Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Verbs: Passive Voice

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The objectives stage is crucial for guiding the focus of students and the teacher during the lesson. By clearly establishing what is expected for students to learn, this section serves as a guide for subsequent activities, ensuring that both the students' prior preparation and classroom discussions are aligned with the desired learning outcomes. This approach aims to maximize the use of classroom time for practice and application of concepts, promoting more effective learning.

Main Objectives:

1. Empower students to transform sentences from active voice to passive voice, identifying the patient subject and the agent.

2. Develop the ability to recognize and differentiate passive voice sentences in various texts.

Side Objectives:

1. Encourage active student participation in classroom discussions to reinforce content understanding.
2. Promote collaboration and communication skills among students while working in groups.

Introduction

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The introduction serves to engage students and contextualize the importance of studying passive voice in real situations. Through problem-based situations, students are challenged to apply their prior knowledge in a practical way, laying the groundwork for more direct application in class. Contextualization, in turn, seeks to connect the topic with the real world, increasing student interest and demonstrating the relevance of the subject in various fields of work and study.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine you are reading a scientific article and come across the following sentence: 'The new virus has been identified by the research team.' How would you transform this sentence to active voice while maintaining the original meaning?

2. Think of a news report that states: 'The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.' How would you rewrite this information in active voice, highlighting the painter?

Contextualization

The passive voice is a commonly used structure in academic, journalistic, and literary texts to focus on the action rather than the agent. For example, when describing a scientific process in an article, it is often more appropriate to use the passive voice to emphasize the process itself, rather than who performed it. Additionally, in situations where the agent is unknown or irrelevant, such as in many news reports, the passive voice is a natural choice. Understanding and knowing how to use the passive voice allows students not only to better interpret various texts but also to enrich their own writing.

Development

Duration: (65 - 75 minutes)

The development stage is designed for students to practically apply the knowledge acquired about the passive voice. By working in groups, they have the opportunity to discuss and collaborate, which not only reinforces learning but also develops interpersonal skills. The proposed activities are challenging and varied, allowing students to explore different contexts for using the passive voice, ranging from sentence transformation to debates and narrative creation, ensuring a deep and multifaceted understanding of the topic.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - Passive Voice Detectives

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Practice transforming sentences from active to passive voice, identifying the agent and patient subject in a playful and collaborative manner.

- Description: In this playful activity, students will be divided into groups of up to five people, and each group will take on the role of linguistic detectives. They will receive a series of cards containing sentences in active voice that need to be converted to passive voice. Each card will have a subtle clue to help identify the agent and the patient subject. The objective is for the detectives to correctly transform as many sentences as possible within a set time.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to five students.

• Distribute a set of cards to each group, each containing a sentence in active voice.

• Set a time limit of 60 minutes for the groups to transform the sentences into passive voice.

• Each group must present their transformations, explaining the reasoning behind their choice of agent and patient subject.

• Finally, discuss the transformations and correct any common mistakes.

Activity 2 - Passive Story Builders

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Develop writing and comprehension skills by using the passive voice in a narrative context, while fostering creativity and collaboration among students.

- Description: Students, in groups, receive a list of events or actions that they must transform into a series of mini-stories using the passive voice. Each story must include the transformation of at least five sentences from active to passive voice, maintaining coherence and connectivity between parts. This exercise aims not only to practice the passive voice but also to develop narrative skills.

- Instructions:

• Form groups of up to five students.

• Hand each group a list of events or actions that should be included in a story.

• Students must write a story that includes at least five sentences in passive voice, transforming the sentences from the list.

• Each group reads their story aloud to the class, which must identify the passive voice sentences.

• Encourage a discussion on the different ways the passive voice can be applied in narratives.

Activity 3 - Hidden Agents Debate

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Deepen students' understanding of the uses and applications of the passive voice, improving their argumentative and critical analysis skills.

- Description: Students will participate in a structured debate where each group will argue why the passive voice is more appropriate than the active voice in certain situations. They must prepare arguments based on real or fictional examples, highlighting the importance of hiding or focusing on the action rather than the agent. This exercise aims to deepen the understanding of the nuances of using the passive voice.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to five students.

• Each group receives a scenario or topic to prepare their argument.

• Give time for each group to prepare their defense, collecting examples of the use of the passive voice.

• Conduct the debate in class, allowing each group to present their arguments.

• Conclude with a reflection on situations in which the passive voice is more effective.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The purpose of this feedback stage is to consolidate students' learning, allowing them to articulate and reflect on the knowledge acquired and the skills developed. Through sharing experiences and responding to key questions, students have the opportunity to reinforce what they have learned, identify areas that may still be confusing, and learn from each other. This exchange of ideas fosters a deeper and contextualized understanding of the passive voice, preparing students to apply the knowledge in practical and academic situations.

Group Discussion

Start the group discussion by inviting each group to share their findings and experiences during the activities. Ask each group to choose a spokesperson to present a summary of what they discussed and the conclusions they reached. Encourage students to explain the challenges they encountered, the strategies they used to overcome them, and what they learned most significantly about the passive voice.

Key Questions

1. What were the main challenges in transforming sentences from active to passive voice, and how did you overcome them?

2. How can the ability to identify and use the passive voice be applied in real situations, such as reading academic articles or journalistic texts?

3. Was there any moment during the activities when you needed to reconsider the use of the passive voice? Why?

Conclusion

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The purpose of the conclusion is to reinforce learning, ensuring that students have a clear and consolidated understanding of the topic addressed. By recapping the main points of the lesson and linking them to their applicability, this stage helps solidify students’ memory and prepares them to utilize the knowledge in future situations. Moreover, it highlights the relevance of the topic for the continuous development of communication skills in English.

Summary

To conclude, let’s recap what was learned today about the passive voice. Students practiced transforming sentences from active to passive voice, identifying patient subjects and agents. They also explored real and fictional examples, allowing for a deeper understanding of the practical use of the passive voice in different contexts.

Theory Connection

Today's lesson was structured to connect theory with practical application in an integrated manner. It began with a theoretical review of passive voice concepts, followed by practical activities that allowed students to apply the knowledge in sentence transformation situations and debates about uses of the passive voice. In this way, students were able to see the direct relevance of theory to everyday and academic use of English.

Closing

The importance of understanding and knowing how to use the passive voice extends beyond the classroom, influencing students' ability to interpret complex texts, such as academic articles and news, while enhancing their own writing skills. This knowledge is fundamental for fluency in English and for effective communication in various professional and academic contexts.