Active vs. Passive Voice ESL Games
In these fun active vs. passive games, students match active and passive sentences that have the same meaning. First, students write down five active sentences in different tenses and their passive equivalents. In pairs, students then take turns reading one of their active or passive sentences for the other student to provide the active or passive equivalent. After that, students play a game of snap by matching active and passive sentences that have the same meaning. One student has a set of active sentence cards and the other has a set of passive sentence cards. Both students then turn over a card from their pile at the same time. If the active and passive sentences match, the first student to say 'snap' scores a point. Students then pick up their own cards, shuffle them and play again. If a student says 'snap' when the cards don't match, the other student scores a point and the game continues. To make the game challenging, for each sentence, there is another similar sentence. The first student to score 15 points wins the game. As an extension, students can play a pelmanism game with the cards.
In this free active vs. passive voice game, students practice rewriting statements from active to passive voice or vice versa. First, students rewrite trivia statements from active to passive voice or vice versa. Next, in pairs, students discuss which statements they think are true and false and write their guesses on the worksheet. Afterwards, elicit the correct answers from the class. Pairs score one point for each correct guess. If a pair thinks a statement is false, ask them to guess the right person or people for an extra point. The pair with the most points at the end of the game wins.
In this engaging active vs. passive board game, students race to claim as many squares as they can by completing facts with verbs in the active or passive voice. Teams take turns rolling the dice. If a team rolls an odd number, they can only complete an odd-numbered fact. If they roll an even number, they can only complete an even-numbered fact. The team members then choose a fact and complete it with a verb from the centre of the board in the correct active or passive form, writing the verb in the space provided. If the other team agrees the verb and form are correct, the team wins the square. If not, the verb is erased. It is then the other team's turn to roll the dice and try to claim a square. The team with the most squares at the end of the game wins.
In this enjoyable active vs. passive game, students race to form sentences and complete them in the active or passive voice. In pairs, students begin by lining up sentence beginning cards in order and matching them with an ending card. Once all the sentences have been matched, students complete the endings by putting the verb in brackets in the correct active or passive form. The first pair to complete all their sentences correctly wins.
