Apostrophes for possession

PROCEDURAL

English›Spelling & Word Study|Ages 6—8|ID: mt_Z3G_97fnha

Use the possessive apostrophe with singular nouns to show ownership (e.g., the girl's book, the dog's bone)

Mastery Evidence

Write 'the cat's tail' to show the tail belongs to the cat
Distinguish plural -s ('the cats ran') from possessive 's ('the cat's bed') in writing
Add a possessive apostrophe to a singular noun in a dictated sentence

Assessment Prompt

“When [child] writes something belonging to one person or thing — like "the dog's lead" or "the girl's bag" — do they put the apostrophe in the right place?”

Prerequisites3

Regular Plural Nouns
hardAges 5—6
Spelling Contracted Forms
softAges 6—7
Basic Nouns & Verbs
softAges 5—6

Show full prerequisite tree

Regular Plural Nouns hard
Must understand plural -s before distinguishing possessive 's
- Basic Nouns & Verbs soft
  Need noun concept before plural forms
Spelling Contracted Forms soft
Understanding apostrophe in contractions helps understand its use in possession
- Segmenting words into sounds hard
  Basic encoding ability needed to spell contracted forms
  - Phonics Vocabulary hard
    Segmenting words into phonemes and spelling CVC words requires knowing 'phoneme', 'segment', and 'CVC' as defined terms
  - Single Letter Sounds hard
    Need GPC knowledge to encode phonemes
    - Knowing all letters hard
      Must recognise letters before learning their sounds
      - Understanding print hard
        Must understand print direction before letter identification matters
  - Onsets & Rimes hard
    Need segmenting skill for spelling
    - Rhyming words soft
      Rhyme awareness supports finer phoneme skills
    - Syllables soft
      Syllable awareness builds toward phoneme level
  - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
    Handwriting needed for spelling practice
- Reading Contractions hard
  Spelling contractions builds on reading contractions
  - Blending Sounds to Read Words hard
    Need blending to read contractions
    - Single Letter Sounds hard
      Need GPC knowledge to blend
      - Knowing all letters hard
        Must recognise letters before learning their sounds
        
        Understanding print hard
        Must understand print direction before letter identification matters
    - Onsets & Rimes hard
      Phoneme awareness needed for blending
      - Rhyming words soft
        Rhyme awareness supports finer phoneme skills
      - Syllables soft
        Syllable awareness builds toward phoneme level
Basic Nouns & Verbs soft
Understanding nouns supports identifying what can be possessive

Unlocks3

Plural vs Possessive in Nouns
hardAges 8—9
Apostrophes for possession (age 7+)
hardAges 7—10
Apostrophes: Contraction and Possession
hardAges 6—7