Get Down with Prepositional Phrases

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• Explain that a prepositional phrase is a modifying phrase consisting of a preposition and its object.
• Refer to your earlier example (i.e. The dog sits under the table.) Underline the prepositional phrase—under the table. Tell students that this underlined part of the sentence is the prepositional phrase.
• Circle the preposition—under—and remind students that this is the preposition.
• Draw an arrow from the preposition to the object—the table—and tell students that this is the object of the preposition.
• Explain that the object is the noun that follows the preposition. In this example (the dog sits under the table) we can ask ourselves, "The dog sits under what?" The answer (the table) is the object of the preposition.
• Write another example on the board (i.e. A monkey eats at noon.)
• Have students turn to a neighbor and whisper the prepositional phrase. Call on a student to share the answer (at noon).
• Invite a student to come up and circle the preposition (at).
• Then ask, "The monkey eats at what time?"
• Have students shout out the answer (noon). Draw an arrow from the preposition to the object (noon) and say, "This is the object of the preposition."
• Point out that the phrase contains a preposition but does not end with a preposition. The object should follow the preposition, so a sentence will never end in a preposition.
• Provide additional examples as needed. Underline the prepositional phrase, circle the preposition, and draw an arrow to the object in each example.

Guided Practice

• Write a sentence on the board (i.e. The bird in the tree sings a tune.) Invite a student to come underline the prepositional phrase in the sentence (in the tree).
• Have students talk with a partner and identify the preposition in the underlined phrase (in), then circle it.
• Ask students, "The bird in what?" to prompt them to think about the object.
• Then, draw an arrow from the circled preposition to its object (the tree).
• Hand out the top half of the Language Arts Review Part 2 worksheet. (Note: You will not use the bottom half of the worksheet in this lesson).
• Go through the first example with the class. In addition to underlining the prepositional phrase, circle the preposition and draw an arrow to the object.
• Instruct students to work with a partner to identify the prepositional phrase, preposition, and object in each of the remaining sentences.
• When finished, invite a few students to share their work with the class.

Independent working time

• Hand out the Preposition Examples worksheet.
• Modify the instructions on the page by telling students that, in each sentence, they will need to underline the prepositional phrase, circle the preposition, and draw an arrow to the object.
• Have students complete the worksheet independently.
• Circulate and offer support as needed.