3.1.4 Passive Progressive Tenses Lesson Plan

Lesson Procedure:

1. What Is Happening? Have students review the present progressive verb tense in passive voice by watching the first part (Passive: Present Progressive/Affirmative) of the Grammar section of the movie Work is Being Done (L3U1L4). After watching, ask students, What is happening right now in the classroom?" Have partners talk about what they observe, and write 2-3 sentences. Alternatively, ask the students to describe/write what they think is happening right now in other parts of the school, like the library, the office, cafeteria, or the gym. For example: Books are being read in the library.
   
   For homework, students can answer a question, such as: What is happening in your house while dinner is being cooked? Instruct them to take notes of their observations.
   
   The next day, show the second part of the Grammar section (Passive: Past Progressive/Affirmative). After reviewing the section, have students relate their homework observations using the past progressive in both passive and active voice.
2. Farm Action. Project the Farm Action Image. Invite students to describe what’s going on in this scene using the passive voice with progressive tenses, such as The barn is being painted. Do a Roundrobin so that everyone has a chance to participate. If a student is not sure what to say, provide a sentence that incorrectly describes what is happening. This will encourage students to practice the negative construction. For example, you might say The barn is being painted blue. The student would correct you by saying, The barn isn’t being painted blue. It is being painted red.
3. Active or Passive? Divide the class into two teams. If your class has individual dry erase boards, then instruct them to take them out, or use their notebooks. One student from each team comes to the front of the class with their boards/notebooks and pens. Read aloud a sentence (see Preparation) that is either directly from the movie or about the movie Work is Being Done (L3U1L4). Both players write whether the sentence is active or passive. Then they rewrite the sentence in the opposite voice. Provide the following model:
   
   Sample sentence: Uncle Joe is driving Moby on his tractor.
   Correct response: Active.
   Revised to passive: Moby is being driven by Uncle Joe on his tractor.
   If the voice (passive or active) is correctly identified, the team earns 1 point. If students revise the sentence correctly, they earn 2 points. If they get neither correct, 0 points are earned. Two new students come up for the next round. Keep playing until everyone on both teams has had a chance to play.
4. Farm Chores Comic Strip. After watching the movie Work is Being Done (L3U1L4), have students write captions for the Farm Chores Comic Strip, using the passive voice in either present or past progressive. Then have students share their comic strips.