CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.2c

ELA2nd GradeConventions of Standard English

The Standard

Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students place apostrophes in common contractions to show where letters were removed. They also use an apostrophe with a common singular noun to show that something belongs to someone or something.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students correctly write common contractions such as don't, can't, and I'm. They use forms such as Maya's backpack to show ownership and can explain what the apostrophe does.
Common Misconceptions: Students may write dont, do'nt, or cant because they do not connect the apostrophe to missing letters. They may also add apostrophes to regular plurals, as in dog's for more than one dog. Some confuse its with it's.
How to Assess It: Give this exit ticket: Rewrite “The dog does not like rain” using a contraction, then rewrite “the backpack belonging to Maya” using a possessive noun.

Lesson moves

Give pairs word cards, sticky-note apostrophes, and letter tiles to build contractions and mark the missing letters.
Ask students to compare “the girl's hat” and “the girls wore hats,” then explain what the apostrophe changes.
Have teams sort sentence cards into contraction, possessive, and neither piles, then correct any misplaced apostrophes.
Label classroom items with phrases such as “teacher's desk” and “Jordan's folder,” then have students add two accurate labels.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.2c, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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