Description
Prepositions are commonly misidentified and are often overlooked. By introducing this knowledge early and providing repetition will make them writers with more command of the language and better grammar. This will provide a useful foundation as writing demands and grammatical expectations increase in the upper grades.
Sample Classroom Procedure / Teacher Instruction
1. Since this lesson covers a range from 1st to 3rd grade, you may need to introduce, briefly review, or extensively review nouns and verbs before introducing the prepositions.
2. After review of nouns and verbs, bring your class to the carpet and have them complete some silly instructions such as “Stand ON one leg. Put your hands BEHIND your back. Sit ACROSS from someone who has the same color shirt as you. Stand in FRONT of a person who has black shoes. Get BETWEEN two people who have something red on today. You may add others or change to fit your class environment/student dress. However, make sure you emphasize all the prepositions words.
3. Ask students if they know what a preposition is. Take volunteer responses, but clarify if needed, that prepositions are relationship words, they show the relationship between two objects, such as their hands and their back.
4. Teach this tip, “To check if a word is being used as a preposition, ask yourself “Where is the object in my sentence? For example, the shoes are on my feet. Where are my shoes? ON my feet. If you give an answer that describes a location, that is a preposition.”
5. Introduce Preppy the Penguin and Her Igloo. (Print these out or draw your own based on this example. Cut them out ahead of time, and put tape on one side.) Say, “This is Preppy the Penguin. She and her igloo are going to help us remember prepositions equal locations.” Place Preppy above the igloo. Ask “Where is Preppy?” The students should answer on top or above. Then place her below the igloo. Repeat in various locations, inside, outside, above, under, over, etc.
Common Core State Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.I
Class Sessions (30 minutes):
2-3 class sessions, depending on ability level of students and amount of time allowed for student discussion, clarification, review, etc.
Additional Resources:
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