Understanding passive sentences

Why is this important?
Understanding more complex sentences enables children to process more complex instructions and prepares them for using sophisticated structures which convey subtle differences in meaning. The passive voice is often quite challenging in terms of children’s grammatical development because they cannot rely on word order.

What to do

• Gather together some toys and everyday objects, e.g.

Two favourite dolls such as Batman, Barbie, Bob the Builder.
Cup, play food, sponge, brush, car, ball.

• Ask the child to listen to the instruction and then do the action, e.g.

‘Batman is fed a banana by Spiderman.’
‘The car is washed by Bob the Builder.’
‘Barbie’s hair is brushed by Dora'