Julia Damion INTR 613
Microteaching #1: Form-Focused Instruction
Lesson Plan: Prepositions of Place
Context: Adult ESL class, high beginner
Text: Ventures 1, Unit 5: Around Town
Materials:
Worksheet for warm-up with vocabulary review
Place vocabulary flash cards
Several medium-size classroom objects (e.g. a book, water bottle)
Whiteboard & markers
PPT with Q & A
Information gap worksheet (2 versions)
Prepositions of place worksheet
Objectives: SWBAT…
o Comprehend prepositions of place (on, next to, between, across from, on the corner
of) and use with place vocabulary
o Be able to ask and answer “Where is the _____?” using prepositions of place and
place vocabulary
New material: prepositions of place (on, next to, between, across from, on the corner of)
Warm up (7-10 minutes):
Have students that are there complete a review sheet matching yesterday’s
vocabulary (places around town) to descriptions (e.g. Bookstore --- I buy books at
the_____”).
Review the corresponding vocabulary flashcards with the class- ask what the places
are and what you can do there.
Run through all vocabulary once quickly, students repeating chorally.
Introduction (1 min)
Explain that yesterday we talked about what we do at a place; today we are going to
talk about where they are.
Presentation of new material (teacher-directed) (10 minutes)
Demonstrate first with classroom objects. (E.g. book, water bottle, notebook). Ask:
“Where is the book? The book is next to the water bottle, between the water bottle
and the notebook). Each time introducing a new preposition, put it on the board.
Drill the prepositions, using the classroom objects as a guide. At this point, students
only need to produce the prepositions, not complete sentences.
Put 6 of the place vocabulary on the board in grid format; label streets between and
on either side of the vocabulary to create a simple map.
-----Microteaching will begin here------
Practice Activities
*Guided Practice (teacher to student) (12-15 minutes)
1) Have simple map on board with location names (bookstore, library etc.). Have
prepositions of place (on, next to, between, across from, on the corner) pre-written
to the right of the map, with space for sentences.
Focus students’ attention on the library (center top of map). Tell students we are
going to use the prepositions to talk about where the library is. Ask students “Where
is the library?” Gesture to the places around the library to elicit responses to each
preposition (e.g. “on Main St.,” “next to the school”). Work with students to create
complete sentences on the board using prepositions (“It’s on Main St., it’s next to
the school).
Ask students if the library is “On the corner” (It isn’t). What buildings are “on the
corner”? (There are four possible answers). Elicit answers from students and write
an example on the board.
Drill the completed sentences with the students.
Comprehension check: Ask students Yes/No questions about the places on the board
(e.g. “Is the library next to the police station”?). Ask the whole group, then call on
individual students.
PPT: Turn students’ attention to the PPT. Explain that we are going to do a Q & A.
One side of the room will ask the question, and the other side will answer. For the
next question, they will switch roles. Have students ask and answer all questions in
the PPT.
Go to the beginning of the PPT and have students say the questions and answers as a
group.
---- End of microteaching---
Communicative Practice (student to student) – Information Gap (12-15 minutes)
Tell students that we are going to ask more questions to find out where places are.
Distribute two versions of a map like the one on the board (erase/take off what was
covering the six squares, leaving them blank). The two distributed maps are missing
three different squares.
Demonstrate with a student volunteer. Have the student ask the teacher where the
library is. Say two sentences. E.g. “The library is on Main Street. It’s next to the
bank.”
Have students work in pairs to complete the information gap activity. The teacher
will circle and listen.
Evaluation/Closure (7-10 minutes)
Call up volunteers to do a Q & A for one location. Ask students if they agree with the
answers. Address any grammatical problems after the pairs have finished
performing.
Distribute a worksheet for practicing the prepositions (pictures of places with
accompanying sentences such as “The bank is _____ the hospital.” They can finish it
as homework that night.
