Friday, Feb. 13th

Happy Friday the 13th!

--Today we took a quiz over ch. 20 and briefly reviewed the reading, then we reviewed the vocab words using some different images representing each word. The vocab test will be on Wed. of next week, so make sure to study!
--We then went over the guidelines for the final interview story (get a copy of the cream colored handout from the crate). Rough drafts are due Feb. 24th.
--The last part of class, we did a short lesson on "passive voice." See below for this activity or get a copy from the crate if gone today, complete it, then hand it in to me next time you see me.
--HW: Read. pgs. 278-313 in Three Cups; study for vocab test. Have a great long weekend, and Happy Valentine's!


Avoiding Passive Voice

What do “passive voice” and “active voice” mean?
“Passive voice” refers to a sentence where the subject of the sentence is being acted upon. Active voice refers to a sentence where the subject is doing the action. Examples:

Passive voice: The dog was walked by its owner.
Active voice: The owner walked his dog.
Passive voice: The taxes were raised.
Active voice: The government raised taxes.

Which one is better?
In general, using active voice is preferable to using passive voice. Active voice is more concise, interesting and dynamic than passive voice. For example, “The gorgeous artwork was loved by the spectators” would be clearer and stronger as “The spectators loved the gorgeous artwork.”

Sometimes, it’s okay to use passive voice if you want to call specific attention to the object instead of the subject of a sentence, like in the following: “The students were delighted that the teacher let them out of school 2 hours early.” In this case, the sentence wouldn’t be as strong if it said: “The teachers delighted the students by letting them out of school 2 hours early” because the students are the real focal point of the sentence.


Avoiding Passive Voice—Practice

Directions: Read the paragraph below. For any sentence that you believe contains passive voice, rewrite it under the original sentence using active voice instead.

Beach balls are my absolute number one pet peeve. You know how they are always hit around by people at concerts? That drives me crazy! I hate how my view is blocked by them as they bounce around in front of the stage. One time, I actually grabbed one of the beach balls and stabbed it with my keys. The people around me were quite angered by this. Boos were hurled at me. They called me a Communist. They even spat at me. I was not fazed by any of this, though. The next time I’m at a concert and a beach ball comes my way, you can bet I’ll have my keys out, ready to strike.