Teaching prepositions and positional words is fun when you use games and other engaging activities. Little ones will eventually put pencil to paper, but let’s begin with some out-of-your-seat fun first! From Simon Says to a fun twist on musical chairs, these ideas will really get the ball rolling.
First though, let’s grab a quick library of books about prepositions. These can be used at any time throughout your study to help children identify positional words and understand how they’re used in longer contexts.
- Where’s Spot by Eric Hill – In this interactive flap book, the children follow along with Spot’s mom as she searches the house for her mischievous puppy. It’s a sweet little book for recognizing various prepositions like under, behind, and inside.
- Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman – This book takes me back to my own childhood, so we’ll just go ahead and call it a classic. It’s fun and perfectly simple, offering plenty of opportunities to identify beginning prepositions like in, out, and on.
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury – Speaking of classics, this book is an adventure for readers! Read it once just for fun. Then, on the second reading, join the family as you journey across, through, and over various landscapes.
PREPOSITIONS ACTIVITIES WITH GET UP AND GO-NESS
Young children don’t sit still for long, nor should they. I, however, am pretty good at it. But even my watch reminds me to stand up every hour, so obviously get up and go-ness is important for everyone. Before you pass out the prepositions worksheets, find a spot for these activities in your lesson plans.
- The Simons Say – This simple twist on Simon Says gives every child in the class a chance to be Simon. Standing in a large circle, hold one of the Simon Cards👆 and give an instruction using a preposition such as “Simon says wave your hands above your head.” After the children have followed the prompt, pass the Simon card to the right so the next person can be Simon. Coach the children to give an instruction that includes a preposition such as, “Simon says put one foot behind the other.” Keep passing the Simon card to the right until every child who wants a turn has had one.
- Obstacle Course – Set up an obstacle course in the classroom or out on the playground that includes activity stations labeled with prepositions. For example, “Crawl through the tunnel.” “Jump over the blocks.” “Skip around the tree.” “Walk under the slide.”
- Musical Chairs with a Twist – Instead of just removing chairs, call out prepositions when the music stops. This might sound like, “When the music stops, sit behind a chair.” Change it up each time. “This time, when the music stops, walk around a chair.”
- Body Position Game – Call out different body positions using prepositions. Some examples include, “Stand on one foot.” “Kneel between two friends.” “Sit under the flag.” “Lie down beside the bookcase.” Depending on your prompts, this can either be done all together or with one student volunteer at a time.
- Outdoor Nature Walk – Take the children on a nature walk and encourage them to notice things in their surroundings by using prepositional prompts such as, “Walk out the door.” “Find a flower in the garden.” “Run on the court.” “Skip through the grass.” “Sit under the tree.”
Note about The Simons Say Activity: I included four cards in the PDF so children can play in small groups. This version gives kids more opportunities to practice without having to wait so long for their turn.
ENGAGING ACTIVITIES FOR POSITIONAL WORDS
We like these GAMES and activities for learning preposition words. They aren’t necessarily out-of-your-seat activities, but they’re engaging in a way that keeps the children’s attention while reinforcing a wide variety of prepositions. Give these ideas a go!
- Building Blocks Challenge – Pull out your building blocks or LEGO pieces and challenge the children to follow the details of your positional directions. For example, “Put the red block on top of the blue block.” “Now, put the yellow block underneath the blue block.” “Put a green block next to the yellow block.” This is also a great exercise for developing active listening skills.
- Preppy Pix – Preppy Pix is our shortened name for preposition pictures. It’s sort of like a scavenger hunt meets the game of Pictionary. To play, give each child a plain piece of paper and have them fold it into fourths. Together, write a preposition at the top of each section. Depending on the age of your students, you may need to write these together. Then give them a direction for each word. For example, if you wrote beside in the first box, you might say something like, “Go find and draw something that is beside a window.” The kids can circulate around the room to find an object that fits your prompt and draw it. Then, for example, if you wrote above in the next box, you might say, “Go find and draw something above the door.” Keep going until the children have drawn something in each box. Don’t forget to save time for sharing.
- We Have – Who Has? – If your students have done an I Have – Who Has activity, then they’ll have no problem doing this MORE SUPPORTIVE VERSION.👇 We like to do this activity in pairs when there aren’t enough cards for each child, or when we need to pair a developing reader with a more proficient reader. That way, they can play together and coach each other as needed.
SPEAKING OF READING
We’re big fans of getting books into kids’ hands that they can actually read… even better if there’s an interactive component to each. These texts are perfect for K-1 children. Both are adorable, but WHERE IS MONKEY? is our favorite!
On each page, students decide between two prepositions or positional words to tell where Monkey’s body is in relation to the box. His facial expressions are hilarious and the children love reading their book when it’s all finished.
The other student text, Preposition Pairs, combines new content with what we already know about opposites. On each page, a pair of opposite prepositions match the illustrations, such as on & off, in & out, and above & below. It’s simple enough for the children to read and has been really helpful in working on new vocabulary with our ELLs as well.
PRACTICE PREPOSITIONS AND ASSESS
When your students are ready to do a little more writing, these WORKSHEETS can offer an opportunity for more practice or informal assessment. We’ve even used some of them during small group instruction so we can model more explicitly for those children who need a little extra support.
Hopefully, you’ve found something new for your lesson plans! If you have a book, or song, or activity you always use when teaching prepositions, share it with us in the comments section. We’re always on the lookout for fresh ideas to try with our students!
Happy teaching!
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