo͞oSHən|  noun-(the prosecution) [ treated as sing. or pl. ] the party instituting or conducting legal proceedings against someone in a lawsuit: the main witness for the prosecution.
  4. juvenile |ˈjo͞ovəˌnīl, -vənl|-adjective-of, for, or relating to young people: juvenile crime.
  5. adolescents cent |ˌadlˈesənt| -adjective-(of a young person) in the process of developing from a child into an adult.
  6. charged |CHärjd| verb-accuse (someone) of something, esp. an offense under law: they were charged with assault.
  7. commit verb |kəˈmit|-carry out or perpetrate (a mistake, crime, or immoral act): he committed an uncharacteristic error.
  8. intervention |ˌintərˈvenCHən| noun -a meeting in which people confront an addicted, or otherwise troubled, individual in order to persuade the individual to seek help.
  9. circulation |ˌsərkyəˈlāSHən|(abbr.: cir. or circ. ) noun-the public availability or knowledge of something: his music has achieved wide circulation.
  10. comprehensive ˌkämpriˈhensiv| adjective-complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something: a comprehensive list of sources.

Source: New Oxford American Dictionary

Reading Comprehension

True /False/NA-Statements

  1. F- The two states where  16-year-olds are automatically tried as adults are New York and North Carolina.
  2. F-There is evidence that sending children into adult courts, destroys lives and further endangers the public by turning nonviolent youngsters into hardened criminals.
  3. F- Governor  Andrew Cuomo took the first step to help this situation  by raising the age for adult criminal prosecution.
  4. T-The juvenile justice system was created in 1962 under the Family Court Act.
  5. T- At the time, lawmakers were unable to agree on the age at which offenders should be declared adults, so they set it temporarily at 16.
  6. F- New York channels nearly 40,000 adolescents a year into the criminal courts.
  7. F- Most of them charged with nonviolent crimes like fare-beating in the subways, marijuana possession and shoplifting.
  8. NA-Adolescents shoplift because they need money for food.
  9. T- Connecticut wisely adopted a strategy based on rehabilitation, not lockups, reducing arrests and saving the state money.
  10. NA-Massachusetts is also considering raising the age for adult criminal prosecution.

 Grammar Focus

Structure and Usage

I. 1-In New York,  16-year-olds are automatically tried as adults.

II. 3-Much has been learned since the 1960s.

III. 1- Minors prosecuted as adults commit more violent crimes later on.

 IV. Listening Activity  

Video ClipWhy are New York children being locked up like hardened criminals? 

True /False/NA-Statements

  1. F- In New York kids get tried as adults at age  16.
  2. F- If we want to really improve behavior we have to “treat kids like kids”.
  3. T- According to  Jim  Czarniak   the reform programs work in his county.
  4. F- The programs are available for kids who committed  crimes before their 16th birthday.
  5. F- Ismael Nazario was arrested for assault at the age of 16.
  6. T- He was sent to  Rikers  Island and was beat up by older prisoners.
  7. F-According to Maurice Hines, younger kids join gangs in prison because they’re afraid.
  8. F- Many young people end up being stabbed and hurt  in prison for adults.
  9. T- Dr. Andriana Galvan states that there are differences between the teenage brain and the adult brain.
  10. T- A teenager doesn’t think about consequences of committing a crime.