Prepositions relating to movement and

position - tips and activities

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Tips and activities to help you teach prepositions relating to movement

and position.
1. Gestures
Mimes and gestures are an obvious first step to clarifying many prepositions of movement. Here are some
possible actions and sentences you can use to clarify them.

 towards – walk towards a student; “I’m walking towards [Alonso].”

 through – walk through the door; “I’m walking through the door.”
 through – mime that you are swimming the breast stroke; “I’m swimming through the water.”
 into – reach into your bag “I’m putting my hand into my bag.”
 across – mime that you are looking both ways, then crossing a busy street; “I’m walking across the street.”
 over – make a chopping motion above your head; “It went over my head.”
2. Mime dictation
For this activity, you need to prepare a text that you can mime easily (that also contains several prepositions of
movement). There is an example below. Delete the prepositions of movement and make copies of the text for
the students. Do not give them the text yet. Read it once, making the movements yourself. Then ask them to
stand up and do the movements with you as you read the text a second time. Repeat this process, getting them
to say the text along with you a third time. Repeat the text with movement a fourth time with the students, but
quicker. If the students (and you!) are up for it, do it a fifth and final time. Then hand out the text and ask the
students to complete the gaps.

Sample text (a star* indicates where you need to mime an action and delete the preposition):

The robbery
The robber walked through* the doors. He looked around* the bank carefully before walking up* to the teller’s
desk. The robber looked over* his shoulder nervously. He put his hand into* his pocket and pulled out* his gun.
“This is a robbery! Put the money in* an envelope and give it to me!” he said. The teller, terrified, pushed the
money towards* the robber. The robber took the money and walked out* of the bank calmly. He walked across*
the street and got into* the car where his friend was waiting.

3. Minimal pairs
Many of these prepositions can be highlighted through the use of minimal pair sentences. Here are some
examples. Ask the students to try to explain the difference between the two sentences. They could translate
them both into their own language and compare. Are there similar prepositional differences in their language?
 What’s the difference between these two sentences?

1. A. Jenny walked to London.

B. Jenny walked towards London.
2. A. He drove his car into the wall.
B. He drove his car through the wall.
3. A. The young couple walked along the river.
B. The young couple walked across the river.
4. A. The politician walked across the room to say hello to all the people.
B. The politician walked around the room to say hello to all the people.
To make this task easier for the students, you could give them a follow-up sentence. They have to decide
which sentence (A or B) goes best with the follow-up sentence. Here are follow-up sentences for the above
examples.

1. She was very tired when she arrived! (matches with A)

2. He came out the other side and fortunately wasn’t hurt. (matches with B)
3. There was no bridge. (matches with A)
4. The people were in several different parts of the room. (matches with B)
You can make your own sentence examples.Anchor Point:bottom

Related resources

 Prepositions of time and place - article

An article on approaches to teaching the prepositions of time and place, at, in and on.
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 Prepositions of time and place - tips and activities
Teaching tips and suggestions for teaching the prepositions of time and place, at, on and in.
Type: Reference material
 Prepositions relating to movement and position - article
An article outlining teaching approaches for prepositions relating to movement.
Type: Reference material
Where’s my cheese? (IWB) lesson plan
revising some prepositions of movement
Posted on 12 December, 2011 by Simon Thomas
Level: elementary to pre-intermediate.
Ages: kids, teens and adults.
Type: competitive games; controlled and freer practice using worksheets.
Skills: speaking; listening.
Language focus: vocabulary and grammar – revising prepositions of movement.
Introduction: This is (hopefully) a fun series of worksheets to revise some
prepositions of movement (some of which can also be prepositions of place). Apart
from the revision itself, the main aims of the activities below are simply to use the
language in a foolishly humorous and team-building way, to make them easier to
remember, to encourage engagement with the language, and to strengthen feelings of
co-operation within the class.
Note: I wouldn’t use this activity to introduce prepositions of movement to your
learners, but to revise them only. This is because the worksheets contain a couple of
antonyms – as Paul Nation and other researchers have shown, learning very closely-
connected words together (especially synonyms and antonyms) increases memory
load, making them more difficult to remember than if you teach them at different
times. That said, it won’t be the end of the world if you choose to introduce these
prepositions all at once; it’s just that your learners are unlikely to remember them as
quickly and easily.
Materials:
 This series of worksheets, or

 This series of Smartboard pages (if you have a Smartboard interactive

whiteboard – see this page to download the Smartboard software).
Preparation:
 photocopy the worksheets or IWB pages, one per student in your class;
  you could also enlarge one copy of each sheet (if you don’t have an IWB) to
stick on your whiteboard (don’t forget blu-tack!), or make a transparency for
projection (don’t forget markers for the transparency!)

Procedure:
 Board or project the first picture (below), or hand out copies to your students.

As a class, ask them how many objects in the illustrated room they can name.

 If necessary, project or show the second picture (also below). Go through any
pronunciation patterns as necessary (remembering that the first word in a noun
 phrase usually contains the main stress).

 Pair your students and hand out the third sheet (as below). Ask each pair to
match the prepositions to the actions. Get class feedback, then hand out the
fourth sheet, which contains probable answers (though accept any others that
 would fit).

 Show the fifth worksheet (below). With the whole class, elicit where the mouse
can travel to get the cheese. Try to have your students using as many of the
 prepositions from the third/fourth sheet as they can.

 Put your students into groups of 3 or 4. Ask them to make the most complicated
route they can think of for the mouse to take to get the cheese. Set a time limit
(e.g., 5 minutes) and ask your students to use as many prepositions as they can,
and as many times as they can. It might be good to suggest a small prize for the
team which can produce the craziest route, using the most prepositions.

 When your students are ready, stop the route-creation activity. Ask each team,
in turn, to describe its route, while one student from that group draws the route
on the board (use the first or fourth picture for this). Award a point for each
preposition correctly used, and minus one point for each incorrect use. If the
group use all the prepositions on the board, award them five bonus points.

 Continue the activity with the other groups. The group with the most points at
the end is the winner and can claim their prize, if you have one (a small piece
of cheese?).

Follow-on activity:
  Design a route around the classroom or the school, using as many prepositions
as possible, or divide your class into two or three groups and get them to
prepare a treasure hunt for another group, leading to a counter – first group to
return the counter to class (when all groups have finished writing instructions)
is the winner. You may need to elicit the English words for items of classroom
furniture. One person calls out directions while another follows them – again,
you could turn this into a competition if you like.

The mouse ran the table to hide. (through / in / under)

2. The dog ran the garden to play. (into / onto / over)

3. The ship sailed the world. (round / through / over)

4. The train went the tunnel. (over / through / onto)

5. The paint fell the floor. (into / onto / round)

6. She broke her leg when she fell the stairs. (off / in / down)

7. The burglar made a mistake when he ran the policeman. (towards / under / onto)

8. I was tired after walking the hill. (through / into / up)

9. When the train arrived at my destination I got . (into / onto / off)

10. The horse jumped the fence. (over / under / down)

 What’s the Weather?
Lyrics by Rachel Sumner

This song is available on Rachel Sumner's Kindersongs.

What’s the weather, what’s the weather,

Like today, like today?
Look outside the window.
Look outside the window.
Can you say?
Can you say?

It’s a sunny, it’s a sunny, Sunny day, sunny day.

Go out in the sunshine. Go out in the sunshine. Play, play, play, play, play, play.

Cloudy.....

Windy.....

Rainy.....

Snowy.....

What’s the weather, what’s the weather,

Like today, like today?
Look outside the window.
Look outside the window.
Can you say?
Can you say?

How's the weather? [Weather gesture.]

How's the weather?
How's the weather today?
Is it sunny? [Sunny gesture.]
Is it rainy? [Rainy gesture.]
Is it cloudy? [Cloudy gesture.]
Is it snowy? [Snowy gesture.]
How's the weather today?
Let's look outside. [Put your hand above your eyes and look out the window.]
How's the weather?
Is it sunny today?
Let's look outside.
How's the weather?
Is it rainy today?
Let's look outside.
How's the weather?
Is it cloudy today?
Let's look outside.
Is it snowy today?
How's the weather?
How's the weather?
How's the weather today?
Is it sunny?
Is it rainy?
Is it cloudy?
Is it snowy?
How's the weather today? ♫

Prepositions of Movement or Direction:

Use of "to" Use of "into"

Use of "onto" To Preposition Practice

Back to Exercises

Prepositions that express movement toward something are to,

onto, and into. To, onto, and into can be defined in the same way as at,
in, and on (which explain the relationships of point, surface, area and
volume. See Prepositions of Place or Location.)

The most common preposition of movement or direction is to. To indicates

orientation toward a goal. If the goal is a physical one (the store, a party, the
kitchen, etc.), to shows movement toward that point. “Bailey ran to the
corner.” (He is running in the direction of the corner.) If the goal is not an
actual place, but is an action or a thought, to is used with another verb in the
infinitive form and expresses purpose (in order to). “We cleaned the house to
prepare for the reception” (We cleaned in order to prepare for the
reception.) Both meanings of the word to can be used in the same sentence: “Paul
went to Lucy’s house to deliver the gift.” (Lucy’s house is the physical
destination, and Paul's purpose is in order to deliver the gift'.)

Uses of "to":
a ) The preposition to is used as an ordinary preposition with verbs of
communication such as listen, speak, relate (as in telling someone
something), appeal (meaning 'pleading', not as in 'be attractive to')
 Betty began to speak on the microphone.

 Jonah started to listen to her, but his phone rang.

b) The preposition to is used as an ordinary preposition with verbs of
movement such as move, go, transfer, walk, run, swim, ride, drive, fly, travel.
 Maryann needed to drive to the cabin. She had planned to fly there, but then changed
her plans.
Note: All these verbs (except transfer) can be used with toward, as well as
with to. Be aware that to suggests movement toward a specific
point, and toward suggests movement in a general direction without
actually arriving at a specific goal or destination.

 I have to go home now. (I must arrive at my home.)

 Let’s walk toward the park. (Walk in the direction of the park; we may

or may not arrive there.)

 Brandon drove toward the seaside. (He was going in that direction, but

he may not actually go there at all.)

c) The preposition to can be added to a verb in order to create an infinitive. (to
walk, to think, to eat, etc.) This use of to shows: willingness, purpose, obligation,
desire, or intent.
 I will agree to let you join us. (I am willing to allow you to be with us.)
 She plans to leave on Saturday. (Her intent is to leave on that
day.)
 Ronnie wanted to have a leave of absence from work. (He desired
time off from work.)
 Annie had to teach when CC was ill. (Annie was obligated to
teach.)
The other two prepositions of direction are compounds formed by adding to: on +
to = onto: signifies movement toward the top of a surface; in + to = into:
signifies movement toward the interior of something. With some action
verbs, on and in have a directional meaning and may also be used, but not in every
instance.
 Shawn climbed in/into the bathtub. (Both in and into are correct. Choose one.)
The difference between the compound prepositions into and onto and
the simple prepositions in and on is that the compound prepositions
indicate the completion of an action, and the simple prepositions show the
position of the subject as a result of that action.
 Patricia fell onto the ground. (completion of the action of falling)

 Patricia is on the ground. (position of Patricia)

 Mario jumped into the river. (completion of the action jumped)

 Mario is in the river. (position of Mario)

Uses of into:
Remember that into shows completion of an action, in shows the position of
the object as a result of an action.
 Connie put the vase into the sink. The vase is in the sink.
 Harriet threw her coat into the closet. Her coat is in the closet.
 The chef put the soup bones into the pot. The bones are in the pot.
 a) With verbs expressing motion, into and in are may be used
interchangeably except:
 when the preposition is the last word in the sentence
 when it comes directly in front of an adverbial. (An adverbial or an adverbial
clause provides information about when, why, or how something happens). In those cases,
only in is correct.
 Don went into the library.
 Don went in. (not into, because in is the last word in the sentence)

 They drove into the garage at 6 p.m.

 They drove in yesterday. (yesterday is an adverbial showing when, so in is
the correct preposition to use.)
Note: Into may be used as the last word (with the exception of the
adverbial) in a question that asks who, when, what about the subject.
 What sort of mess has the dog gotten into now? (now is an adverbial
showing when)
 Now, what sort of mess did the dog get in?
b) Using in or into with the verb move:
move in followed by a clause showing reason or purpose that
indicates approaching. Move in is a phrasal verb and is sometimes an idiom.
 The patrol moved in to report artillery positions.
The gangsters moved in to take over the town.

When into is used with move, it's used as an ordinary preposition and
means moving something from one place to another:
 She moved all her clothes into a different closet.

 Let’s move into the living room where we can be more comfortable. (simply means 'go')
 We will move into the new house by the end of the month. (bring all
belongings and take possession of the house.)

Uses of onto:
a) With verbs of motion, onto and on are usually interchangeable.
 Daniel bounced on/onto the floor.
 Peter climbed on/onto the fence.
Note: Some motion verbs indicate that the subject causes itself or some other
object to be located in a specific place. Some of these verbs can only be used
 with on. Others can be used with both on and onto. There are also times
when the word "add" is used alone, or used with the word to.

 The cat landed on its feet after the fall. (not onto its feet)

 Louis hung his pants on the line to dry. (not onto the line)

 Dick spilled the soup on his shirt. (not onto his shirt)

 Heather threw her coat on/onto the bed.

 The birds scattered the seeds that had fallen on/onto the ground.

 They are adding another employee at the factory.

 She wants to add to the wedding invitation list.
 "Your behavior is adding to my stress," warned Mother.
I would like to have one more room added to/onto the house.

Important note: Simple prepositions can combine with verbs, but
compound prepositions cannot!

b) With verbs showing a stationary position, on or in are used as the

ordinary meanings of those prepositions.
 The car is in the driveway.

 The cat is in the garage

 William is in the barn.

 Megan is on the couch.

 Pete is on the ladder.

 The newspaper is on the table.
c) There are other verb/preposition combinations which mean "continuing or
resuming an action" when they are used in an imperative sentence. These
combinations are used only with on,except for hang, which takes
both on and onto. Some of these combinations are idiomatic. In this exercise, only
the regular meanings are being used: hang on (or onto = continue to grasp
tightly), carry on = continue/resume doing what you were doing, dream
on = continue dreaming, lead on = continue/resume leading us.

Prepositions of Movement or Direction:

 Use of "to" Use of "into"

Use of "onto" To Preposition Practice

Back to Exercises

Prepositions that express movement toward something are to,

onto, and into. To, onto, and into can be defined in the same way as at,
in, and on (which explain the relationships of point, surface, area and
volume. See Prepositions of Place or Location.)

The most common preposition of movement or direction is to. To indicates

orientation toward a goal. If the goal is a physical one (the store, a party, the kitchen,
etc.), to shows movement toward that point. “Bailey ran to the corner.” (He is
running in the direction of the corner.) If the goal is not an actual place, but is
an action or a thought, to is used with another verb in the infinitive
form and expresses purpose (in order to). “We cleaned the house to prepare for the
reception” (We cleaned in order to prepare for the reception.) Both meanings
of the word to can be used in the same sentence: “Paul went to Lucy’s
house to deliver the gift.” (Lucy’s house is the physical destination, and Paul's
purpose is in order to deliver the gift'.)

Uses of "to":
a ) The preposition to is used as an ordinary preposition with verbs of
communication such as listen, speak, relate (as in telling someone
something), appeal (meaning 'pleading', not as in 'be attractive to')
 Betty began to speak on the microphone.
 Jonah started to listen to her, but his phone rang.
b) The preposition to is used as an ordinary preposition with verbs of
movement such as move, go, transfer, walk, run, swim, ride, drive, fly, travel.
 Maryann needed to drive to the cabin. She had planned to fly there, but then changed
her plans.
Note: All these verbs (except transfer) can be used with toward, as well as
with to. Be aware that to suggests movement toward a specific
point, and toward suggests movement in a general direction without
actually arriving at a specific goal or destination.

 I have to go home now. (I must arrive at my home.)

 Let’s walk toward the park. (Walk in the direction of the park; we may
or may not arrive there.)
 Brandon drove toward the seaside. (He was going in that direction, but
he may not actually go there at all.)

c) The preposition to can be added to a verb in order to create an infinitive. (to

walk, to think, to eat, etc.) This use of to shows: willingness, purpose, obligation,
desire, or intent.
 I will agree to let you join us. (I am willing to allow you to be with us.)
 She plans to leave on Saturday. (Her intent is to leave on that
day.)
 Ronnie wanted to have a leave of absence from work. (He desired
time off from work.)
 Annie had to teach when CC was ill. (Annie was obligated to
teach.)
The other two prepositions of direction are compounds formed by adding to: on +
to = onto: signifies movement toward the top of a surface; in + to = into:
signifies movement toward the interior of something. With some action
verbs, on and in have a directional meaning and may also be used, but not in every
instance.
 Shawn climbed in/into the bathtub. (Both in and into are correct. Choose one.)
The difference between the compound prepositions into and onto and
the simple prepositions in and on is that the compound prepositions
indicate the completion of an action, and the simple prepositions show the
position of the subject as a result of that action.
 Patricia fell onto the ground. (completion of the action of falling)
 Patricia is on the ground. (position of Patricia)
 Mario jumped into the river. (completion of the action jumped)
 Mario is in the river. (position of Mario)

Uses of into:
Remember that into shows completion of an action, in shows the position of the
object as a result of an action.
 Connie put the vase into the sink. The vase is in the sink.
 Harriet threw her coat into the closet. Her coat is in the closet.
 The chef put the soup bones into the pot. The bones are in the pot.
a) With verbs expressing motion, into and in are may be used
interchangeably except:
 when the preposition is the last word in the sentence
 when it comes directly in front of an adverbial. (An adverbial or an adverbial
clause provides information about when, why, or how something happens). In those cases,
only in is correct.
 Don went into the library.
 Don went in. (not into, because in is the last word in the sentence)
 They drove into the garage at 6 p.m.
 They drove in yesterday. (yesterday is an adverbial showing when, so in is
the correct preposition to use.)
Note: Into may be used as the last word (with the exception of the
adverbial) in a question that asks who, when, what about the subject.
 What sort of mess has the dog gotten into now? (now is an adverbial
showing when)
 Now, what sort of mess did the dog get in?
b) Using in or into with the verb move:
move in followed by a clause showing reason or purpose that
indicates approaching. Move in is a phrasal verb and is sometimes an idiom.
 The patrol moved in to report artillery positions.
The gangsters moved in to take over the town.

When into is used with move, it's used as an ordinary preposition and
means moving something from one place to another:
 She moved all her clothes into a different closet.
 Let’s move into the living room where we can be more comfortable. (simply means 'go')
 We will move into the new house by the end of the month. (bring all
belongings and take possession of the house.)

Uses of onto:
a) With verbs of motion, onto and on are usually interchangeable.
 Daniel bounced on/onto the floor.
 Peter climbed on/onto the fence.
 Note: Some motion verbs indicate that the subject causes itself or some other
object to be located in a specific place. Some of these verbs can only be used
with on. Others can be used with both on and onto. There are also times
when the word "add" is used alone, or used with the word to.

 The cat landed on its feet after the fall. (not onto its feet)
 Louis hung his pants on the line to dry. (not onto the line)
 Dick spilled the soup on his shirt. (not onto his shirt)
 Heather threw her coat on/onto the bed.
 The birds scattered the seeds that had fallen on/onto the ground.
 They are adding another employee at the factory.
She wants to add to the wedding invitation list.
 "Your behavior is adding to my stress," warned Mother.
 I would like to have one more room added to/onto the house.
Important note: Simple prepositions can combine with verbs, but
compound prepositions cannot!

b) With verbs showing a stationary position, on or in are used as the

ordinary meanings of those prepositions.
 The car is in the driveway.
 The cat is in the garage
 William is in the barn.
 Megan is on the couch.
 Pete is on the ladder.
 The newspaper is on the table.
c) There are other verb/preposition combinations which mean "continuing or
resuming an action" when they are used in an imperative sentence. These
combinations are used only with on,except for hang, which takes
both on and onto. Some of these combinations are idiomatic. In this exercise, only
the regular meanings are being used: hang on (or onto = continue to grasp
tightly), carry on = continue/resume doing what you were doing, dream
on = continue dreaming, lead on = continue/resume leading us.
 Prepositions of Movement
The most common preposition of movement is to, but there are lots of others.
up down across

up the stairs down the stairs across the road

up the hill down the hill across the river
over under along

over the bridge under the bridge along the street

over the hill under the table along the river
into out of through

into the house out of the house through the town

into the garden out of the garden through the door
past round/around from ... to ...

past the house round the tree

round the park from A to B
past the cat

Be careful with verbs like fall. My students often say "I fell down", but really they
mean "I fell over" - look at the movement and you'll see why.

Also, be careful of the difference between across(preposition) and cross (verb),

and past (preposition) andpass (verb).
I walked across the road.
I crossed the road.
I walked past your house.
I passed your house.
Most influencial

It’s September again. The air is cooler, the sky looks grayer, and the trees we are documenting feverishly
on PhillyTreeMap.org are going to burst into color soon. It’s also the month when every young software-
engineer-to-be packs her or his backpack and trudgesbleary-eyed off to school again. For this month’s
newsletter, we thought it pertinent to reflect back on the teachers who helped make us who we are today,
before we had ever touched Django and JavaScript, or OpenLayers.

Andrew Thompson – For me there are several, including my Mock Trial advisor Maria DaFonte and English
teacher Alex Cunningham (I still remember Caedmon’s Hymn), but to pick one it would have to be my 10th and
11th grade US history teacher, Bradley Durnell. He had the inspiration to take our class to both Gettysburg for
the 144th anniversary of the Civil War battle, and Washington, DC where we received a tour of the Capitol from
our congressman. But, I remember Mr. Durnell most because he taught me how to write well, period. After a
year of timed essays, harsh critiques and awful grades, I left high school with a love of wordsmithing that gives
me joy every day at Haverford College, our student newspaper, and working at Azavea!

Amy Trahey – I would have to say my most influential teacher was my eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Leonard.
My class was extremely small; therefore it gave her the ability to work closely with everyone. Her words of
wisdom, encouragement, and sincerity allowed me to go into high school level-headed and aware of what I
want to do with my future. She really made all of us quite comfortable with the fact that we were growing up
and changes were going to happen every day. I wish I could thank her today for all of the wonderful days we
spent together!

Carissa Brittain – Dr. Howard Stephens was my Marching, Concert and Orchestra instructor for 4 years. He
pushed me into a position of leadership before I thought I was ready, but at the same time offered me all the
support I needed to meet his demands for excellence. He was my first teacher to both demand and earn my
respect rather than simply assume it.

David Middlecamp – I remember at least half a dozen teachers who influenced me the most. They were
thoroughly prepared, imaginative, caring, enthusiastic, inspirational, and life-savers (you know who you are). I
am very grateful for their support and impact on my life. As a side note, students should be allowed to write
software to solve their homework for them (where applicable). It’s a much better way to understand the
material, and build problem solving skills than simply doing “exercises 10-30.”

Mary Johnson – My most influential teacher was also my spiritual mentor and a very dear friend for many
years. Father Joseph Austin Graff’s life lessons in humility, kindness, generosity, and grace have had a
profound impact on every aspect of my life and provided an example that I will always aspire to but never quite
achieve.
Mike Tedeschi – My high school had a strong focus on visual communications, and Judy Sobko was the
reason I decided to go to school for design (she taught the design classes—most were better than college-level
courses). Not only was she one of the best teachers I ever had, she continues to be a source of inspiration as
a friend and mentor.

Rachel Cheetham-Richard – Mademoiselle Miquies, my first grade teacher. She was a hardcore old-fashion
no-nonsense teacher. She made us read aloud at the blackboard in front of everybody while we’d have to point
to each word we read with a long heavy stick. She had the voice power of a large man and rarely smiled. But
she loved and respected us. She taught me how to read, write, and count: the basis of everything else that
followed. I am forever grateful for her patience and dedication.

Sarah Pierro – I’ll always remember my fourth grade, social studies teacher, Mr. Palmer, as being my
most influential teacher. He was a nature enthusiast. He would reward the students with hand-picked beaver
sticks instead of “great job” stickers. Mr. Palmer also enjoyed teaching everything there is to know about
maps. His love and appreciation for maps and the environment inspired me to focus my studies and career in
the geography field.

Tamara Manik-Perlman – José Cazares, my high school social studies teacher, introduced me to some of the
most exciting strains of thought and armed me with the intellectual tools to approach the world critically. By
giving us tough primary sources– such as Marx’s Economic & Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844— and helping
us work through them, he built up my confidence in my capacity to tackle any text or idea. And by introducing
me to critical theory and the thinkers of the Frankfurt School, he forever changed the way that I understand
culture, capital, and the world around me.

My Most Influential Teacher

By John P. Moglia

This is a tough topic. I need to be careful in separating most

influential with favorite. There are several teachers I liked and
respected. How influential they were, I don't know? Looking back there
were teachers I liked, but didn't respect and teachers I respected, but
didn't like. Is it the teacher that all the kids liked and thought was cool
the most influential. Is it a teacher I respected? Is the teacher I feel I
learned the most from, the most influential? All of these are important
factors.
 I think some of the teachers that were "cool" played a part in me
wanting to be a teacher. They were fun people. I think that is why I
liked them and thought they were cool. I saw them as people, not just
teachers. They would talk to you and be interested in you and ask how
you were doing. You could joke around with them. At the time these
were my favorite teachers. I remember thinking that I wanted to be a
teacher, because I liked those teachers so much. It is important to ask;
from which of these teachers did I learn? Was it from these cool
teachers I learned the most? As an educator, student learning takes top
priority, so there is more to it than just being a cool teacher.

I probably learned more from the teachers I respected than the

ones I thought were cool. It was until college that I considered this very
important. I wasn't the best of students through out grade school, junior
high or high school. Fun was much more important to me. As a
freshman in college, I had a teacher who for the first time made me feel
like I needed to do my best. I took every assignment in his class very
seriously and it took top priority over my fun (or at least equal priority).

Unfortunately I do not remember his name or even the name of

the class, but when ever I am asked the question of most influential
teacher or who and when did learn the most, his class jumps to mind. It
was an English class of sorts. I was let into Western Michigan
University on sort of an academic probation basis. I think everyone who
was in this boat had to take this class. The class was a ton of work with a
lot of papers to be turned in. But, I busted my rear in that class and got
straight A’s. The basis of all the work was “What do you want to do
with your life”. All the papers revolved around that occupation. That
was when I decided, “to hell with the pay check, I want to teach”. I
don’t remember necessarily “liking” the Prof, but I sure did respect
him. The way he presented the lessons almost made me feel like a low
life if I didn’t do a good job. It was like this is your future you are
writing about, you had better take it seriously. I thanked him at the end
of the semester. (*The above was taken from an essay I wrote in
CEP800, Thriving and Struggling as a Learner.) I was even asked for
help by a girl in my dorm since I was getting A's on all my papers. No
one ever asked me for help before, unless it was to draw something. I
remember thinking, how cool this was. Plus I ended up going out with
her for a while, I never thought doing well in class would get me dates.
It is hard to determine which of my two favourite teachers was my most influential. Mr.
Polonio was my grade eleven history teacher. His humourous attitude and laid back
approach made attending class interesting and entertaining. We were always pleasently
surprised when Mr. Polonio would walk into class dressed as a Roman or other
character in order to teach us that day. He would often incorporate music into his
lessons and instead of talking or lecture would sing us a song or have us sing along
with him about the information we needed to know. My grade 12 economics teacher
held a different approach, Mr. Stillo was very reserved and easy-going. He presented
his information effectively and accurately. He calmly directed the class with ease and
we were always captivated by the information he presented to us. His willingness to
help students was clearly visible because he often stayed after class to explain
information to students who had not quite grasped the concepts of the lesson.

Sean Kelly [seankelly]

My grade 6 & 7 teacher, Mr. O'Connor, was a teacher that I have often considered to be
my primary inspiration for getting into education. This is primarily due to the fact that
though I don't remember any specific lessons on math, english or similar, he taught our
class a number of social justice lessons that have stuck with me. He was also a teacher
that had excellent classroom management skills, as he rarely displayed signs of
aggravation, but we could still tell when he was disapproving in our behaviour. Due to
my enormous amount of respect for him, I was more motivated to achieve and to listen
to what he had to offer.

Julie Zimmerman [juliezimmerman]

The first teacher that comes to mind when I reflect on my years at a student is my
Grade 12 philosophy teacher, Mr. Sampson. Mr. Sampson is undoubtedly the one
teacher who has had the greatest influence on my life.
His teaching methods and compassion for his students has not only shaped the way I
learn, but has shaped the way that I think about the learning process as a whole. In
addition to the continuous compassion and patience Mr. Sampson exhibited towards his
pupils, his student-centered approach to learning is what defined his special abilities as
an educator.
A major component of his approach to learning involved enabling students to take
ownership of their own learning by requiring each student to reflect and critically
analyze their own comprehension strategies and reasoning processes.
This type of learning was generally accomplished by presenting students with a
meaningful philosophical question, allowing students to discuss the question in partners
or in groups and to arrive and his or her own conclusion before engaging in a class
discussion.
During class discussions, Mr. Sampson would help students explore the reasoning and
logic behind the various student-generated perspectives developed by the class, rather
than simply accept or reject our answers based on validity.
By allowing students to reflect on their thinking strategies rather than simply endorsing
“correct” or “good” responses, Mr. Sampson inspired a insightful form of learning that
greatly influenced the development of my own metacognitive skills. By encouraging us
to deconstruct our own thinking and asking us how or why we understood each logical
piece of our understanding, he made us feel responsible and accountable for our own
learning. He placed a much greater emphasis on process rather than product.
Gaining the ability to understand why and how I was thinking not only enriched the way
learned in philosophy class, but also influence the way I learned in all subject areas.
Since Mr. Sampson’s class, the development of metacognitive monitoring skills has
greatly shaped my perception of the world, and has directly influenced my teaching
philosophy and strategies.

Catherine McCuaig [catherinemccuaig]

My most influential teacher of all time, also a graduate from teachers college at
Nipissing, was my grade two teacher Mrs. Daiter. It was her first time teaching and she
made such a profound impact on my attitude towards school and teaching that I am
still in contact with her twenty years later.

My anxiety towards school started at an early age, I have always been concerned that
teachers were placing judgement on me through my marks, and I wanted to impress
people but felt that I had to get good marks in order to accomplish that goal. She was
able to show me that by caring about me, and wanting me to succeed made me more
comfortable and safe in her classroom. In the teaching she collaborated with the other
grade two teachers making recycled paper, creating kites and letting us learn with
students that were outside of our classroom. She reinforced the importance of being
excited about whatever you are doing. I remembered realizing that you could learn
through playing that year. She took us on explorations and allowed us to be creative.
She made math problems fun with a flip card reader she made out of cardboard. She
made literacy enjoyable by teaching us the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff in a rap
that we later performed to our parents on meet the teacher night. Mrs. Daiter shared
her culture with us by making us potato latkes at the holiday season.

I wanted to participate in everything she was involved in, she did auditions for the
school musical. Due to her involvement I auditioned for the school musical where I was
a monkey, and the following year I was the lead in the school musical. We both enjoy
performance arts and theatre. She advocated for her students, and exposed us to new
learning opportunities that we thought was just playing. Mrs. Daiter instilled in us, at
grade two, the importance of personal accountability and taking ownership of our work
and our accomplishments and being proud of them. She brought in guests from outside
of the school to talk to us, and teach us new and exciting things. We went on local field
trips, one of which included the hospital to see the work that people were doing in the
community while we were making paper mache and doing spelling tests. She taught me
that I could make a positive impact in the world, and that she believed in me and my
abilities, which made me a stronger, happier, more confident student. This teacher's
smile was contagious, and her enthusiasm towards teaching, and pride in her students
was evident.

Julia Hengstler [jhengstler]

I've had a few over the years:

1) an honors biology teacher in grade 9 who arranged for me to do original independent
research on hominid biometrics at the American Museum of Natural History (New York
City)--she fed my interest in science and research
2) an honors English teacher in grade 9 who had us dress up in togas to do Julius
Ceasar & who signed me up for track--despite me not wanting to do it! He was my
coach for several years later and would take me to other districts for coaching as my
events (shot put, discus) were not his specialty. He had a joy in what he did that was
engaging. He not only had me interested in literature from the way he brought it to life,
but he extended my horizons re. sports. I ended up throwing shot put and discus--and
later hammer and javelin--through my undergraduate college years.
3) 2 of college/university professors who challenged me to do my personal best and
were there to support interests and ideas that extended beyond the classroom and
spanned subjects both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Prepositions of Movement

Choose the best preposition to complete these sentences.

...
I jumped the swimming pool.
 ...
Every morning I go jogging the beach.
...
I ran the beach and into the sea.
...
I climbed the bath when I'd finished washing.
...
The burglar jumped the garden fence.
The road was closed so we couldn't drive through the town centre, we had to go
...
it.
...
I went the kitchen to make a sandwich.
...
He climbed the ladder to clean the second floor windows.
...
I didn't see the dog lying on the floor, and I fell it.
...
I dropped a £1 coin and it rolled the sofa so I couldn't find it.
...
We drove Newcastle on the way to Edinburgh.
...
When I was a student I travelled Germany, Poland and the
Czech Republic.
...
After 6 hours of walking, we decided to go back the
mountain.

✔ well
jumped ...
the swimming pool. done
Every morning I go jogging ...
the ✔ well
beach. done
✔ well
I ran ...
the beach and into the sea. done
I climbed ...
the bath when I'd finished ✔ well
washing. done
The burglar jumped ...
the garden ✔ well
fence. done
The road was closed so we couldn't drive through the ✔ well
town centre, we had to go ...
it. done
I went ...
the kitchen to make a ✔ well
sandwich. done
He climbed ...
the ladder to clean the ✔ well
second floor windows. done
I didn't see the dog lying on the floor, and I fell ✔ well
 ...
it. done

I dropped a £1 coin and it rolled ...

the ✔ well
sofa so I couldn't find it. done
We drove ...
Newcastle on the way to ✔ well
Edinburgh. done
When I was a student I travelled ...
✔ well
Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. done
After 6 hours of walking, we decided to go back ✔ well
...
the mountain. done

Each teacher can recount numerous highs and lows in their teaching career.
Personally, I experienced many great moments while teaching. These were days
when I ended so happy and enthusiastic that I knew I had selected the right
profession. On the other hand, I had days where I definitely questioned teaching as
a career. These were days where the students seemed uninterested, too talkative,
or even worse a blow up occurred and nothing got accomplished.

Thankfully the average combined with the positive days outshine my negative days.

Through my 14 years of teaching and working in education, one event stands above
the rest as my absolute best teaching experience. Through it I learned so much
about teaching and dealing with students. My hope is that the student involved was
at least partially changed for the better from the experience as I was. I also hope
that there is something in this story that can help inform and inspire you.

My Best Teaching Experience

Let's call him Tyler. Tyler was a troubled student. He was enrolled in my senior
American Government class followed the second semester by Economics.
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Surprising as it was to many former teachers, he had made it to senior year.
However, he had spent a couple of years in and out of full inclusion classrooms. He
had numerous behavior management issues. I don't remember his exact IEP at this
point, this happened about 10 years ago, but I know that he had impulse control and
anger management issues. He had been suspended many, many times in previous
years. The previous year he had been mainstreamed with a co-teacher in some
classes. However, for 12th grade, he was in my room without a co-teacher.
I knew he had problems before the first day. His ESE coordinator came and visited
me during planning week to have a talk about him. My style of teaching is such that I
am very stern in the beginning, allowing students to get away with very little. I have
always done this on purpose believing that it is easier to soften up as the year goes
on than get harsher. I learned this the hard way my first year of teaching. I decided
that I was not going to change the way I taught or interact with him in particular
because of his issues.

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He sat in the back row. I had never used a seating chartwith students on the first day
when I was just getting to know them. Every time I talked at the front of the class, I
would ask questions of students, calling them by name. This helped me learn their
names while getting the kids involved. Unfortunately, every time I called on him he
would respond with a flip answer. He knew the answers when he listened but he
didn't want to be called on. If he got an answer wrong, he would get very angry.
About a month into the year, I was beating my head against the wall trying to
connect with Tyler. I could usually get these kids to be involved or at the very least
to sit quietly. However, he was just loud and obnoxious.

Tyler had been in so much trouble through the years that it had become his modus
operandi. He expected it and he expected his teachers to know about his referrals
and suspensions. For every new teacher, he'd push and push seeing what it would
take to get a referral. I tried to outlast him and work things out my way. I had rarely
found referrals to be effective because students would return worse than before.
One particular day, Tyler was talking while I was teaching. In the middle of teaching I
said in the same tone of voice, "Tyler why don't you join our discussion instead of
having one of your own." With that, he got up from his chair, pushed it over, and
yelled something I can't remember other than including the words, "You B----!" Well
that was definitely referral time. I sent him to the office with a discipline referral, and
he received a week's out of school suspension.
Now so far you might be asking how this could be my best teaching experience. So
far it was actually one of my worst. I dreaded that class every day. His anger and
mumbled words under my breath were almost too much for me. The week's out of
school suspension was a wonderful hiatus, and we got a lot accomplished that
week. However, the week soon came to an end, and I began dreading his return. I
knew from talking with his other teachers that he would be back angrier and with a
chip on his shoulder.

I devised a plan. On the day of his return, I stood at the door waiting for him. As
soon as I saw him, I asked him to talk for a moment. He seemed unhappy to do it
but agreed. I basically told him that I wanted to start over with him. Further, I gave
him permission that if he felt like he was going to lose control in class he could step
right outside the door for a moment to collect himself.

From that point on, Tyler was a changed student in my classroom. He listened, he
participated. He was actually a smart child and I could finally get to see this in him.
He even stopped a fight between two other students one day. And you know the
most ironic part of it all? He never, ever used the privilege I had given him to leave
the class for a moment. I believe that just giving him the power to decide for himself
made all the difference.

At the end of the year, he wrote me a thank you note about how good the year had
been for him. I still have it today and find it very touching to reread when I get
stressed about teaching.

Conclusion

In the end, this experience changed me as a teacher. Students are people who have
feelings and who don't want to feel cornered. They want to learn but they also want
to feel as if they have some control over themselves. I never made assumptions
again about a student before they came into my class. Every student is different; no
two students react in the same way. It is our tasks as teachers to find not only what
motivates each student to learn but also what motivates them to misbehave. If we
can meet them at that point and take away that motivation, we can go a long way
towards a more effective classroom and learning experience.
Picture It Clip Art Preposition Example

"He threw the

across
ball across the court."

"They drove along the

along
road."

"The bees
around
buzzed around his head."

"He had to go back

back to
to square one."

"He skied down the

down
mountain."

"The man poured the

into
sand into the timer.

off "The man ran off the cliff."

 "The chiropractor
onto (on to)
jumped onto his back."

"The money flew out of the

out of
window."

"The cow jumped over the

over
moon."

"The wheel span past the

past
winning line."

"The arrow is
round
moving round the ball."

"He carried the

to
rubbish to the bin."

"The train
through
came through the tunnel."

"The meteor was

towards heading towards the
planet."

"She limboed under the

under
pole."
 "They went up the
up
escalator."
- See more at:
http://www.learnenglish.de/pictureit/prepositionmovement.html#sthash.Cnd4ozWz.dpuf

Student teachers' experiences of practice teaching

Wagenaar, Melanie

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10530/523

Date: 2005

Abstract:
Practice teaching is of paramount importance in the vocational training of student teachers. It is this
immersion into the real world of school that prepares the student in making the transition from trainee to
professional. The motivation for this study arose from the researcher's own experience of practice
teaching as well as protracted contact with student teachers in a professional capacity. This research
project attempted to explore and articulate an understanding of some of the experiences of student
teachers following their final practice teaching session at a school before graduating. In order to garner a
rich and nuanced perspective of these experiences, a phenomenological research methodology was
utilized. Pertinent literature was reviewed in order to provide a content basis for further analysis and
discussion. Five student teachers from the University of Fort Hare were interviewed. Their transcripts
were individually analysed in order to extract themes. The following themes were identified: • A sense of it
being mainly a positive experience • An awareness of the importance of relationships • An awareness of
the cultural and contextual make-up of learners • A sense of ambivalence around sources of anxiety • A
sense of ambivalence around the value of the journal • A learning experience The findings of the study
revealed that all of the student teachers experienced practice teaching as being mainly a positive
experience, although all the participants had experienced anxiety in some form around maintaining
discipline. Practice teaching played an important part in their development as teachers by providing a
context wherein they could merge theory and practice, find their own teaching and management styles as
well as cope with the demands of multi-tasking that being in a classroom demands. The paramount role
of the host teacher and the importance of positive relationships with all stakeholders was foregrounded -
as was the importance of an awareness of the cultural and contextual make-up of learners. This study
hopes to make a contribution towards the understanding of student teachers' experiences of practice
teaching in South Africa. It is also hoped that through this study, further research in this field will be
encouraged.