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New
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Year 2

Apostrophes for contraction

I can contract two words with an apostrophe.

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New
New
Year 2

Apostrophes for contraction

I can contract two words with an apostrophe.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. An apostrophe is an important piece of punctuation.
  2. An apostrophe has more than one purpose.
  3. An apostrophe can contract two words together.
  4. Apostrophes for contraction are useful in informal writing.
  5. An apostrophe sits at the same height as the ascender of a letter.

Common misconception

Pupils can muddle which letters in the words the apostrophe should appear between.

Look at correct examples alongside non-examples and show and read non-examples so pupils can see or hear that they do not sound right.

Keywords

  • Apostrophe for contraction - a punctuation mark used to contract two words together

  • Contract - push

  • Contraction - two words pushed together

  • Ascender - the upwards part of a lower case letter

Encourage pupils to look for apostrophes in their environment. You could set them a home learning task to see if they can identify apostrophes in their reading books.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which one of these most often comes at the end of a sentence?
verb
Correct answer: full stop
noun
capital letter
Q2.
Match the word with the correct definition.
Correct Answer:verb,a doing or being word

a doing or being word

Correct Answer:adverb,a word that describes a verb

a word that describes a verb

Correct Answer:adjective,a word that describes a noun

a word that describes a noun

Correct Answer:noun,a naming word for people, places or things

a naming word for people, places or things

Q3.
Match the punctuation mark to its purpose.
Correct Answer:full stop,used at the end of a sentence such as a fact

used at the end of a sentence such as a fact

Correct Answer:exclamation mark,used at the end of a sentence expressing strong emotion

used at the end of a sentence expressing strong emotion

Correct Answer:question mark,used at the end of a sentence asking a question

used at the end of a sentence asking a question

Q4.
Select the sentence that has the correct punctuation.
What is your favourite colour.
What is your favourite colour!
Correct answer: What is your favourite colour?
What is your favourite colour
Q5.
Select the present tense sentences.
Correct answer: The children play tag.
Last week, they sang on stage in assembly.
My baby sister cried loudly all through the night.
Correct answer: Let's dig a hole!
Q6.
Identify the verb in the following sentence that helps us know it is in the past tense. 'Jun swam in the sea.'
Correct Answer: swam, Swam

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Select the apostrophe.
?
Correct answer: '
.
!
Q2.
A contraction is...
two words split apart.
a punctuation mark that comes between two letters.
two adjectives listed to describe a noun.
Correct answer: two words pushed together.
Q3.
Where should an apostrophe be placed?
Correct answer: at the same height as the ascender of a letter
at the same height as the descender of a letter
above the last letter in the word
low down between the last two letters of a word
Q4.
Using apostrophes for contraction can make our writing more...
formal
emotional
Correct answer: informal
Q5.
Which of these shows an apostrophe for contraction being used correctly for the word 'cannot'?
ca'nt
cann't
Correct answer: can't
cant'
Q6.
What is the correct contraction for 'you are'?
Correct Answer: you're, You're