Year 6 · SPaG · Autumn: Active and passive
Year 6 recognising the passive worksheet and PowerPoint
To recognise active and passive sentences and to find the agent in a passive sentence.
Active and passive
In an active sentence the subject does the action. In a passive sentence the subject has the action done to it, and the verb uses a form of be and the past participle.
| active | The farmer opened the gate. (the farmer does the action) |
|---|---|
| passive | The gate was opened by the farmer. (the gate has the action done to it) |
| agent | the one who does the action in a passive sentence: by the farmer |
| no agent | The gate was opened. (we do not say who did it) |
Examples
- The farmer opened the gate.
- The gate was opened by the farmer.
Key words
- active
- the subject does the action
- passive
- the subject has the action done to it
- agent
- who or what does the action in a passive sentence
- past participle
- the verb form used after be, has and had
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Look in a book you are reading and find three passive sentences. Copy them out, underline the agent in each one, and rewrite each one in the active voice.
Pupil target: I can tell an active sentence from a passive sentence.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the recognising the passive PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 22 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Autumn term, block “Active and passive”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
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