Grade 4 · Lesson 38 — Prepositional phrases — use the words

Academic language · Prepositional phrases · using them · blocked · 30 min · 24 slides · Launch → I do → We do → Read → You do → Closure
Anchor to leave them with: The phrase says how things stand to each other.
Objective Use 6 academic words in sentences of your own, and choose which version suits who is reading.
Smallest piece Some meanings live in a group of words, not in any one of them.
Spot test “Have I kept the whole phrase exactly?”
Why that test works A phrasal verb or an idiom is learned and retrieved as ONE unit — *carry out*, *shed light on*. Change a word and the meaning collapses, which is the test. Children try to reason the meaning out of the parts, and the parts do not carry it; that is precisely what makes these hard and why they must be drilled whole.
Why — in your own words Everything created stands in relation to something else.
Practice mode blocked
Interleaved with
If it breaks Remedial 61 — the phrase matched whole to its meaning
Vocabulary — pre-pointed T3 PHRASE = a group of words that works as one unit
Materials Mini-whiteboard + pen per student · Composition notebook · Deck — 24 slides · Writing Book 4, p.77 · Remedial 61 — the phrase matched whole to its meaning

The lesson, slide by slide

Slide — what is on it What you SAY What happens, and why
Slide 1
LAUNCH
Writing — Day 38
(nothing yet — this is up as they come in and settle)
Have Writing — Day 38 up before they enter. Say nothing about it.
Same slide every lesson, number only changes. It marks the transition into writing before you speak, which saves you having to.
Students: See it on the way in. Know writing is next.
Slide 2
LAUNCH
Prepositional phrases — use the words
“You met these words last lesson. Today you use them.”
CONTEXT — say where this lesson sits: what it follows, and what it is part of. One sentence. The children should know what kind of work is starting.
Context, not a hook. A child who knows what KIND of lesson this is spends no attention working it out.
Students: Listen. Orient.
Slide 3
LAUNCH
Today ›› Launch I Do We Do Read You Do Closure
“Here is what we will do today.”
Point to Launch once. Do not explain the others.  ·  Retrieval on MWB  ·  3-5 min
Mini-whiteboards: Retrieval on MWB
Students: Look.
Slide 4
LAUNCH
Use 6 academic words in sentences of your own, and choose which version suits who is reading.
“Use 6 academic words in sentences of your own, and choose which version suits who is reading.”
PURPOSE — say it slowly, in these words. The teacher objective in the header is for you; this is the version the class hears.
Never read a teacher objective to children. The version in the brief header is written for you and is too long and too abstract to say to a class; this one is what they hear.
Students: Listen.
No slide
LAUNCH
WHY — SAY IT ten seconds, off screen, in your own words
“Everything created stands in relation to something else.”
Why this matters. Say it, do not read it. Ten seconds, then move on.
Your words, not these. This is the one beat of the lesson that should sound like you mean it rather than like it is written down.
Students: Listen.
Slide 5
LAUNCH
Words we will use T3 PHRASE = a group of words that works as one unit
“Two words we need before we start.”
Read each, point to it, move on. Do not drill them here.
Pre-pointed vocabulary. Naming them now stops the lesson stalling later on a word that was never the point.
Students: Listen.
Slide 6
LAUNCH
What we will do Some meanings live in a group of words, not in any one of them.
“Some meanings live in a group of words, not in any one of them.”
Click once per line. Do not elaborate.
Students: Listen.
Slide 7
I DO
Today Launch ›› I Do We Do Read You Do Closure
“Now we i do.”
Point to I Do once. Do not explain the others.  ·  3-4 min
Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed.
Students: Look.
No slide
I DO
(board — build the VIP, then leave it up)
(you are narrating each stage as you build it)
Build on the BOARD, not the slide. Teacher writes one sentence in everyday words, rewrites it with the school word, and says which reader each version suits. Both stay up.
Then leave it up for the whole lesson.
One click per step. The footsteps are never erased — the same strip is printed at the top of their sheet, so come back to it if anyone stalls.
Students: Watch it being built. It stays there to look at.
Slide 8
I DO
[build 1 of 3] in relation to
“Here is the word writers use: in relation to.”
CLICK 1 — the school-word word appears ALONE. Wait. Let them look at it before you give them the meaning.
Color: the target word is crimson on every slide it appears on, so the eye knows what is under the knife without being told.
Students: Read it. Say nothing yet.
No slide
I DO
[build 2 of 3] in relation to ≈ compared with
“A word you already own that means nearly the same: compared with.”
CLICK 2 — the everyday word wipes in beside it. Point from one to the other with your hand as it lands.
The partner is the hook the new word hangs on. It arrives SECOND and never separately — the pair is the unit, not either half.
Students: Say the partner back.
No slide
I DO
[build 3 of 3] In relation to the oak, the fern is small.
“And here it is doing work: In relation to the oak, the fern is small.”
CLICK 3 — the example sentence fades in underneath. Read it once, then ring the target word ON THE BOARD copy, not the slide.
Now the whole pair plus the sentence is on screen and stays there. Nothing comes off.
Students: Read it with you.
Slide 9
I DO
[build 1 of 3] on the basis of
“Here is the word writers use: on the basis of.”
CLICK 1 — the school-word word appears ALONE. Wait. Let them look at it before you give them the meaning.
Color: the target word is crimson on every slide it appears on, so the eye knows what is under the knife without being told.
Students: Read it. Say nothing yet.
No slide
I DO
[build 2 of 3] on the basis of ≈ using
“A word you already own that means nearly the same: using.”
CLICK 2 — the everyday word wipes in beside it. Point from one to the other with your hand as it lands.
The partner is the hook the new word hangs on. It arrives SECOND and never separately — the pair is the unit, not either half.
Students: Say the partner back.
No slide
I DO
[build 3 of 3] We chose on the basis of size.
“And here it is doing work: We chose on the basis of size.”
CLICK 3 — the example sentence fades in underneath. Read it once, then ring the target word ON THE BOARD copy, not the slide.
Now the whole pair plus the sentence is on screen and stays there. Nothing comes off.
Students: Read it with you.
Slide 10
I DO
[build 1 of 3] with regard to
“Here is the word writers use: with regard to.”
CLICK 1 — the school-word word appears ALONE. Wait. Let them look at it before you give them the meaning.
Color: the target word is crimson on every slide it appears on, so the eye knows what is under the knife without being told.
Students: Read it. Say nothing yet.
No slide
I DO
[build 2 of 3] with regard to ≈ about
“A word you already own that means nearly the same: about.”
CLICK 2 — the everyday word wipes in beside it. Point from one to the other with your hand as it lands.
The partner is the hook the new word hangs on. It arrives SECOND and never separately — the pair is the unit, not either half.
Students: Say the partner back.
No slide
I DO
[build 3 of 3] With regard to water, plants differ.
“And here it is doing work: With regard to water, plants differ.”
CLICK 3 — the example sentence fades in underneath. Read it once, then ring the target word ON THE BOARD copy, not the slide.
Now the whole pair plus the sentence is on screen and stays there. Nothing comes off.
Students: Read it with you.
Slide 11
I DO
The test “Have I kept the whole phrase exactly?”
“Here is the question we ask ourselves: “Have I kept the whole phrase exactly?””
Say it, then apply it aloud to the example already on the board.
WHY IT WORKS — you will be asked: A phrasal verb or an idiom is learned and retrieved as ONE unit — *carry out*, *shed light on*. Change a word and the meaning collapses, which is the test. Children try to reason the meaning out of the parts, and the parts do not carry it; that is precisely what makes these hard and why they must be drilled whole.
Students: Listen, then say the test back.
Slide 12
WE DO
Today Launch I Do ›› We Do Read You Do Closure
“Now we we do.”
Point to We Do once. Do not explain the others.  ·  PRIMARY MWB use  ·  5-6 min
Mini-whiteboards: PRIMARY MWB use
Students: Look.
Slide 13
WE DO
Together
“Now with me.”
Class rewrites two everyday sentences into school-word, then judges one case where the everyday version is BETTER. Discuss in pairs using the frames.
Take answers from boards, not from hands — that is how you see all thirty.
Students: Answer on boards.
No slide
WE DO
Say it first Because ___, the in relation to ___. We use in relation to when ___.
“Turn and say it to your partner before you write it.”
Three to five minutes. Optional — but skipping it is a decision, not a default. Walk and listen for the frame being used.
The SAME frames as the writing scaffold below. The talk is the first rehearsal of the sentence they are about to write.
Students: Say the frame to a partner. Both speak.
Slide 14
READ
Today Launch I Do We Do ›› Read You Do Closure
“Now we read.”
Point to Read once. Do not explain the others.
Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed.
Students: Look.
Slide 15
READ
Writing Book 4, p.77
“Open Writing Book 4 to page 77.”
Read it with them — FASE or teacher read-aloud, never round robin. Stop at the worked example and let them look at it.
Our own book, not a purchased one — so it can be printed, edited and improved, and there is no license on it.
Students: Follow along. Read when asked.
Slide 16
YOU DO
Today Launch I Do We Do Read ›› You Do Closure
“Now we you do.”
Point to You Do once. Do not explain the others.  ·  Written on the sheet  ·  4-5 min
Mini-whiteboards: Written on the sheet
Students: Look.
Slide 17
YOU DO
If you need it Because ___, the in relation to ___. We use in relation to when ___. You may use the frame for two of your three. Try the third without it.
“You may use the frame for two of your three. Try the third without it.”
SCAFFOLD, NOT AN INSTRUCTION. Say both halves: the frame is there if they need it, AND it is better writing without it. Leave it on screen while they work — a scaffold they have to ask for is a scaffold that shames them. Walk and note WHO used it; that is your group for tomorrow, not a mark against them today.
The ration falls as the depth rises — three, two, one, none — so the class can feel the scaffold being let go rather than pulled away. A child who uses none when allowed three has told you something; so has a child who uses three when allowed one.
Students: Write. Use the frame for at most 2.
Slide 18
YOU DO
1. MATCH Draw a line from each academic word to the everyday word that means about the same. Like this: in relation to — compared with
““First, match. This is the easy one — do it fast.””
Two minutes, no more. Walk and check nobody is guessing by elimination — ask one child WHY, not just which.
Recognition only. A child can do this by elimination without meaning anything by the word, which is why it is rung one and not the whole sheet. The worked example stays on screen while they work — do not advance past it.
Students: Match every pair.
Slide 19
YOU DO
2. CHOOSE Fill each gap with the right word. Word bank: for the purpose of, in contrast to, in relation to, in the case of, on the basis of, with regard to. Like this: ________ the oak, the fern is small. → in relation to
““Now the hard one. Two of these nearly fit every gap. Pick the one that fits best and be ready to say why.””
This is the rung that shows you who actually has it. Do not help for the first three minutes. Then take one gap and ask two children who chose differently to defend their choice.
PRACTICE MODE: blocked. All gaps come from today's set. The worked example stays on screen while they work — do not advance past it.
Students: Fill every gap. Be ready to defend one.
Slide 20
YOU DO
3. FRAME Finish each sentence. Like this: Because ___, the in relation to ___. → Because in relation to, the in relation to ___.
““Use the frame.””
Scaffold level: partial. Read the frame aloud once, then let them write.
The release to independence. Today's scaffold is “partial”, and it shrinks each time this unit returns until there is no frame at all — the child should be able to feel it coming off. The worked example stays on screen while they work — do not advance past it.
Students: Complete each frame in the notebook.
Slide 21
YOU DO
4. PRODUCE Write your own sentences using the academic words. Target: 1 paragraph (7–9 sentences). A + means more than one sentence in that slot. You may use the frame for two of your three. Try the third without it. Like this: In relation to the oak, the fern is small. (uses in relation to — and it does real work)
““Your own sentences now. 1 paragraph (7–9 sentences) for a full answer. You may use the frame for two of your three. Try the third without it.””
Double-spaced, so there is room to write back to them. Walk with a pen and mark ONE thing per child — the thing this lesson taught.
The printed target is the LOTF move: the child can see what a full answer looks like instead of guessing how much is enough. The Today's frame ration is 2 — say it aloud, and say BOTH halves: the frame is there if they need it, and it is better writing without it. The worked example stays on screen while they work — do not advance past it.
Students: Write 1 paragraph (7–9 sentences) in the notebook.
Slide 22
CLOSURE
Today Launch I Do We Do Read You Do ›› Closure
“Now we closure.”
Point to Closure once. Do not explain the others.  ·  Display answers on MWB  ·  2-3 min
Mini-whiteboards: Display answers on MWB
Students: Look.
Slide 23
CLOSURE
Say one sentence using in relation to.
“Say one sentence using in relation to.”
Exit Direction. Take it from every child before anyone stands.
It belongs to today's content — it is how you know who has it.
Students: Answer, then pack away.
Slide 24
CLOSURE
The phrase says how things stand to each other.
“The phrase says how things stand to each other.”
Say it once. Leave it on screen as they pack away.
The anchor — the one line you want them to still have tomorrow.
Students: Hear it. Repeat it if asked.
As-Suffah Academy · Writing · run sheet