Using L.5.1 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson, students find prepositional phrases in order to add details and description to their writing.
Over, under, between and beyond
Fifth graders learn to spot prepositional phrases and explain what they do in a sentence. A preposition shows how a noun connects to the rest of the sentence, often telling where, when or how: The cat hid under the porch during the storm. Kids find the preposition, its object and the whole phrase, and learn that a phrase can describe a noun or a verb. They also use prepositional phrases to add detail to their writing. The click moment comes when kids learn that the subject of a sentence is never inside a prepositional phrase, which helps with subject-verb agreement.
Prepositions click when kids can see, act out and use them.
Model a sentence like "The box of crayons is on the desk." Cross out each prepositional phrase, and the subject and verb, "box is," stand out. Students then try this trick on their own sentences.
Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Try it withL.5.1 Fifth Grade Common Core LessonCommon Core LessonsOpen it →Give students a small object and call out prepositions like over, beside or between. They move the object to match. Then they write a sentence for each position.
Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.
Give a plain sentence like "The dog barked." Partners add prepositional phrases to make it vivid: "The dog barked at the mail carrier from behind the fence." Then share the best one.
Why it works: using clear, consistent math words out loud is one of the U.S. Department of Education's recommendations for elementary math.
Teacher favorites right now: L.5.1 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson.
A preposition is a word that shows how a noun or pronoun relates to another word, often by location or time. Common ones are in, on, under, over, before and after.
It's a group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun, called the object. "Under the bed" is a prepositional phrase.
Prepositional phrases add detail to writing and help kids find the subject of a sentence. That makes subject-verb agreement easier.
Hide an object and give clues using prepositions, like "It's behind the couch." Then let your child hide it and give the clues.
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