Prepositions vs. Conjunctions

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• List the following prepositions and conjunctions on the board: under, through, and, or.
• Read the student objective and define conjunction as a word used to connect two clauses (e.g. and, but, nor, or, for), and write the definition on the board.
• Define a preposition as a word that shows where something is or when something happened, and write the definition on the board.
• Write the following on the board: The teacher walked ____ the classroom.
• Read through the sentence, and fill in the blank with the correct preposition from the options listed on the board.
• Think aloud about your choice by placing some of the words on the line and reading the sentence. Eliminate the conjunctions because there are no clauses in between the blank. Reinforce the decision to use a preposition in this sentence by showing that the sentence mentions a location (i.e. the classroom).
• Read through the correct sentence: The teacher walked through the classroom.
• Explain that you chose this preposition based on the options given.

Guided Practice

• Ask students if they could have chosen another preposition (e.g. into or around).
• Allow a student to pretend to be the teacher and model what it would look like to enter the classroom or walk through the classroom.
• Write the following on the board: The teacher walked through the classroom _____ into the hallway.
• Tell the students to look at the options listed on the board and turn and talk to their partner about the right answer for the sentence.
• Ask one student to share their answer (i.e. and) and explain their choice.
• Allow a student to act out the sentence.
• Emphasize to students that the conjunction connected the two things the teacher did.
• Distribute The Pentagon Tour Tips and Tricks worksheet, read the directions, and complete the first paragraph with student volunteers giving their answers and explanations.
• Ask another student to restate the volunteer’s explanations.
• Assign the students A–B partners and tell them to complete the second paragraph in The Pentagon Tour Tips and Tricks worksheet. Tell the students you may choose them randomly to explain their answers.
• Choose non-volunteers to explain their answers on the page. Prompt them to share why they would use a conjunction instead of a preposition, and vice versa.

Independent working time

• Review the directions for The Pentagon Tour Tips and Tricks worksheet.
• Explain they will now complete the rest of the worksheet using the words from the word box.
• Tell students they may have to explain their answers to the class at the end.