I begin the lesson by placing an empty box on a chair in the middle of the room. I ask the students to ball up a piece of paper and throw it towards the box. I ask the students to notice how some of the papers go over the box, some fall below it, and some in the box. I explain to the students that the words "over," "below," and "in" are prepositions that help tell where. Other prepositions that help tell where are in, of, on, and through. The preposition and the words that follow it are called a prepositional phrase. Next, we watch a Brainpop video on prepositional phrases and take the short quiz. (I discuss the quiz whole group and the students answer by showing me sign language - a, b, c, d.) (Click here to watch video.) Afterwards, I explain to my scholars that in today's lesson, we will explore prepositions that help tell where by playing a guessing game.
Students pair up. One student in the pair identifies an object in the room. That student gives three clues to the other student using prepositions that tell where in order to help the other student identify the object. For example, one student may identify a computer. The student may tell the other student the object in on a table. It is near the window. It is below the t.v. stand. The other student must try to guess what the object is. If they are unsuccessful on the third attempt, they switch roles. When a student accurately guesses the object, they get one point. The first student to get three points is the winner.
To close the lesson, I display the attached Powerpoint resource for my scholars to use as a guide as they prepare to go outside for a quick nature walk. I ask them to write freely as a journal entry about things they see. I ask them to be sure to use prepositions that help tell where.