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KISS Level 1. 5. - Adding Simple
Prepositional Phrases
| Note: If you are not familiar with prepositional
phrases, you might want to browse the instructional
material first. Note also that there are many ways of helping students
recognize prepositions. |
There are several approaches
to helping students remember the words that can function as prepositions.
These include games, paper flags with the prepositions on them (made by
the students), and a list of prepositions set to the tune of "Yankee Doodle."
You can find these in the Appendix to the Printable
Book for this level. In essence, this is a question of what works most
effectively for you and your students.
I usually give students the instructional
material on identifying phrases (See Exercises 1 ? 2,
below.), and tell them to study it and then have it in front of them
as they do exercises--until they no longer need it. Level 1.5 is
devoted to "simple" prepositional phrases in the sense that it avoids complexities,
such as the "to" problem that are the focus of KISS Level 2.2. Once they
learn to identify prepositional phrases, students should always begin the
analysis of a sentence by placing the prepositional phrases in parentheses.
Otherwise, as sentences become more complicated, they will incorrectly
mark the object of a preposition as the subject or complement of a verb.
Determining Your Objective(s)
Your primary objective should
be to work with students until they can put parentheses around every simple
prepositional phrase in any sentence. If you do not have the time to do
more than that, you shouldn't have any problem moving on to higher KISS
Levels. As the following overview of the exercises in KISS Level 1.5 suggests,
you should be able to skip the exercises devoted to writing and logic.
Consider, however, the style
of students' writing. In the 80s and 90s, for example, English educators
placed great stress on trying to get young students to write longer sentences.
Unfortunately, these educators had little sense of how writing "grows"
naturally. Nor did they pay much attention to prepositional phrases. The
odds are, however, that young students' sentences increase in length because
the better writers include more details by adding more prepositional phrases.
Eventually, I hope to study this statistically by exploring samples of
students' writing from the documents from state assessment reports. Many
states put scored essays written by students in these documents. It will
thus be possible to calculate the number of prepositional phrases (per
main clause) used by the students who received high scores compared to
those who earned low scores. Meanwhile, you can consider this yourself
simply by looking at these samples. For more on this, see the booklet on
KISS
Level 6.5 Statistical Stylistics.
An Overview of the Exercises
in KISS Level 1.5
Exercises
1 through 6 focus on identification.
Exercise 1 asks students
to fill in the blanks with prepositions and then identify the prepositional
phrases. The primary objective is to help students recognize words that
can function as prepositions. Note that you can have your students create
additional exercises for their classmates. They can select a short paragraph
and replace the prepositions with blanks.
Exercises 2 a ? b have
students identify the phrases and their functions as adjectives or adverbs.
In other words, in these two exercises students will be looking beyond
simple identification to exploring how phrases chunk (connect) to the other
words in the sentence. These two exercises (and the two later exercises
on logic) ask students to draw an arrow from the preposition to the word
that the phrase modifies. I would not, however, ask students to draw these
arrows in any other exercises. Once students have learned that prepositional
phrases chunk to other words in the sentence, drawing arrows to the words
that phrases modify becomes busywork and also clutters the analysis. Questions,
of course, should always be addressed, and the Analysis Keys to the KISS
exercises include notes on interesting or unusual cases.
In most cases, seeing how prepositional
phrases function as adjectives or adverbs to other words in a sentence
is relatively easy, but sometimes it is not. Denise Gaskins, a member of
the KISS list, offered the following suggestion for the difficult cases:
1. Read the sentence with the prepositional phrase.
2. Read the sentence without the prepositional phrase.
3. Identify where the meaning changes between the two
sentences.
In the sentence, “They had posted the first positive numbers
in over a year,” the word that changes meaning is “first.” Without the
prepositional phrase, it seems to mean “the first ever,” which is quite
a bit different from the original sentence. Therefore, the phrase modifies
“first.”
Accepting alternative explanations
is very important in dealing with prepositional phrases. Consider the sentence:
The ground was soon wet under the oak tree.
Some people will see the phrase "under the oak tree" as modifying
the predicate adjective "wet." Others will see it as modifying the verb
"was," and still others will see it as identifying what "ground" is meant
(and thus as an adjective to "ground"). One might easily argue that it
modifies all three. Thus any one of these answers should be accepted. The
important point is that each explanation meaningfully connects to another
word or phrase in the sentence.
Exercise 3 is a joke
that shows how prepositions without objects often function as simple adverbs.
Exercise 4 presents an
alternative explanation that lets students see that some prepositional
phrases can function as indirect objects--"They gave the award to James."
Exercise
5 - Compound Objects of Prepositions. In a sentence such as "They played
with Bill and Bob," many students will place parentheses around "with
Bill" and miss the compound -- "with Bill and Bob." This exercise reminds
students to watch for compounds.
Exercise
6 - Separated Objects of Prepositions. As students become more
mature writers, some of their prepositional phrases will have compound
objects and the objects themselves will be modified or otherwise elaborated.
The result can separate the later complements from the preposition. In
analyzing these sentences, students can become confused. To make the analysis
clearer for them, I allow them to write in *ellipsed* prepositions. For
example:
I have worked {for Bonanza} {in both Lock Haven
and Williamsport PA,} {*for* Burger King}
{in both Omaha NE and Williamsport PA}, {*for*
McDonalds} {in Birmingham AL}, {*for* Taco
Bell} {in Winchester VA}, and {*for* Papa
John’s Pizza and Joey’s Six Pack and Deli} both {on Washington Boulevard}
{in Williamsport PA}.
Exercises
7 through 13 all focus on writing and logic.
Exercise 7 asks students
to write sentences that include prepositional phrases with compound objects.
Exercise
8 - Rewriting Adjectives as Prepositional Phrases - is, as its name
suggests, aimed at helping students improve their syntactic fluency.
Exercise
9 - Sentence-Combining and Prepositional Phrases - builds on
the sentence-combining that students did with adjectives and adverbs in
KISS Level 1.3. To adults, these exercises may seem simplistic, but a major
complaint of many college professors is that students write sentences in
cement. They are, in other words, complaining that students never change,
never combine (or de-combine) a sentence once it has been written. These
little steps in KISS Level One are intended to accustom students to the
very idea of revising what they have written.
Exercises
10 (a ? b) - The Logic of Prepositional Phrases - introduce
students to David Hume’s three fundamental logical categories—identity,
extension in time and space, and cause/effect. Hume’s three categories
underlie almost all of the KISS connections between sentence structure
and logic. (For more on this, see the essay on David Hume in the Background
Essays.) As the next exercise suggests, this material is also intended
to help students write better.
Exercise
11 - Adding Prepositional Phrases of Time and Space - asks students
to apply some of what they learned from the preceding two exercises. Teachers
often tell students to put more details into their writing, but “details”
is a very abstract concept. Much of what teachers are looking for can be
supplied by prepositional phrases that logically “identify” other words,
or add information about the time and place in which the students’ stories
are set. Once students can identify prepositional phrases and see what
the phrases modify, the idea of adding “details” by adding prepositional
phrases is much more concrete. Logic can be a complicated question, but,
following Bruner's idea of a spiral curriculum, it can also be very simple.
Exercise 12 a ? b - Style
- Left, Right, and Mid-Branching Phrases - shows students how adverbial
modifiers can easily be moved "left" (before the S/V pattern), "right"
(after the S/V pattern) or "mid" (between the subject and verb) to add
variety to, and shift focus in, sentences.
Exercise
13 - Style - Sentence Models for Writing with Style - are short selections
that use prepositional phrases in interesting ways. It will take some time
to find additional exercises for different grades, but consider the following
from E. B. White's
The Trumpet of the Swan:
Louis liked Boston the
minute
he saw it from the sky. Far beneath him was a river. Near the river was
a park. In the park was a lake. In the lake was an island. On the shore
was a dock. Tied to the dock was a boat shaped like a swan. The place looked
ideal. There was even a very fine hotel nearby.
Students are asked to analyze the passage
and then try to write a similar passage on a topic of their own. Note also
that this passage is a beautiful example of parallel construction. The
second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sentences each begin with an adverbial
prepositional phrase, followed by the verb, which is followed by the subject.
Exercises
14 (a ? b) - Passages for Analysis - help students to see that what
they are learning applies to real texts.
Exercise
15 - Write, Revise, Edit, Analyze -- Describing an Event is the same
in each grade level. Students are asked to write a description of an event,
revise it (especially by adding prepositional phrases), and then analyze
their own writing.
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises:
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional
phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements
("PA," "PN," "IO," or "DO"). |
Probable Time Required:
For many students, this will require a lot
of practice. In part, it depends upon how quickly they can learn to recognize
the words that can function as prepositions, and how quickly they can learn,
and learn to use, the directions for identifying prepositional phrases. |
| Bunny Rabbit’s
Diary by Mary Frances Blaisdell
[ToC] |
|
|
| Exercise
3 - Prepositions as Adverbs |
| This is a joke that shows that prepositions by themselves
(without objects) often function as simple adverbs. The same joke is used
in each grade level. |
| Exercise
4 - Prepositional Phrases as Indirect Objects |
| In a sentence such as "He gave the flower
to June," some grammarians consider "to June" to be an adverbial phrase
that modifies "gave." Others consider "to June" to be a prepositional phrase
that functions as an indirect object of "gave." Either explanation is acceptable. |
| Exercise
5 - Compound Objects of Prepositions |
| A
Combination of the above from Pinocchio |
AK |
ToC |
IG2 |
Exercise
7 -
Writing Sentences with Compound Objects of
Prepositions |
| The same exercise is used in every grade level. |
|
|
Exercise
8 - Rewriting Adjectives or Adverbs
as Prepositional Phrases |
| Exercise
9 - Sentence-Combining and Prepositional Phrases |
| Exercises
10 a and b - The Logic of Prepositional Phrases |
The teaching of logic
is as troubled as is the teaching of grammar. Just like the pedagogy of
grammar, that of logic is mired in terminological questions. And, just
as the linguists who dominate the teaching of grammar love to "teach" advanced
topics and to ignore the basics, so do the professors of logic. But logic
can be simple. This is somewhat illustrated by the instructional material
(below) on "What Prepositional Phrases Can Add to a Text." This type of
instruction has long been included in grammar textbooks.
For reasons explained in the background essay
("An Introduction to Syntax and the Logic
of David Hume"), KISS prefers Hume's three categories (identity, extension
in time or space, and cause/effect) -- which are even simpler than what
is usually taught. The "Instructional Material - Basic" (below) shows that
it can be used even with second graders. It is therefore included here
in two versions, the second for older students. Teachers can choose which
of the three they want to use. |
| Instructional
Material - What Prepositional Phrases Can Add to a Text |
| Instructional Material
- Basic |
Instructional Material
- The Logic of David Hume
Directions for These Exercises |
| Exercise
11 - Adding Prepositional Phrases of Time and Space |
Exercise
12 a and b - Style -
Left, Right, and Mid-Branching Phrases |
|
Studies in Branching:
|
| Exercise
13 - Style - Sentence Models for Writing |
| Exercise
14 a and b -Passages for Analysis |
Exercise
15 - Write, Revise, Edit, and Analyze
-- Describing
an Event |
| This exercise is the same in every grade level. |
|
|
a.) Writing:
In approximately 75 words, write a story (narrative)
that describes something you did once during the last week. Choose something
that lasted no longer than a few hours -- an interesting ball game, lunch
with a friend, an afternoon in the library, fishing on Saturday afternoon,
a trip to the mall.
b.) Revising:
After you have written it, revise it by adding
adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases (especially adverbial phrases
of time and place, and descriptive adjectival phrases).
c.) Editing:
Edit what you have written for spelling, grammar,
and punctuation.
d.) Analyzing:
1. Underline the verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements
("PA," "PN," "IO," or "DO").
2. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional
phrase. Draw an arrow from the preposition to the word that the phrase
modifies. |
|
Suggestions for Teachers
At a minimum, students could read each others'
final papers. If you have more time, you might have them work in small
groups for the revising, in different small groups for the editing, and
in still different small groups for the analyzing. |
| Other
Exercises |
| These exercises were developed before the current
format of the complete books was established. They need to be modified
to fit the slots in that format, but you are welcome to use them as they
are if you think they will be helpful. |
| Different
Ways to Teach Prepositional Phases |
 A
Card Game for Memorizing Prepositions
from Crystal Bowser, Springfield, MO. |
| Memorizing Prepositions
with the Preposition Song |
| Identification
Tips |
| Fill-in-the-Blanks (Welty's "A Worn Path")
|
Preposition
Hide and Seek
from Irene Meaker, Ph.D., Lincoln, NE. |
Preposition
Map
from Irene Meaker, Ph.D., Lincoln, NE. |
Shoebox
Preposition Activity
from Irene Meaker, Ph.D., Lincoln, NE. |
| Treasure Hunts |
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