Presentation / Objective

A Journalist for a day

Welcome to this lesson!

We are excited to have you here.
On this unit, you will work with art vocabulary, commercial products and a series of events which take place at the moment.

You also will enjoy activities focused on the four necessary skills. This is a lesson specially designed for you so you will have the opportunity to assess yourself and see your progress.

By the end of the topic, you will write expressions in passive voice to talk about an action that is still in progress using present continuous or present continuous passive according to the context.

We hope you enjoy your experience with this lesson!

Are you ready to start?

Imagine that you have the opportunity to write for a newspaper.

What section or sections would you like to write about?
What newspaper would you like to be part of?

Content

Present Perfect Continuous.

Hi! Before starting this lesson, we should become familiar with the topic. So far, we have studied some elements that will help us understand both the content and learning experience. During this lesson, you will see how to use the PASSIVE VOICE in present continuous and some vocabulary related to writing news reports as well.

Hello and welcome, today we're going to look at passive voice in English. First we’ll have a look at when we use the passive voice and then we’ll have a look at how we formulate passive sentences in present perfect continuous. By the end of this lesson you will have a good understanding of when to use the passive voice and how to formulate passive sentences. So, if you are ready, let’s get started!

The passive voice

What is the passive voice?

A sentence generally begins with a doer of the action, also known as the subject. Then we have the verb or verbs and the object or person that the action is performed on. This is what we call an ACTIVE SENTENCE. For example:

Susana

is writing

a news report

Susana is the subject.
is writing is the present continuous verb.
a news report is the object.

Now, if we begin the sentences with the object the action is performed on we create a PASSIVE SENTENCE.
So we write the object, then the verbs, we change the verb into the past participle form, and finally, we modify the verb “to be”, which is followed by the subject, for example:

object
+
verb
+
subject

A news report

is being writing

by Susana

Exercise 1

Keep in mind the irregular forms of the verbs.

In the following activity, match verbs correctly. You have unlimited attempts to answer the exercise. At the end of the activity, you can know your score.

Swipe left or right

Exercise 2

Can you identify if these sentences are Active or Passive?

Identify if the underlined sentences are active or passive.

Here we have more examples:

This is the end of the presentation of present continuous passive, I really hope you enjoyed it, now check your understanding by doing some exercises that have been prepared for you.

Exercise 3

Let’s have more practice, match images correctly. You have unlimited attempts to answer the exercise. At the end of the activity, you can know your score.

Reading

Activity 1

Going crazy for Pokémon GO

When reading news, you need to be sure that you understand the ideas correctly. In the following text, you will read about a popular game that has caught the world’s attention. Take your time to read the article about how the world seems to be going crazy for Pokémon Go. Then complete the exercises below. You can go over this glossary to review some vocabulary:

Massive
Augmented
Overtaken
Fictional
Flow
Driveway
Poking
Deterring
Snare
Lure
Outperform

Massive:

consisting of or forming a large mass; bulky and heavy

Augmented:

make larger; enlarge in size, number, strength, or extent; increase.

Overtaken:

to catch up with and pass, as in a race; move by.

Fictional:

invented as part of a work of fiction.

Flow:

to circulate.

Driveway:

A road, especially a private one, leading from a street or other thoroughfare to a building, house, garage, etc

Poking:

to search curiously

Deterring:

To discourage or restrain from acting or proceeding.

Snare:

to catch or involve by trickery.

Lure:

to attract, entice, or tempt; allure.

Outperform:

to surpass in excellence of performance; do better than.

Once you finish reading the news, decide if the following statements are True or False by choosing the appropriate option. You can know your score at the end of the exercise. For this activity, you will have three opportunities. So, be careful with your answers.

Well done! You are about to finish this reading section. Now we would like for you to reflect on the following questions.
You do not have to answer them, but they will help you with the following set of activities

Are you currently playing Pokémon Go?

Is Pokémon being played in your country?

Is it popular in your country?

What’s your opinion about it?

Listening

Activity 2

The dangers of playing Pokémon go

It is time to start the listening section. Throughout these activities, you will reinforce your listening skills by listening to a report related to the dangers of playing Pokémon Go. You will also have to respond to some questions which will help you to check your advance. We hope you find these activities useful for your process of learning.

To start this activity reflect on the following questions:

Pokémon Go has changed the way videogames are being played. Nowadays, it is common to see people wandering in the streets looking for fictional creatures “living” among us. Most of the people who live this new augmented reality are in danger because they visit far and dark places trying to catch as many creatures as possible.

In the next audio, you will listen to some dangers people are exposed to. After listening to it, we hope you think twice when going alone to hunt a Pokémon!

Clic here to listen.

Breaking News English. (2016). Pokemon Go is the next big thing. Retrieved 21/01/17 from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1607/160712-pokemon-go.html

Now decide if the following statements are True or False by choosing the appropriate option. At the end of the activity, you can know your score.

Writing

Activity 3

A newspaper article

Now it is time to become a reporter. Imagine a significant newspaper hired you in your country. And you were sent to cover an event where people went crazy hunting Pokémon. The newspaper authorities want to see your writing skills to offer you a permanent position and a juicy salary.

Look at the following image:

Fleming, T. (2016). A Charlotte man organized a Pokemon Go event. 1,000 showed up. The Chalotte Observer. Retrieved 18/01/17 from http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article90158792.html

You have to write about the event that is taking place. Write in present continuous passive as much as possible. Make sure you to mention what, where, why, who and when.

Also, be sure to write:

a. A headline/title
b. The body of the text
c. Your opinion
d. A conclusion

Follow this example:

example

Speaking

Activity 4

The new presenter

The main presenter of CNN news has just quit. The head of the network tells you to cover the vacancy. It is your opportunity to become famous. Think about a recent event and report it. If your report is good enough, you will be given a permanent position. To succeed in the task, consider the following aspects.

Choose a good topic.
Do proper research about the topic.
Use proper vocabulary.
Speak in present continuous passive
Answer the what, where, why, who and when.

What’s your plan?

Write down the ideas that you have for your plan, giving supporting details. When you finish, organise it by bullets because you are going to record your voice. Once you have completed your recording, evaluate it yourself.

You follow the next example.

Self-assessment

Completing the correct form

Congrats! This is the last activity of the lesson. We are really proud of your effort.
Now, you will read a conversation. Since this lesson was focused on news, you will have to complete an interview using the appropriate tense. It might be in the active or passive voice.

P= presenter D= Doctor Sean

P: So Doctor, can you tell us more about your discoveries?
D= Well, first of all, the research I am going to present was done by a team of experts in different areas. However, it has not been completed.

Reference

Basic references

Breaking News English. (2016). Pokemon Go is the next big thing. Retrieved 21/01/17 from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1607/160712-pokemon-go.html
Burston, T. (2016). Pokemon Go: Police issue warning after motorists caught playing game behind the Wheel. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16/01/17 from http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/pokemon-go-police-issue-warning-after-motorists-caught-playing-game-behind-the-wheel/news-story/e690e6f2348693118b138eb7a5afcfc9
Fleming, T. (2016). A Charlotte man organized a Pokemon Go event. 1,000 showed up. The Chalotte Observer. Retrieved 18/01/17 from https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article90158792.html
Kafka, P. (2016). Pokemon Go launched in 26 countries, and then its servers crashed. CNBC. Retrieved 17/07/16 from https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/17/pokemon-go-launched-in-26-countries-and-then-its-servers-crashed.html
Lindh, C. (2016). What Pokémon GO has to do with armed robbery and a dead body. CNN. Retrieved 08/09/16 from https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/11/tech/pokemon-go-crazy-events/
TVN (2016) Pokemon Go: Crowd Stampedes Through Central Park After Rare Vaporeon Sighting. Retrieved 17/01/17 rom http://trueviralnews.com/pokemon-go-crowd-stampedes-through-central-park-after-rare-vaporeon-sighting/
Maxham, A. (2016). Pokemon GO Player Jumps on Subway Track to Catch Pokemon. Andriod Headlines. Retrieved 17/07/16 from https://www.androidheadlines.com/2016/07/pokemon-go-player-jumps-subway-track-catch-pokemon.html
Ross, A. (2017). Examining the potential for exercise and exploration in pokemon go. Massively Overpowered. Retrieved 20/01/17 from: https://massivelyop.com/2017/01/20/examining-the-potential-for-exercise-and-exploration-in-pokemon-go/

Present continuous passive