Passive Voice for Making Excuses
ESL Lesson PlansPassive Voice for Making Excuses

Passive Voice for Making Excuses

This ESL lesson plan focuses on practicing the passive voice through fun activities centered around making excuses. Targeted at B2-level learners, students will engage in discussions, sentence unscrambles, and role-playing exercises to create excuses using passive voice structures.

Skills

  • Shows a relatively high degree of grammatical control. Does not make mistakes which lead to misunderstanding.
Online Interactive
Based on CEFR
Fully Customizable
1

Warm-up

Look at a student's email, and discuss the questions in pairs.
Hi Miss Johnson, I just wanted to let you know why I wasn't at school yesterday. First off, my alarm somehow got turned off, so I overslept. Then, when I was finally getting ready, my sandwich was stolen by my cat, so I didn’t have breakfast. To top it off, the road near my house was blocked due to some construction, which delayed me even more. Sorry for missing class! I'll make sure to catch up on anything I missed. Thanks, Lee
00:29
1
Have you ever had a day where everything seemed to go wrong? What happened?
2
Are you often late? Do you often miss assignment deadlines?
3
Have you ever had to make up an excuse for being late or missing school?
4
Would you believe the excuses the learner made in the email?
2

More excuses!

3

Complete the dialogue

4

Poor excuses: role-play

Other lessons in this category

B1-B2
Explaining a House Issue to a Landlord

This lesson plan is ideal for B1/B2 learners who want to improve their ability to handle everyday situations with landlords and boost their speaking confidence. Students will learn practical vocabulary and expressions for discussing household problems. The plan includes reading comprehension practice and a final role-play to reinforce polite communication.

B1
Study Strategies: Solo vs. Group Learning

This ESL lesson plan explores the pros and cons of studying alone versus in a group for B1 teens and adults in a 60-minute session. Students will discuss effective study methods, watch a video to enhance listening comprehension, and engage in vocabulary exercises. This lesson encourages critical thinking on individual and group study preferences, focusing on listening and speaking skills through dynamic debates and discussions.

B2
White-Collar Crime

This ESL lesson plan focuses on white-collar crime, developing vocabulary and reading comprehension skills through group discussions and activities. Learners will explore key terms, read an article on financial crimes, and engage in speaking exercises to discuss crime and punishment. The 60-minute lesson helps students improve their understanding of financial crimes while enhancing vocabulary and speaking skills in a collaborative environment.

B2
Green Talk

This engaging ESL lesson plan is designed for teens and adults of B2 level to enhance reading and speaking skills. Structured around group discussions, students explore the environmental, economic, and health impacts of veganism. Activities include brainstorming, reading an informative article, filling in the blanks, online research, and sharing personal opinions. The lesson develops the ability to justify viewpoints and exchange factual information on a familiar topic. Perfect for sparking meaningful conversations about sustainable living!

A2
Applying for a Summer Job

This ESL lesson plan helps teens develop writing skills for job applications in an individual setting. Through a 45-minute session, students read and discuss common summer job opportunities, including babysitting, restaurant work, and camp counseling. Students then practice writing a sample application email, focusing on self-introduction and highlighting relevant skills.

C1
How to Speak So That People Want to Listen

This ESL lesson plan focuses on listening and speaking skills for C1-level adults in a 90-minute individual session. Centered around the TED Talk "How to Speak So That People Want to Listen" by Julian Treasure, the lesson includes activities such as fill-in-the-blank conversations, true/false statements, and video-based comprehension questions. Students will also reflect on communication strategies and write a personal action plan for improving their speaking skills, aiming to enhance both content delivery and vocal techniques.

B2
Prison Life and Rehabilitation

This ESL lesson plan focuses on prison life and rehabilitation targets listening and speaking skills in a group setting. The lesson includes matching quotes, a video clip from the show "Rectify," and discussion questions on rehabilitation and life after prison. Students will practice identifying main ideas, understanding details, and engaging in meaningful conversations. The structure promotes active participation and reflection on key topics.

B1
You Can Count On Me

This engaging ESL lesson plan helps B1-level teens explore the qualities of friendship through music and discussion. Students will learn key vocabulary, practice conditional sentences, and engage with Bruno Mars's song "Count on Me." The lesson plan develops skills in understanding song lyrics and forming meaningful connections while reinforcing group discussion and writing activities.