TO BE OR NOT TO BE:

ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE

NOTICE: He was dashing into the house while the smell of hose water and burning plastic was drifting up over the patio.

REVISED: He dashed into the house while the smell of hose water and burning plastic drifted up over the patio.-Jon Scieszka, Your Mother Was a Neanderthal

NOTICE: Stepping out of the overheated car,

Hector found himself shivering. He zipped up his flimsy nylon windbreaker and pulled the drawstring of the small hood snugly around his face, although he knew this made him look like a turtle without a shell. -Lynne Rae Perkins, Criss Cross

Revise the phrase in red so it is written in passive voice.

REVISE: It was like nothing on earth we

had ever seen before. Fred, Sam, and I were standing in front of strange trees and giant ferns. A rocky cliff was rising behind us. A volcano was smoking ahead of us.

THE ORIGINAL: It was like nothing on earth we had ever seen before. Fred, Sam, and I stood in front of strange trees and giant ferns. A rocky cliff rose behind us. A volcano smoked ahead of us.

-John Scieszka, Your Mother Was a Neanderthal

WHEN PASSIVE IS APPROPRIATE My ice cream was stolen!

The unidentified victim was apparently struck during the early morning hours.

The aurora borealis can be observed in the early morning hours.

Twenty cc of acid was poured into the beaker.

WATCH OUT FOR: Shifting voice within the sentence: He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but he was still laughed at by the other students.

Dangling modifiers:Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, consultants were hired to break the bad news.

REVISE FOR ACTIVE VOICE(9/12 JOURNAL): The house was painted by the

volunteer group. I was surprised by the teacher’s lack

of sympathy. Several homes were smashed and

trees were uprooted by an unexpected tornado in a suburb of Knoxville.

The major points of the lesson were quickly learned by the class, but they were also quickly forgotten by them.

DECONSTRUCT THE LESSON: Covers main ideas of grammar issue Gives plenty of examples Handout includes main ideas and

examples Scaffolded with whole class practice at

beginning of lesson to individual practice at end

Assessment of student learning (journal – revising sentences)