Apostrophes: Contraction and Possession

PROCEDURAL

English›Grammar & Punctuation|Ages 6—7|ID: mt_mKAZTqItRG

Use apostrophes in writing for both contraction (marking omitted letters) and singular possession, distinguishing the two uses

Mastery Evidence

Use apostrophes correctly in both 'don't' and 'Sam's bag' within the same piece of writing
Explain the difference between apostrophe for contraction and apostrophe for possession
Correct misplaced or missing apostrophes in a set of sentences

Assessment Prompt

“When [child] writes a word like "don't" or "it's", do they put the apostrophe in the right place — and can they also write something like "the dog's bowl" to show the bowl belongs to the dog?”

Prerequisites3

Spelling Contracted Forms
hardAges 6—7
Starting and Ending Sentences
softAges 5—8
Apostrophes for possession
hardAges 6—8

Show full prerequisite tree

Spelling Contracted Forms hard
Must understand contractions before using apostrophes in writing
- 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
Starting and Ending Sentences soft
Basic punctuation knowledge supports apostrophe use
- Building sentences hard
  Must understand sentences before punctuating them
Apostrophes for possession hard
Must understand possessive apostrophe to use it in writing
- 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

Unlocks2

Plural vs Possessive in Nouns
hardAges 8—9
Grammar Terms: Nouns, Verbs and Tense
softAges 6—7