Description
A lesson explaining the difference between active and passive voice and how to change from one to the other.
Objectives
- Students will be able to explain the differences between active and passive voice.
- Students will be able to explain the reasons active voice is often preferable to passive voice.
- Students will be able to change passive voice to active voice.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1.B | Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.6 | Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grades 9–10 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.) |
Length
50 minutes
Resources
Slideshow: Active & passive voice
Active vs. passive voice: Set 1 and key
Active vs. passive voice: Set 2 and key
Active vs. passive voice: Set 3 and key
Lesson step-by-step
1. Building background — 10 minutes
Introduce active and passive voice using the slideshow. Share examples and discuss the effect active voice has on sentence clarity.
2. Practice and assessment — 30 minutes and/or take-home activity
Use the three sets of exercises to practice and evaluate students’ proficiency at identifying and using passive and active voice. Set 3 would make a suitable end-of-lesson assessment. It asks students to identify whether or not a sentence is active or passive and make corrections as needed.