Name: XXXXXXX                            Date: March 18, 2009                         Grade level: 6th – 3^rd 

Subject/topic: Contractions                 Length/minutes: 20-30 minutes          Group size: whole class

Sequence: ongoing

Standard/core: Standard 8, objective 4, indicator a

Standard 8 Writing-Students write daily to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Objective 4. Edit written draft for conventions.

a.Edit writing for correct capitalization and punctuation (i.e., capitals in holidays, titles, dates, greetings and closings of letters, personal titles, contractions, abbreviations).

Learning goal: Students will understand how to form contractions with the word not.

Major concepts:

Contraction: a shortened form of two words; making two words into one

Apostrophe: shows where letters have been taken out (in most contractions with not, it takes the place of O.)

Contractions:  is not – isn’t

                              are not – aren’t

                              was not – wasn’t

                              were not – weren’t

                              have not – haven’t

                              has not – hasn’t

                              had not – hadn’t

                              do not – don’t

                              does not – doesn’t

                              did not – didn’t

                              will not – won’t   apostrophe takes out two letters: n and o.

                              cannot – can’t      apostrophe- three letters disappear an the o changes position

Given a worksheet, students will be able to write the correct contraction form of the word with 80% accuracy.

Self starter: none

Expectations: Sit and raise hands (no calling out) even when on the carpet; Students will focus on the topic; No sharpening pencils, getting out of seats going to the bathroom during the lesson.

Procedures: work with your table buddy; raise hands to speak.

Fast finisher: write a story using contractions on the back of your paper.

Tell objective: “Today, are going to see how many contractions we can make. At the end, you’ll have to be able to tell me the contractions that go with a set of words, so pay attention!”

Schema Orientation:

Explain definition of contraction (making two words into one).

Explain that an apostrophe (takes the place of missing letters) is used to shorten the words.

Let’s go over some of the most common contractions and see what they mean. Place word card pairs on the board. State two words and see if students can name the contraction before you put the card on the board.

Now let’s see if we can find some in this paragraph. Read the paragraph out loud (taking turns reading aloud) and have students raise their hands when they think they see/hear a contraction.

Please come sit on the carpet up front. We have a game to play after we write some of our own contraction sentences. Please do not talk to your neighbor so we will have time to play our game.   As a class, use interactive writing to construct sentences or a story using contractions. Have students take turns writing the sentences. Teacher can write parts of the sentence to help speed up process, but be sure that students are writing the contractions. Be sure to point out apostrophe placement in each contraction and double check spelling of contractions so students can see which letters are left out of the contraction.

Example: Let’s write a story using the following prompt: “Don’t do that,” Jimmy’s mother yelled.

    Discuss what Jimmy’s mom could be warning him not to do, then let students write a story while sharing the pen. Have students help contribute ideas. Try to engage every student and use ideas form many students to write the story.

Now we have a game to play. Contraction Bases: Place signs with contractions around the room. Use the word cards from the beginning of the lesson to help you choose bases.

Activity:

Model/Explain: Now that we understand contractions, let’s play our game. I have put contraction signs up around the room. By the time I count to 5, find a contraction base to stand by. Don’t move until I start counting. You must be frozen at a base by the time I’m done counting.  (This game is similar to the classroom game “corners”.)

            Check for understanding:

            As you call out words that form contractions (to get student out of the game), check to make sure students know the corresponding contraction. Have students point to the contraction that goes with the set of words.

Then play the game ! Have students who are out sit at their desks and be “Freeze Police” that make sure everyone is at a base when you get to 5. You can also have students help choose the base. Start over after calling a few bases to let everyone participate. When students get out, they can help you choose a contraction to call.

Independent practice:

Have students go back to their worksheet and ask students to write the contraction that goes with each set of words. Remind them about the fast finisher (write a story using contractions on the back of your paper).

Closure: Lead a class discussion about why people use contractions. When would you choose to use a contraction over a formal set of words?

            Visual learners- word cards

            Kinesthetic learners- active game

            ELL students- word cards with oral language

Word cards

Large writing paper

Markers

Easel

Signs for game

Worksheet