Students will:

Construct sentences using active and passive voice.

Use the Make-a-Map tool to identify examples from the movie of active and passive voice.
Identify sentences as active or passive.
Rewrite sentences from active to passive and passive to active.
Analyze a comic for voice and write their own.
Materials:
Internet access for BrainPOP
Class sets of Active & Passive Voice activity and Sentence Diagram graphic organizer (or
individual computer access for students to type their responses on the online form)
Preparation:
Preview the movie Active & Passive Voice to plan for any adaptations.
Preview the Activity and Graphic Organizer to plan for any adaptations and print them out if
students will be working offline.
Lesson Procedure:
Bounce a ball on the floor. Then ask students to describe what happened. Tell them to start the
sentence with your name (e.g., “Ms. Jones bounced a ball.”). Write the sentence on the board.
Then have students identify the subject (Ms. Jones) and the verb (bounced). Now, bounce the
ball again, but this time, ask students to describe what happened starting with “The ball…”.
Students should say, “The ball was bounced by Ms. Jones.” Write this sentence on the board
and ask them to identify the subject in this sentence (the ball) and the verb (was bounced).
Guide students to compare and contrast the two sentences. Ask them which the think is active
and which is passive. Confirm that they understand that the first sentence is in the active voice
because the subject, the teacher, actively bounced the ball. Contrast this with the second
sentence, which is in the passive voice because the subject (the ball) is NOT actively doing
anything. Instead something is happening to it by someone else.
Show the movie Active & Passive Voice on the whiteboard to the whole class once through
without pausing.
Next, have students open the Make-a-Map feature from within the movie. As they watch, instruct
them to create a chart, such as a t-chart, in the Make-a-Map canvas to identify sentences from
the movie as active or passive. Suggest that they pause the movie as they take notes and
remind point out that they can incorporate clips from the movie into their charts if they prefer this
to typing the sentences. When they are done, have students share their charts with each other.
Invite students to apply what they’ve learned by completing the Active & Passive Voice activity
in which they label sentences as active or passive and then rewrite them in the opposite voice.
Then have them rewrite well known sayings in the Sentence Diagram graphic organizer. If you
have limited access to computers or other devices, you may distribute these activities for
students to do offline.
Display the Active & Passive Voice comic on the whiteboard. Ask students to identify the words
the girl is saying as active or passive. Discuss why this comic is funny. Students should
recognize that by using the passive voice, the girl is not actively responsible for the mess, rather
she a passive recipient.
Finally, have students work individually or with a partner to create their own comics using either
passive or active voice to bring humor or make a point. When they are done, have students
present their comics to the class. You can then put them together to create a class comic book.
Extension Activities:
Encourage students to find examples of active and passive voice in different types of
publications, such as newspapers, magazines, web sites, text books, novels, non fiction, etc.
Have them compare and contrast their findings. What types of texts did they encounter more
active voice? In which did they find more passive voice? Have them brainstorm why this might
be.