Kentucky Reading and Writing L.4.1.e

ELA4th GradeLanguage

The Standard

L.4.1: When writing or speaking, demonstrate command of the conventions of General American English grammar and usage.

Use prepositional phrases.

Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing (2025) · Conventions of General American English

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students add phrases such as 'under the table' and 'after lunch' to tell where or when something happens. They place each phrase where readers can tell what it describes.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student writes 'We found the ball behind the shed' to tell where it was. They write 'After lunch, we played' to tell when they played.
Common Misconceptions: Some students write 'The cat slept under' and leave the location unfinished. Others write 'I put the book on the shelf with a red cover' when they mean the book has the red cover.
How to Assess It: Ask students to write two sentences about a lost pencil. One must tell where it was found, and the other must tell when; have them underline both prepositional phrases.

Lesson moves

Place a toy beside, inside, and behind a box; have students write a sentence for each position using a full phrase.
Show 'The puppy slept' and 'The puppy slept under the table'; ask what the added words help readers picture.
Give pairs sentence strips and phrase strips; have them match 'The rabbit hid' with 'behind the chair' and underline the phrase.
Use a school map to write directions from the classroom to the library with phrases like 'past the office' and 'through the hall'.

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