Using Prepositions to Show Relationships

Khan Academy

This engaging grammar video introduces students to prepositions using a simple, humorous visual analogy involving a hand-drawn hamster and a box. The narrator breaks down the complex function of prepositions into three understandable categories: showing where things are (spatial), when things happen (temporal), and how things relate (purpose/possession). By animating the drawings to physically demonstrate concepts like "under," "over," "before," and "after," the abstract rules of grammar become concrete and memorable. The video explores key grammatical themes centered on how prepositions establish relationships between nouns and other parts of a sentence. It specifically covers spatial relationships (place), temporal relationships (time), and abstract relationships (usage and possession). The narrator moves from concrete examples like physical location to more abstract concepts like time and purpose, scaffolding the learning effectively for young students. For educators, this video serves as an excellent hook or foundational lesson for a unit on parts of speech. The "hamster and box" model provides a tangible mental anchor that teachers can physically replicate in the classroom using a stuffed animal and a box to reinforce learning. It effectively simplifies the definition of prepositions beyond just "location words" to include their critical role in describing time and logical connections.