Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, K-3

In the BrainPOP ELL movie Five Dogs (L1U1L4), Moby is walking dogs in the park. As he tries to keep track of all the different dogs, students are introduced to simple adjectives and prepositions of place. In this lesson plan, adaptable for grades K-8, students will describe images and ask questions using prepositions of place.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Describe examples and images from the movie using prepositions of place.
  2. Ask questions using prepositions of place to locate specific items.
  3. Draw and describe a picture illustrating the prepositions in, on, under, and behind.

Vocabulary:

here, there, in, on, under, near, behind, where is, where are

Preparation:

Cut out the images of the Four Dogs.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. See It. Say It. While viewing the Prepositions section in the Grammar movie from Five Dogs (L1U1L4), pause after each preposition is stated. Prompt students to anticipate what the sentence will be that describes the image, before you continue the movie. For example, after Ben says, “In,” the students will say, “The bird is in the hat.” Then click play again for students to check their responses. Challenge students to think of more sentences with the five prepositions in, on, under, behind, near, describing the classroom or any pictures you may have.
  2. Where is the dog? Cut out the images of the Four Dogs. Hide one of the images somewhere in the classroom. Tell the students they have to find it by asking questions using one of the five prepositions in, on, under, behind, or near, just as Ben asked in the movie. For example, “Is it behind the door?” “Is it in the trash can?” The class continues asking questions until they find the dog. Play again, each time asking a different student to hide the dog.
  3. Describe It. Draw It. Ask students to draw a picture on a blank piece of paper, or with digital drawing tools, to illustrate the prepositions of place learned in this lesson. They may use additional words and images if they want, but they must include something that clearly illustrates one of the prepositions in, on, under, near, or behind. For example, some students may choose to draw a bush with a small dog behind it, while other students will draw a picture with more details. Tell them not to share their drawings with other students. When they have finished, ask students to describe their drawing to a partner who then draws the picture he hears described. After they compare their drawings, the students switch roles.