Introduction

The aim of this game is to learn, enhance and practice prepositional phrases in a fun way.

Ask the pupils to set up their chairs as for “musical chairs”.
The music starts and the pupils move around the chairs. The child that is left with no seat once the music stops enters centre stage first. They draw a card that has a picture of a concept and a prepositional phrase on it (see picture).

The child puts the two entities on the card together forming a simple prepositional sentence, such as “Hello, I am a fish and my favourite place is in the water”. The crucial aspect of this game is to find an appropriate gesture for the prepositional phrase! The pupil is not allowed to see the card before it is his/ her turn as to not spoil the spontaneity of the gesture they associate with the preposition.
Then the group repeats, “He/she is a fish and his/her favourite place is in the water”, making the same gesture.
The music is turned on again and the group continues to move through the room/ around their chairs until the next pupil is determined. Being left with a winner at the end is an extra motivation for the pupils and will keep them interested in the game.

Target group and Time

• Target Group: Grade 4-6 ( for standard version, it can be adjusted easily: see learning objectives)
• Time: depends on group size and participants. I needed around 12 minutes including explanation.

Learning objectives

• Deepen Vocabulary & Grammar: Through this game, your pupils get to practice vocabulary in a creative way as well as routinizing the use of prepositions at the same time. The gestures made will help to deepen the learning effect.
• Note: The game may be adapted to other kinds of grammatical structures easily by changing the focus. If the game is adapted to activities, as opposed to places, the learning objectives and skills needed will change considerably. When using activities as vocabulary, it might be a good idea to introduce the students to the present continuous first ("What is the fish doing?" "It is swimming in the water."). Through combination this also makes it possible to work on more than one grammar objective at a time and is easy to adjust in difficulty.

Instructions to set up the activity

Material needed:

• Cards depicting a visual representation of a concept (e.g. "old socks") and a prepositional phrase (e.g. "behind the sofa").
• Something to mark the spots during musical chairs - This could be actual chairs, but pillows or papers would also work. I actually used canvas bags. The important thing is that the pupils know where they need to stand when the music stops.

Explaining it to your pupils:

• Using an example is best!
  After you have explained to your pupils what the objective of the game is and what they have to do, it is a good idea to present a sample vocabulary act yourself. It will not only provide further clarity as to what is expected from the learners but may also reduce inhibitions and inspire.

Letting it run

Once the game has started, your main task is to ensure the structure of the exercise is generally kept up, of course, you are always at hand in case the children need help, e.g. in using full sentences, finding gestures for their prepositions and the like. Should the pupils be very fast or you just want to make things a little more creative, it is fun to integrate a freestyle round. Here they can choose whatever concept and place they want.