{"title":"Passive Voice & Banksy's Street Art","intro":"Describe how Banksy's artworks are created and what happened to 'Girl with Balloon' using passive voice (Present Simple and Past Simple)","level":"B1","blocks":[{"id":"b0","type":"warm_up","content":"Which picture best describes your mood today and why?","order":0,"warm_up_mode":"meme_grid","meme_items":[{"state_label":"","image_url":"/memes/meme-020.png"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"/memes/meme-021.png"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"/memes/meme-036.png"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"/memes/meme-006.png"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"https://i.pinimg.com/736x/90/c6/f8/90c6f8904bd57ffabf00ef52a6ba0e31.jpg"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"/memes/meme-016.png"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6b/05/ca/6b05ca62b9c38ab0fcc4a6c0936f5556.jpg"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b6/7f/4d/b67f4d0af9e92853741691dd50dbb330.jpg"},{"state_label":"","image_url":"https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/5c/3e/0b/5c3e0b5e71a75339e794b46b9e419964.jpg"}]},{"id":"b1","type":"open_question","content":"

Answer the questions.

What do you know about Banksy?
Have you ever seen a street art mural in your city?
How do you think street art is made?

Useful phrases:

Street art is created…
Murals are painted…
Banksy's identity is kept…

","order":1,"title":"Start the conversation","image_type":"visual_support","images":["/media/78ac4ca38a1a4de2b0c73a69923da8f7.jpg"],"image_source_urls":["https://images.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/urn-publicid-ap-org-ff08cc00011e40b28e71c3b35c4cdbe8Britain_Banksy_86372.jpg?d=2040x1406"]},{"id":"b2","type":"theory","content":"**Meaning:**

We use the passive voice when the action is more important than who does it, or when we don't know who did it. With Banksy, we often don't know exactly who painted a mural — so passive voice fits naturally.

\n\n**Form:**

be + past participle (V3)

\n\n**Examples:**

PRESENT PASSIVE — am / is / are + V3

Murals are painted at night.
Banksy's identity is kept secret.
Stencils are cut from cardboard.

PAST PASSIVE — was / were + V3

The mural was painted overnight.
The artwork was shredded at the auction.
The painting was sold for £1 million.

\n\n**Usage:**

Present passive — general processes, ongoing facts (how street art works in general).
Past passive — specific events, completed actions (what happened in 2018).

\n\n**Common mistake:**

~~The mural painted overnight.~~ → The mural was painted overnight.

~~Murals painting at night.~~ → Murals are painted at night.

","order":2,"title":"Passive Voice: when the action matters more","image_type":"grammar_explainer","images":[],"image_source_urls":["https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/lookaside/crawler/media/?media_id=1192808216293410"]},{"id":"b3","type":"vocabulary","content":"mural — a large painting on a wall, usually outdoors\nstencil — a thin sheet with a cut-out shape used to paint patterns\ngraffiti — writing or drawings made on walls in public places\nanonymous — without a known name or identity\nauction — a public sale where things go to the highest bidder\ncanvas — strong cloth used as a surface for paintings\nartwork — a piece of art, like a painting or sculpture\nto shred — to cut into thin strips, usually with a machine","order":3,"title":"Useful art collocations"},{"id":"b4","type":"media","content":"","order":4,"title":"Passive voice from TV series","media_type":"video","search_queries":["passive voice","passive voice examples movies series clips","passive voice real conversation examples native speakers"],"purpose":"usage_example","target_concept":"Passive Voice","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycxcgYUtGvE","images":["https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ycxcgYUtGvE/hqdefault.jpg"],"media_purpose":"usage_example"},{"id":"b5","type":"reading","content":"

Banksy is one of the most famous street artists in the world. His real identity is not known, and his work is often created at night, when no one is watching. Most of his murals are painted with stencils — pieces of cardboard cut into shapes — so they can be made quickly, before anyone notices. His art is found in cities all over the world: London, New York, Bristol, even Gaza.

In 2018, one of Banksy's most famous artworks, 'Girl with Balloon', was sold at Sotheby's auction house in London. The painting was expected to sell for around £200,000, but it was sold for £1.04 million. Just seconds after the sale, the painting was shredded by a hidden device inside the frame. The audience was shocked. Photos of the moment were shared on social media within minutes.

Later, Banksy revealed that the shredder was secretly installed in the frame years earlier. The partially shredded artwork was given a new name: 'Love is in the Bin'. It was sold again in 2021 — this time for £18.5 million. The act that was meant to destroy the art made it even more valuable.

\n\nQuestions on the text:\n1. How are Banksy's murals usually made?\n2. What happened to 'Girl with Balloon' right after the sale?\n3. Find one present passive and one past passive sentence in the text.","order":5,"title":"Banksy's 'Girl with Balloon'"},{"id":"b9","type":"open_question","content":"Imagine you are a news reporter. Describe what happened at Sotheby's in 2018. Use **passive voice**. Speak for **2 minutes** and include **at least 5 passive sentences**.\n\nSentence starters:\n- *The painting was auctioned...*\n- *The artwork was shredded...*\n- *The audience was shocked...*","order":7,"title":"What happened to 'Girl with Balloon'?","image_type":"visual_support","images":["https://cdn.sanity.io/images/cxgd3urn/production/ef14b39d28e7435ec87f5358955b903091ab5dbc-980x775.jpg?w=1200&h=949&q=85&fit=crop&auto=format"],"image_source_urls":["https://www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2012/05/03/CAIBTG4A5MWR5AS4WE2OXQ4FHU.jpg"]},{"id":"b6","type":"multiple_choice","content":"Choose the correct option.","order":6,"title":"Quick check","questions":[{"content":"Banksy's murals ___ at night.","options":["painting","is painted","are painted","paint"],"correct_answer":2},{"content":"His identity ___ secret.","options":["keeps"," is kept","keep","was keeping"],"correct_answer":1},{"content":"Girl with Balloon' ___ at Sotheby's in 2018.","options":["sold","was sold"," is sold","was selling"],"correct_answer":1},{"content":"Stencils ___ from cardboard.","options":["makes","made"," is made","are made"],"correct_answer":3},{"content":"The canvas ___ seconds after the sale.","options":["shredded","was shredding","was shredded","is shredded"],"correct_answer":3}]},{"id":"b7","type":"fill_gap","content":"1. Banksy's murals ___ (paint) at night, when streets are empty.\n2. His identity ___ (keep) secret by people who know him.\n3. In 2018, 'Girl with Balloon' ___ (sell) at Sotheby's for over £1 million.\n4. The canvas ___ (shred) just seconds after the sale.\n5. The artwork ___ (give) a new name: 'Love is in the Bin'.","order":8,"title":"Complete the sentences","options":["are painted","is kept","was sold","was shredded","was given"],"correct_answer":"are painted ... is kept ... was sold ... was shredded ... was given","gap_answers":[{"index":1,"answer":"are painted"},{"index":2,"answer":"is kept"},{"index":3,"answer":"was sold"},{"index":4,"answer":"was shredded"},{"index":5,"answer":"was given"}]},{"id":"b8","type":"open_question","content":"Think about how a Banksy mural is made. Using **passive voice**, describe the process. Talk for **2-3 minutes** and use **at least 4 passive sentences**.\n\nUseful phrases:\n- *The stencil is cut...*\n- *The paint is sprayed...*\n- *The mural is completed...*\n- *The artwork is photographed...*","order":9,"title":"Describe how street art is created","image_type":"visual_support","images":["/media/8478262aa09d47a89128338973174595.png"],"image_source_urls":["https://i.redd.it/banksy-style-mural-appears-in-charlevoix-over-the-fourth-of-v0-eu88codpslbf1.jpg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3654afff9ec46fd4bcfba67c4c3a8a2a7874a1f1"]},{"id":"b10","type":"homework","content":"

Write 8-10 sentences about a street art mural in your city (or an imaginary one). Use both present passive (to describe how street art is usually made) and past passive (to tell what happened to this specific mural). Use passive voice at least 6 times in total.

Include:

how street art is usually made (present)
when and where this mural was painted (past)
what materials are used or were used
how it was later discovered, removed, or preserved

","order":10,"title":"Homework","image_type":"visual_support","images":["/media/37f489f8115a464ab4d5ff99a46480d9.jpg"],"image_source_urls":["https://live.staticflickr.com/1752/42476944791_3f4bb3e58e_b.jpg"]}]}