RCF EnglishEnglish learning and teaching
RCF Publications
ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR B1

Prepositions of Movement and Transport ESL Lesson Plan (B1, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute B1 lesson on Prepositions of Movement and Transport, built round the theme "A Walking Tour of Kandy".

  • CEFR B1
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • Prepositions
  • Prepositions of Movement and Transport

About this lesson

Who it is for. Intermediate students who know prepositions of place but confuse across / through, into / in, and transport phrases (by foot, get out the bus).

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR B1 (Intermediate)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run "Freer practice" once through without the second round and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking and writing
Language focus
Grammar: Prepositions of Movement and Transport
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (walking tour text and map), Handout 2 (discovery task with arrow diagrams), Handout 3 (practice), Handout 4 (information gap maps).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 4, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To help students discover and use prepositions of movement (across, along, through, over, past, into, out of, up, down, towards, around) and transport phrases (by bus, on foot, get on / off, get into / out of).

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can give clear directions on a map and describe their journey to school using at least six prepositions of movement.

  • Subsidiary aim. To follow a route on a map.
  • Subsidiary aim. To give and follow directions.
  • Subsidiary aim. To describe a journey.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Meaning

PrepositionMeaningExample
acrossfrom one side to the other (on a surface)Walk across the bridge / the road / the field.
throughfrom one end to the other, inside somethingGo through the park / the tunnel / the forest.
alongfollowing a lineWalk along the lake / the river / the road.
overabove and acrossClimb over the wall. Fly over the city.
pastgoing by somethingGo past the temple.
into / out ofentering / leavingWalk into the museum. Come out of the shop.
up / downto a higher / lower placeGo up the hill. Come down the steps.
towardsin the direction ofWalk towards the lake.
aroundin a circle / on the other sideWalk around the lake. Turn around the corner.

Transport

by + transport (no article)on footget on / offget into / out of
by bus, by train, by car, by tuk-tuk
I go to school on foot.
bus, train, plane, bike
car, taxi, tuk-tuk

Pronunciation

  • Weak to and of: towards /təˈwɔːdz/; out of /ˈaʊt əv/.

Concept-checking questions

  • We walked through the park. — Were we inside the park? (Yes.) We walked across the road. — Were we on the surface, from one side to the other? (Yes.) I get off the bus. — Big vehicle or small car? (Big, you can stand in it.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
across / through confusion.Arrow diagrams: surface (across) vs inside (through).
by footTeach on foot as fixed.
get out the bus / get off the carStand-up vs sit-down rule.
by the busNo article after by for transport.

Board plan

Left: arrowsCentre: rulesRight: transport
→ across (surface) · → through (inside) · → along (line) · ↷ over · → past · ↘ into / ↗ out of · ↑ up / ↓ down · ↻ around · → towards
Surface: across · Inside: through · Line: along · Entering: into · Leaving: out of
by bus / train / car (no article) · on foot · get on / off (bus, train, plane) · get into / out of (car, taxi)

CEFR B1 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Prepositions of Movement and Transport, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To engage interest.

Mime movements: walking through a door, across the room, around a desk, past a student. Students guess the movement.

Ask: "How do you come to school? What do you go past?"

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present prepositions of movement and transport phrases in context and help students work out their meanings.

Part A: Reading (6 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the walking tour. Draw the route on the map."

ICQs: "Where do you start?" (The Clock Tower.) "Do you write or draw?" (Draw the route.)

Pairs compare their routes. Check as a class.

Part B: Finding the meanings (7 minutes)

Give out Handout 2. Pairs match each preposition to its meaning (Part A) and answer the questions about transport (Part B).

Monitor and prompt: "Were they inside the park, or on the surface of the road?"

Part C: Clarification (7 minutes)

Elicit matches and draw the arrows on the board.

Ask the CCQs from the Language analysis. Focus on across / through.

Elicit the transport rules. Ask: "Do we say by the bus?" (No.) "By foot?" (No, on foot.)

Drill: Go across the bridge. Walk along the lake. Go past the temple. I go to school on foot.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise accurately.

Give out Handout 3. Say: "Exercise A: complete with the correct preposition. Exercise B: correct the mistakes. Seven minutes."

Pairs justify. Check as a class.

Freer practice18 minutes · Pairs, then whole class

Aim: To use the language fluently in giving directions and describing journeys.

Give out Handout 4. Student A is a tourist; Student B is a local. Tourists ask for directions to three places; locals guide them using the map (10 minutes, swap after 5).

ICQs: "Who has the map?" (The local.) "How many places?" (Three.)

Students describe their own journey to school to a partner, using six prepositions and a transport phrase, then write it on Handout 4 (6 minutes).

Two students share with the class (2 minutes).

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board errors and good sentences; students correct the errors.

Mime three movements; students say the preposition.

Set the homework.

Homework Write directions from your school to your home (120 words), using at least eight prepositions of movement.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Keep arrow diagrams on the board; give a direction phrase card. Weaker students give directions to one place only.
Stretch
Add distances and landmarks: about 200 metres, on your left, opposite the bank. Describe an exciting journey using past tenses and movement prepositions.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 3: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 4: Information Gap works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 4 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for the pairwork in "Freer practice" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith teenagers, shorten the analysis and get to the task sooner. With adults in a work context, keep the forms exactly as they are and swap the lesson's theme for one from their own field.

Checking learning

Partners reach the correct places using the directions. 8 out of 10 or better on Handout 3, Exercise A.

Teacher's reflection

Was the across / through distinction clear? Did the information gap produce accurate directions?

Handout 1: A Walking Tour of Kandy

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Start at the Clock Tower. Walk along Dalada Veediya towards the lake. Go past the Queen's Hotel on your right. Then walk across the road (carefully!) to Kandy Lake.

Walk around the lake until you reach the Temple of the Tooth. Go into the temple and spend some time inside. When you come out of the temple, walk through the Royal Palace Park.

Climb up the steps to the viewpoint and enjoy the view of the city. Then come down the hill and walk over the small bridge to the market. Finish your tour with a cup of tea!

Map (draw the route):

Clock TowerDalada VeediyaQueen's Hotel
Marketsmall bridgeKandy Lake
Viewpoint (up the hill)Royal Palace ParkTemple of the Tooth

Handout 2: Language Focus

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Match the prepositions from the tour to the meanings.

Answers: 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4 ___ 5 ___ 6 ___

B. Answer the questions with your partner.

  • We walked through the park. Were we inside the park or on the edge? ______________
  • We walked across the road. Why not through the road? ______________________________
  • Look: by bus, by train, by car. Is there an article (the) after by? ______________
  • Do we say by foot or on foot? ______________
  • Look: get on the bus / get into the car. Can you stand up inside a bus? A car? Which verb goes with which? ______________________________
PrepositionMeaning
1. acrossa. following a line (a road, a river)
2. throughb. from one side to the other, on a surface
3. alongc. from one end to the other, inside something
4. pastd. going by something without stopping
5. intoe. in a circle
6. aroundf. entering

Handout 3: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Complete with the correct preposition.

B. Correct the mistakes.

  • We walked ______________ the park to get to the station.
  • Go ______________ the bridge and turn left.
  • The cat jumped ______________ the window.
  • I usually go to school ______________ bus.
  • Walk ______________ the river until you see the temple.
  • My grandmother goes to the market ______________ foot.
  • Get ______________ the bus at the second stop.
  • The children ran ______________ the hill to the top.
  • A plane flew ______________ our house.
  • She got ______________ the taxi and paid the driver.
  • I go to school by foot. ______________________________
  • Get out the bus here. ______________________________
  • We walked across the forest. ______________________________
  • I came by the train. ______________________________

Handout 4: Information Gap

Tourist (Student A): You are at the bus station. Ask how to get to: (1) the museum, (2) the beach, (3) the old fort.

Local (Student B): Use this map to give directions.

Useful language: Go along ... · Walk across / over the bridge · Go past the ... · Walk through the park · Go up the hill · It's on your left / right · You can't miss it!

Now describe your journey to school.

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

Bus station (START)Main Roadbank
parkriver (bridge)museum
marketold fort (up the hill)beach (through the forest)

Answer Key

Handout 2, A: 1 b · 2 c · 3 a · 4 d · 5 f · 6 e

Handout 2, B

Handout 3, Exercise A

Handout 3, Exercise B

Common errors to watch for

  • Inside the park · 2. A road is a flat surface · 3. No · 4. On foot · 5. You can stand in a bus: get on / off. You sit in a car: get into / out of.
  • through · 2. across / over · 3. out of / through · 4. by · 5. along · 6. on · 7. off · 8. up · 9. over · 10. out of
  • I go to school on foot. · 2. Get off the bus here. · 3. We walked through the forest. · 4. I came by train.
ErrorCorrection
I go to school by foot.I go to school on foot.
Get down the bus.Get off the bus.
We walked across the forest.We walked through the forest.
I went by the train.I went by train.

Prints without the site's menus or advertisements.

About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

Share this lesson plan

More prepositions plans

Prepositions of Place (A1)

PPP, 60 minutes. The same unit at A1.

Prepositions of Time (A2)

PPP, 60 minutes. The same unit at A2.

Dependent Prepositions (B2)

PPP, 60 minutes. The same unit at B2.

All prepositions plans

Every level on this topic, A1 to C1.

All ESL lesson plans

Every plan, by level.

ESL worksheets

Printable worksheets with answer keys.

Back to Prepositions