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Year 6

Apostrophes: for contraction, singular possession and plural possession 2

I can accurately punctuate sentences including apostrophes for contraction, singular possession or plural possession.

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New
New
Year 6

Apostrophes: for contraction, singular possession and plural possession 2

I can accurately punctuate sentences including apostrophes for contraction, singular possession or plural possession.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. An apostrophe is an important piece of punctuation with more than one purpose.
  2. An apostrophe can contract two words together.
  3. An apostrophe can show if a noun belongs to another singular noun or to another plural noun.
  4. Contractions are useful in writing to indicate a character's informal speech or a less formal register.
  5. Apostrophes for possession are useful to clarify belonging to the reader.

Common misconception

Pupils may struggle to place the apostrophe correctly after the s for plural possession.

Remind pupils that we never see s's - if a word ends in s, the apostrophe will always come after the s.

Keywords

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

  • Apostrophe for possession - a punctuation mark used to show if a noun belongs to another singular or plural noun

  • Singular - only one

  • Plural - more than one

When pupils are generating their own ideas for sentences using possession, allow plenty of time for partner talk and model some of your own examples to show that the possession can be placed in different locations in the sentence.
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 of these can end a sentence?
comma
Correct answer: exclamation mark
Correct answer: full stop
Correct answer: question mark
Q2.
Which of the following could end this sentence? 'Stop talking...'
comma
Correct answer: exclamation mark
Correct answer: full stop
question mark
Q3.
Which of the following sentences are correctly punctuated?
Correct answer: Now, push the button.
Now, push the button,
Correct answer: Now, push the button!
Now, push the button?
Q4.
What is the name for the punctuation used to show direct speech?
apostrophes
Correct answer: inverted commas
commas
Q5.
Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
Where on earth would we find the answer to our question.
Where on earth would we find the answer to our question!
Correct answer: Where on earth would we find the answer to our question?
Q6.
Which sentence has the comma in the correct position?
Before long we saw the sun peep over the horizon.
Before long we saw the sun, peep over the horizon.
Correct answer: Before long, we saw the sun peep over the horizon.
Before long we saw, the sun peep over the horizon.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
An apostrophe can be used to show...
Correct answer: contraction
connection
Correct answer: possession
position
Q2.
Which sentence below uses both apostrophes for contraction correctly?
She'll be ready when its time to go.
Shell' be ready when it's time to go.
Correct answer: She'll be ready when it's time to go.
Q3.
Which words in this sentence could be contracted using an apostrophe? 'We should have waited, but he had told us to go.'
have waited
Correct answer: should have
Correct answer: he had
told us
Q4.
Match each 'possession' idea to the sentence that uses it. Each sentence uses an apostrophe for singular possession.
Correct Answer:a suggestion belonging to Jun,I ignored Jun's suggestion.

I ignored Jun's suggestion.

Correct Answer:views belonging to Lucas,We all respected Lucas' views.

We all respected Lucas' views.

Correct Answer:vegetables belonging to Dad,At the allotment, we picked Dad's vegetables.

At the allotment, we picked Dad's vegetables.

Correct Answer:beliefs belonging to Sam,Sam's beliefs were quite unusual.

Sam's beliefs were quite unusual.

Q5.
Which sentence correctly uses the apostrophe for plural possession for the idea 'the opinions belonging to the adults'?
We sighed as we listened to the adult's opinions.
We sighed as we listened to the adults opinions.
Correct answer: We sighed as we listened to the adults' opinions.
Q6.
Tick the sentences that use an apostrophe for plural possession correctly.
Correct answer: The children's suggestions were quite helpful.
The childrens' suggestions were quite helpful.
Correct answer: The women's changing room was flooded.
The womens' changing room was flooded.