Great

1. MOTHER’S METH LEADS
TO CHILD’S DEATH
REAL WORLD PROBLEMS
BY DEAN BERRY, ED. D.
1

2. THE PROBLEM
Diane Taber is a mother of two children and has an unusual hobby for
making extra money. Unfortunately, she operates her own meth lab in
her home. On May 28, she was cooking a batch for her customers
when the kitchen exploded and most of the house burned. Her three
year old died from smoke inhalation and her five year old had 3rd
degree burns on his entire face and 80% of his body. Mrs. Taber, who
was not injured seriously, was arrested.
2

3. PAIR SHARE AND
DISCUSS
Meet in pairs
or small
groups and
discuss the 3

4. THINK & DISCUSS
•Did the mother intend to
harm her children?
•Is it possible that the
mother was under the
influence of drugs and,
therefore, was not aware of
the dangers to the children?
•Is the death of her child
enough punishment?
•Is the mother responsible
for the injuries to her child?
•What kind of punishment
would be fair?
4

5. REPORT BACK TO CLASS
SHARE YOUR IDEAS
.
1. Let’s summarize possible
answers to our questions.
2. Include these ideas in
your notes.
3. You may choose to use a
graphic organizer.
5

6. PREPARE TO RESEARCH THE ISSUES
•Now it is time to research various points of
view and legal positions. Include any court
cases or rulings that may lend support to
your position.

7. RESEARCH
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
• 1. Does an accidental explosion caused
by an illegal activity make the
perpetrator responsible for damages
that result from the explosion? Why?
• 2. Can you identify similar cases that
have gone through the legal processes?
Can you determine why they are
relevant to our meth lab case?
• 3. If someone uses hard drugs and their
illegal use results in another person’s

8. USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET SOURCES TO
GATHER INFORMATION ON YOUR RESEARCH
TOPIC.
See the PowerPoint
version of this unit
in order to quickly
access hyperlinked
sources.

9. RESEARCH NOTES
•Collect a minimum of 2-3 pages of notes
•Gather information that will enable you to write
a short two page essay

10. COMMON CORE STANDARDS
As you conduct your research, use
the following to review and analyze
your sources.

11. EVALUATE AND VERIFY
RESEARCH SOURCES
• Internet sources will vary greatly in accuracy and
reliability
• Consider the expertise and reputation of each website
• Compare facts and information of different internet
sources
• Select information that is supported on several reliable
websites
• Question or refute information that lacks consistent support

12. USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET SOURCES TO
GATHER INFORMATION ON YOUR RESEARCH
TOPIC.
See the PowerPoint version of this
unit in order to quickly access
hyperlinked sources.

13. WHAT ARE OPIOIDS AND HOW DO THEY
WORK?
5 MIN EXCELLENT INFORMATION
•https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=KiwSTZszAbQ

14. PAIN AND OPIOIDS AND PRESCRIPTIONS
ANIMATED 4 MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N
DVV_M__CSI

15. FENTANYL AND OPIOID 5MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=BXmyPsqkP44

16. METH LAB HOUSE HAS 3 KIDS, MOM AND
DAD
2 MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=83cEPebR01w

17. ADDICTED INFANTS 4 MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=tvRL8IXnTLc

18. METH ADDICTED MOM LOSES HER TWO
CHILDREN
7 MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PNPjfj6VIFs

19. CHILDREN OF OPIOID ADDICTED MON
3 MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=YslhIY7ZyFM

20. ONE NATION OVERDOSED
4 MIN
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=MT74X6YMx5Q

21. MOM’S METH KILLS BABY
•http://www.azcentral.com/news/a
rticles/2011/01/28/20110128gle
ndale-baby-meth-death-mom-
arrested-abrk.html

22. NURSING BABY DIES FROM MOTHER’S
METH TAINTED BREAST MILK
•http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2
011/01/27/not-guilty-plea-
meth-laced-
breastmilk_n_814664.html

23. TODDLER DIES AS A RESULT OF METH
LAB ACCIDENT
•http://www.courierpress.com/new
s/2009/jun/01/kentucky-
toddler-dies-after-drinking-
meth-ingredie/

24. ELEVEN YEAR OLD INJURED IN METH LAB
EXPLOSION
•http://www.wics.com/template/cg
i-
bin/archived.pl?type=basic&file=/
news/top-
stories/stories/archive/2014/02/

25. CHILDREN KILLED IN METH LABS
•http://www.nydailynews.com/new
s/national/children-horribly-
endangered-parents-meth-
article-1.1402467

26. MURDER CHARGES IN METH LAB
DEATHS
•http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRI
ME/02/18/georgia.meth.fatal.fi
re/

27. REVIEW YOUR RESEARCH NOTES
Write an Essay
on the Topic

28. PREPARE TO WRITE
•Is the mother guilty
of harming her
children?
•What kind of
punishment would be
fair?
•Explain your 28

29. Organize your
ideas and
prepare to write
an essay about
the issue.

30. ORGANIZE
•Review all of your notes
from the group discussion.
•Select the most important
ideas.
•Choose facts and examples
to support each important
idea
30

31. DEVELOP A WRITING PLAN
• Determine what your main point
will be, and write a topic sentence
that provides focus for your essay.
• Choose several main ideas that
support your topic sentence.
• Sort your information into
supporting details with facts and
examples. 31

32. Organize your
ideas and
prepare to write
an essay about
the issue.

33. DETAILS MUST SUPPORT THE
MAIN IDEAS
Provide specific facts,
examples, and reasons
for each main idea in the
body of your essay

34. WRITE THE ROUGH DRAFT
Use the Five
Paragraph format
that includes an
Introductory
Paragraph, Body,
and Conclusion

35. ESSAY FORMAT
35
Essay-Case 7
Introduction
Clear statement of main
idea
Body
3 supporting reasons with
details
and examples
Conclusion
Review your main idea and
summarize your best
reasons

36. PREPARE TO WRITE
•Write a five paragraph
essay about the issue.
•As you write your
rough draft, it will be
very important to use
special words that
enable you to
transition smoothly
36

37. TRANSITION WORDS
As you view these
words, select the
words that help you
make transitions
smoothly from one
idea to the next.
• as a result
• such as
• for example
• nevertheless
• for that reason
• finally
• at this time
• therefore
• furthermore
• in addition
• in conclusion
• as well as 37

38. PAIR SHARE
EDITING
Work in pairs to
edit and improve
your essay. Read
each other’s essays
“out loud” and
offer specific
suggestions for
improvement.

39. REVIEW, EDIT, AND REWRITE
1. Re-read your essay several times.
2. How can you improve your sentences to communicate
more clearly?
3. Are your main ideas supported by examples and details?
4. Exchange papers with another student and read each
other’s essay out loud.
5. Make final corrections and write a final draft of your
polished essay. 39

40. FINAL
DRAFT
Use what you
have learned from
your review
process and write
your final draft.

41. BRING YOUR COMPLETED PAPER
TO THE NEXT CLASS SESSION.
The next step will
be to present your
ideas to your small
group for review
and analysis.
41

42. MEET IN SMALL GROUPS TO CROSS EXAMINE STUDENTS AS THEY
PRESENT THEIR PAPERS
• Analyze solutions and evidence presented by group members.
• Ask challenging questions when group members present their positions. Look
for evidence that is sufficient to support clear, logical arguments.
• Ask group members to defend the credibility and reliability of their
sources.

43. SHARE YOUR IDEAS
WITH THE GROUP
During this evaluation phase, class members will
share ideas, analyze arguments, and review the
main issues of the problem. Students will be
prepared to participate by contributing their ideas
and supporting evidence.
43

44. DEFEND YOUR POSITION
As you present your paper to your group,
clearly state your position on the issue and
review the main points of your argument. Be
sure to cite specific facts and examples that
support each point you are making. Include
evidence that substantiates all claims.
44