4.1 Prepositions of time and place

Objectives

Students will learn the definition of prepositions. They will also learn how to apply the correct usage of the prepositions of time and place in , on , and at by following the rules of usage for each preposition.

The rules presented in this module for using the prepositions in , on , and at are the following:

Teaching strategies

It is recommended that the instructor review all material prior to teaching this lesson. In the slide show, a brief definition of prepositions is provided. Students should learn the definition of a preposition: prepositions link nouns and pronouns to objects and always introduce prepositional phrases. Students should also have prior knowledge of what a prepositional phrase is.

The PowerPoint presentation provides the above-mentioned rules for using in , on , and at in sentences using time and place . Two interactive practice slides (# 4 and # 8) offer an in-class activity for the instructor to present. Each practice sentence is animated individually so that the instructor can ask students to select the correct answer within the options that are given. After students respond, with a mouse click, the correct answer is highlighted.

Materials

In order to offer this lesson, instructors need a computer and a multi-media projector.

The following materials are provided with this module:

1. PowerPoint slide show
2. A hand-out of the slide show for students after they receive the lesson
3. A practice sheet with 20 exercises using in , on , and at
4. The answer sheet for the practice exercises using in , on , and at

Assessment

The authors recommend that the instructor distribute the practice sheet to the students as a pre-test prior to receiving the lesson. After completing the lesson, students should answer the practice sheet again as a post-test. In this way, instructors would determine whether the students master this objective or require additional instructional support.