SUBJECT: ENGLISH — 8B — KA04 REVIEW
DEUTSCH SCHULE PRAG ● OBSERVATION IN PROGRESS
01 / 15 ← → SPACE to advance
Monitored
Klassenarbeit 04 — Review
THE
OBSERVER
EFFECT
Open the tool on your iPad.
We begin with a question.
Before we begin
"Are you behaving differently
because someone is in the room?"
Write your honest answer in the tool.
One sentence. No grammar target. No check button.
Definition
When you observe something,
you change it.
This is the observer effect. In physics, Werner Heisenberg described it in 1927: you cannot measure something without disturbing it.
In psychology, Edward Thorndike described the same principle in human behaviour. When people know they are being studied, they change what they do.
Note

This applies to particles. It also applies to people.
It may be applying to you right now.

Documented cases
Where does it happen?
  • 01 Speed cameras — drivers slow down, then immediately accelerate once past ████████████████████████████████████████ The driver slows down, then speeds up again. Did the camera change anything?
  • 02 Hawthorne factory, 1920s — workers produced more simply because they knew they were being studied ████████████████████████████████████████████████████ Nothing in the factory actually improved. So what caused the change in productivity?
  • 03 Wildlife documentaries — animal behaviour shifts near a camera crew ████████████████████████████████████ Can you film natural behaviour? Or does filming make natural behaviour impossible?
  • 04 This room. Right now. █████████████ —
Click or press space to reveal.
Discussion — Pairs
Turn to the person next to you.
Your exampleTwo minutes. Two questions.
01What changes when someone is being watched?
02Who has the power — the observer or the observed?
You have two minutes.
Language notice
How do we talk about
being watched?
When observation is the subject, the passive voice is the natural tool.
The action matters more than who performs it.
Active

Someone is watching us.

agent → action → receiver

Scientists conducted the experiment.

who matters less than what

Passive

We are being watched.

receiver → action — agent hidden

The experiment was conducted by scientists.

agent named with 'by'

Grammar — Passive Voice
The structure
subject + be (correct tense) + past participle + by + agent
Statement

The factory was monitored by scientists.

Cameras are being installed everywhere.

Question

When was the experiment conducted?

Who was it built by?

iPad — Part One
Passive Voice Practice 10 min

3 × active → passive rewrite with 'by'

3 × passive question formation

Type your answer. Tap Check.
Instant feedback on each.

All sentences use observer effect content.
The grammar follows from the meaning.
Transition
Drivers slow down.
They speed up again as soon as
the camera disappears.
Why as soon as and not when?
Why not after?
Conjunction choice is precision. Not decoration.
Grammar — Conjunctions
Know the difference
althoughcontrast — surprising result
thoughcontrast — softer
becausereason / cause
whengeneral time point
as soon asimmediately after
untilup to a point in time
beforeprior in sequence
afterfollowing in sequence
so thatpurpose / intention
just asat exactly the same moment
assimultaneous / because
Highlighted: most commonly confused in the exam.
Discrimination practice
Which conjunction — and why?
# Sentence Options
A ___ we knew we were being observed, we still acted naturally.contrast between knowledge and behaviour although / because / when
B Drivers slow down ___ they see a speed camera.timing: the moment of seeing triggers the action until / as soon as / so that
C The workers produced more ___ they knew someone was watching.the reason for the change although / because / just as
iPad — Part Two
Surveillance Notice 10 min

7 conjunction gaps — multiple choice

One tap per answer. No going back.

Same format as the Klassenarbeit.
Instant feedback.

Exam condition

Read the whole sentence before you tap.
Context determines the answer.

Whole class
Has anything changed
in this room
since we started?
No pairs. No groups.
The whole room speaks.
End of session
Who was the real subject
of today's observation?
Write your answer in the final box.
Use the passive. Use a conjunction.
No check button.
Klassenarbeit 04 — Wednesday
You are
ready.
  • Passive voice statements with 'by'
  • Passive question formation
  • Conjunction precision — not interchangeable
  • Hamburger structure in your writing
You were observed today.
You observed yourself.
The experiment is complete.
Submitted — anonymous