Where Is It? Preposition Play
- Grade band
- K-1
- Duration
- 25 minutes
- Skill
- Prepositions (positional words)
- Standards
- L.K.1e — Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).
- Materials
- A small stuffed animal or toy
- Preposition picture cards (printable, included)
Learning objectives
- Students will be able to identify where an object is using a positional word.
- Students will be able to follow a one-step direction that uses a positional word.
- Students will be able to select the positional word that matches a picture.
Lesson procedure
- Warm-up (5 minutes) — I Do. Hold up a toy and place it in, on, and under a box, saying each positional word aloud as you move it. Ask students to say the word with you each time.
- Hide and seek (10 minutes) — We Do. Hide the toy somewhere in the room while students close their eyes. Give positional-word clues ("it's near the door... it's under something...") until someone finds it. Let a volunteer hide it next and give the clues.
- Follow the direction (8 minutes) — We Do. Give one-step directions using positional words ("put your hand on your head," "stand behind your chair") and have the whole class act them out together.
- Picture match (5 minutes) — We Do. As a class, look at the worksheet pictures together and decide which positional word matches each one.
- Share-out (2 minutes) — Closure. Ask a student to give the class a positional-word direction to follow.
Printable worksheet
Part 1: Where is it? Circle the word that matches the picture.
1. 🐱 sitting on a box is the cat: on or under the box?
2. 🐶 hiding under a table is the dog: on or under the table?
3. 🐦 sitting in a nest is the bird: in or by the nest?
4. 🐟 swimming by a rock is the fish: on or by the rock?
Part 2: Fill in the blank. Pick a positional word for each blank.
The ball rolled the couch.
My shoes are the door.
The cat jumped the box.
Part 3: Preposition cards. Cut apart the 8 cards below for the hide-and-seek game.
Background for the teacher
A preposition tells where one thing is compared to another — in, on, under, by, behind, near. At this age, the goal is purely physical and playful: kids show they understand a positional word by moving an object or their own body, not by naming the part of speech.
The most common mix-up is "on" vs. "in" for containers that are open (a bowl, a box with the lid off) — both can seem plausible to a five-year-old. Don't correct this as an error; use it as a natural moment to physically demonstrate the difference with a real object.
Differentiation
Support: Narrow the hide-and-seek game to three positional words (in, on, under) instead of eight, and always pair the clue with a matching hand gesture.
Extension: Challenge students to hide the toy and describe its location using two positional words in one clue ("it's under the table and near the window").
ELL support: Prepositions describing physical space translate directly into action — lean on total physical response (say the word, everyone moves their hand accordingly) rather than requiring students to produce the word themselves at first.
IEP/504 support: Use only 3-4 preposition cards instead of 8 for the hide-and-seek game, and allow a student to demonstrate understanding by moving the toy to the correct spot instead of stating the word.
Answer key (for teachers)
Part 1 — Circle the word. 1. on 2. under 3. in 4. by
Part 2 — Fill in the blank. Open-ended: any positional word that makes sense is correct (for example: behind, under, over).
Digital extension (optional)
For more positional-word practice, try a fill-in-the-blank story in Giggle Gaps, where kids fill in labeled blanks to build a silly story together as a family.