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English lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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 / had left / will have left / leaves) → had leftPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?
  2. Choose the correct perfect tense. By the time we arrived, the film ___ (start). (starts / will have started / has started / had started) → had startedPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?
  3. Choose the correct perfect tense. I ___ (live) here for six years. (will have lived / have lived / had lived / am living) → have livedPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 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? A bee stung my brother. • My brother stung a bee. • A bee was stung by my brother. • My brother was stung by a bee. • My brother was stinged by a bee. (My brother stung a bee. / A bee was stung by my brother. / My brother was stung by a bee. / My brother was stinged by a bee.) → My brother was stung by a bee.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 · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Is this sentence active or passive? The letters are delivered every morning. (active / passive) → passivePrompt: Who or what is the subject? Is the subject DOING the action or RECEIVING it?
  2. Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? A bee stung my brother. • A bee was stung by my brother. • My brother was stung by a bee. • My brother stung a bee. • My brother was stinged by a bee. (A bee was stung by my brother. / My brother was stung by a bee. / My brother stung a bee. / My brother was stinged by a bee.) → My brother was stung by a bee.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/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Choose the best answer. In a science report about an experiment, which sentence is most appropriately formal?

    • A. We heated the stuff for like five minutes.
    • B. The mixture was heated for five minutes.
    • C. I reckon we heated it for five minutes.
    • D. Heat it for five minutes!

  2. Question 2

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

    • A. active
    • B. passive

  3. Question 3

    Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? Someone stole my bike. • My bike was stealed. • Someone was stolen by my bike. • My bike was stolen. • My bike stole someone.

    • A. My bike was stealed.
    • B. Someone was stolen by my bike.
    • C. My bike was stolen.
    • D. My bike stole someone.

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

    Is this sentence active or passive? The cake has been eaten!

    • A. active
    • B. passive

  6. Question 6

    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.

  7. Question 7

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

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

  8. Question 8

    Which sentence is the passive version of this sentence? Maya wrote the poem. • The poem was written by Maya. • Maya was written by the poem. • The poem was wrote by Maya. • The poem wrote Maya.

    • A. The poem was written by Maya.
    • B. Maya was written by the poem.
    • C. The poem was wrote by Maya.
    • D. The poem wrote Maya.

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Answer key: Active and passive voice

  1. 1. B. The mixture was heated for five minutes.

  2. 2. A. active

  3. 3. C. My bike was stolen.

  4. 4. D. A mistake was made in the accounts.

  5. 5. B. passive

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

  7. 7. C. The statue was damaged overnight.

  8. 8. A. The poem was written by Maya.