How to teach prepostional phrase to visual learners?
Answers
Answer:
The aim of the unit of instruction is to enhance visual literacy in order to
introduce students to prepositions as a part of speech and to familiarize students with the
functions of prepositional phrases in a sentence. The goal of the unit is to create an
alphabet book of illustrations representative of a variety of prepositional phrases.
Introductory comments for the unit of instruction should center on several ideas. First,
prepositions are considered quite simply, and most often, as “something in relation to a
log.” For example, the ball is above the log. Second, a prepositional phrase is comprised
of a preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. These phrases can
function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Third, the visual arts provide an excellent
way to envision the relationship between the preposition, its object, and any modifying
words. The procedure for the unit is as follows:
• Students begin by examining the illustrations in a variety of children’s alphabet
books, most notably Caldecott Medal and Honor Award winners, such as
Alphabet City (Johnson, 2006), The Graphic Alphabet (Pelletier, 2006), and Ape
in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals (Eichenberg, 1952).
• Then, students generate a variety of prepositional phrases derived from a given or
collaboratively selected theme. Themes that work best have the quality of being
illustrated simply and contain the names of objects, places, phrases, or persons
that begin with every letter of the alphabet. Some examples include foods,
monsters, cartoon characters, phobias, musical instruments, animals, plants, and
pirates, to name just a few of the themes I have used with my students.
• Using the chart provided in Table 1, students may be assisted in generating
outstanding prepositional phrases. To complete the chart, every student in the
class selects one of the letters in the left column. Any remaining letters might be
offered to students who wish to earn extra credit.
• Each student writes a list of nouns related to the theme in the left column. Again,
this task can be completed collaboratively if desired. The first letter of each noun
should begin with the assigned alphabet letter.
• Next, each student generates a list of adverbs and adjectives in the open spaces
along the top. The adverbs and adjectives can relate to the theme, but not
necessarily.
• Each student circles the prepositions in the middle of the table that make the most
sense with certain noun and adjective/adverb combinations and that provides the
best material for a simple illustration of spatial relationships. Students can use the
same prepositions multiple times throughout the entire alphabet book, if
necessary. The blank spaces provided in the right column are for the students to
insert other spatial prepositions, if they wish.
Explanation: