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English lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 30 minutes

Active and passive voice

Grammar

CCSS L.8.1.BCCSS L.8.3.AEngland: Y6 GPS (passive voice)England: KS2 SATs GPS

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Active and passive voice.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Perfect tenses (past, present, future)

Leads to: Verb moods and shifts in voice or mood; Academic style: hedging, nominalisation and objectivity; Rewriting passive sentences in the active voice

Materials: Sentence strips, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Perfect tenses (past, present, future)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Choose the correct perfect tense. When I got to the station, the train ___ (leave). (has left / leaves / will have left / had left) → had leftPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?
  2. Choose the correct perfect tense. We ___ (visit) the museum twice this year. (have visited / had visited / visiting / will have visited) → have visitedPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?
  3. Choose the correct perfect tense. By the time we arrived, the film ___ (start). (will have started / has started / had started / starts) → had startedPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
  • Share the objective: Active and passive voice. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? The children have planted the trees. • The trees has been planted by the children. • The trees have planted the children. • The trees have been planted by the children. • The children have been planted by the trees.
  • Step 1: Move the object to the front, use be + past participle in the same tense, and put the doer after 'by' (or leave it out).
  • Step 2: So the answer is: The trees have been planted by the children.
  • Answer: The trees have been planted by the children.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? Thousands of fans watched the final. • The final was watched by thousands of fans. • The final is watching by thousands of fans. • The final watched thousands of fans. • Thousands of fans were watched by the final. (The final was watched by thousands of fans. / The final is watching by thousands of fans. / The final watched thousands of fans. / Thousands of fans were watched by the final.) → The final was watched by thousands of fans.Prompt: In a passive sentence, the thing the action is done TO becomes the subject.
  2. Is this sentence active or passive? The prize was won by a girl from Leeds. (active / passive) → passivePrompt: Who or what is the subject? Is the subject DOING the action or RECEIVING it?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Choose the best answer. Which sentence hides who made the mistake? (Leo made a mistake in the accounts. / Leo's accounts had his mistake. / The accounts were wrong because of Leo. / A mistake was made in the accounts.) → A mistake was made in the accounts.Prompt: The passive voice lets a writer leave out the doer or put the focus on what was affected.
  2. Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? Someone stole my bike. • Someone was stolen by my bike. • My bike stole someone. • My bike was stolen. • My bike was stealed. (Someone was stolen by my bike. / My bike stole someone. / My bike was stolen. / My bike was stealed.) → My bike was stolen.Prompt: In a passive sentence, the thing the action is done TO becomes the subject.

Watch out for

  • Naming the feature but not using it in their own sentences.
  • Thinking a sentence is right because it sounds right when spoken casually.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Perfect tenses (past, present, future).
  • Use concrete materials: sentence strips.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Verb moods and shifts in voice or mood; Academic style: hedging, nominalisation and objectivity; Rewriting passive sentences in the active voice.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Active and passive voice

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Choose the best answer. Which sentence hides who made the mistake?

    • A. The accounts were wrong because of Leo.
    • B. A mistake was made in the accounts.
    • C. Leo's accounts had his mistake.
    • D. Leo made a mistake in the accounts.

  2. Question 2

    Is this sentence active or passive? Our class planted a vegetable garden.

    • A. active
    • B. passive

  3. Question 3

    Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? The council will build a new library. • A new library will be built by the council. • A new library is built by the council. • The council will be built by a new library. • A new library will build the council.

    • A. A new library will be built by the council.
    • B. A new library is built by the council.
    • C. The council will be built by a new library.
    • D. A new library will build the council.

  4. Question 4

    Choose the best answer. A newspaper does not know who damaged a statue. Which sentence fits?

    • A. The statue was damaged overnight.
    • B. They damaged the statue overnight, probably.
    • C. Somebody damaged it, who knows.
    • D. The statue damaged overnight.

  5. Question 5

    Is this sentence active or passive? The orchestra played three pieces.

    • A. active
    • B. passive

  6. Question 6

    Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? The dog chased the cat. • The cat is chasing by the dog. • The cat chased the dog. • The dog was chased by the cat. • The cat was chased by the dog.

    • A. The cat is chasing by the dog.
    • B. The cat chased the dog.
    • C. The dog was chased by the cat.
    • D. The cat was chased by the dog.

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Answer key: Active and passive voice

  1. 1. B. A mistake was made in the accounts.

  2. 2. A. active

  3. 3. A. A new library will be built by the council.

  4. 4. A. The statue was damaged overnight.

  5. 5. A. active

  6. 6. D. The cat was chased by the dog.