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How to teach prepositions

Unit 2

15:06

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Overview

Prepositions are one of the tricker grammatical concepts for children to grasp and so this video looks at how they can be taught clearly and effectively. Course creator Shareen Wilkinson begins with how discussing a word’s etymology can help pupils to understand its purpose. We then move on to prepositions of place, and the distinction between when a word is used as a preposition in a sentence, and when it might be a subordinating conjunction. And we cover how prepositions can also be fronted adverbials. Questions about prepositions can feature on the KS2 SATs papers, and this video explores some examples of this - including ones where children have previously performed poorly. Prepositions of cause are also known to present a challenge for pupils and so Shareen introduces some ideas to help clarify this. Riddles are shown to be a good practical activity for teaching prepositions as they guide children to unpicking the properties of different word classes, and we finish off by rounding up other strategies such as categorising, acting out through drama, and teaching grammar in context with a quality text.

Course Materials:

Presentation Slides - Download

.pptx file

Training Handout - Download

.pdf file

Course Creator

Image of Shareen Wilkinson

Shareen Wilkinson

An experienced primary school teacher and senior leader, Shareen currently runs a successful education consultancy in London. Working with LAs across the country, she has an extensive track record of raising standards in English. Writing and advising for Letts, HarperCollins, Rising Stars and OUP, Shareen also acts as a subject expert on reading and grammar for the DfE.

About the Course

These sessions focus on deepening and developing subject knowledge in primary English. Key areas (e.g. grammar, writing and spelling) are explored in depth, so that teachers can feel confident when delivering them in the classroom, and there are plenty of practical ideas to try too.

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