PRESENTATION – 6th Grade Language Arts
Content to be taught: Apostrophe use in single and plural possessives.
Learning Objectives:
Given a presentation on apostrophe use in single and plural possessives, the
SWBAT identify the rules for apostrophe use and verbalize the correct use of the
possessive apostrophe from sample sentences on the board. SWBAT create an
apostrophe rules note card to keep in their binder as a reference. SWBAT
construct their own sentences given a worksheet on possessive apostrophe use
and provide an example sentence for the class to analyze for correct
punctuation. Students will complete their worksheets at home and turn in the next
day for grading. The possessive apostrophe will be incorporated into DOL during
the quarter, and correct apostrophe use is expected in student writing from this
point on.
Procedures
Phase 1: Hello everyone, good morning. So today, we’re going to go over a
lesson that will impact the rest of your life – no joke. Once you know, this skill
should stick with you – you’ll use it in every paper you write. We’re going to
review some punctuation today - the possessive apostrophe. We’ll spend about
15 minutes examining rules of possessive apostrophe use, which you’ll record on
a note card, and then create some sentences of our own. We’ll share these
sentences at the end of class to make sure everyone has a firm understanding of
the possessive apostrophe. You’ll all have a chance to correct your sentences,
so everyone should receive the full 20 points on this practice worksheet.
Phase 2: Advance organizer: For an example of how important the possessive
apostrophe is, and how often people forget, let me tell y’all about a teacher I had
in High School. This teacher was so frustrated with students forgetting correct
punctuation; he would grade any paper with bad punctuation, no matter the
quality of writing, an automatic C. This happened to a friend of mine – you better
believe she got punctuation right next time. So, what I am going to have you all
do is write down each rule for possessive apostrophe use on a note card. Leave
some space under the rule to include an example sentence from your worksheet.
Paste this card to the inside of your notebook. You’ll need to know these rules in
your writing, and I’ll expect your writing to reflect mastery of correct apostrophe
use from here on out. You can use your note card as a reference when needed
throughout the year. Without further ado, let’s get to the possessive apostrophe.
Phase 3: Present Learning Materials
So, let’s see what our friends Kurt and Dave are up to. Looks like Kurt’s lost his
jacket. Let’s examine this sentence:
Kurts jacket was left in the auditorium after last weeks assembly.
So, this sentence presents two rules of the possessive apostrophe. Someone tell
me one place for an apostrophe in this sentence. (Kurt’s) Why? (Because the
journal belongs to Kurt.) Exactly. The first rule for your note card is that the
apostrophe shows ownership: The journal belongs to Kurt, so we put an ’s on
Kurt. There we go.
Kurt’s jacket was left in the auditorium after last weeks assembly.
There’s another place for an apostrophe here – we know apostrophes show
possession. What else has possession? Yes, Kendra? (Week’s.) Okay, why?
(Because the assembly happened during last week.) Yes, that’s true. How does it
show possession? (Well, a week can’t own anything, but the assembly happened
during the week……and it looks right?) What you’ve identified, Kendra, is the
second rule of apostrophes. They show time or space. So time would be the
week. And because the assembly happened during the week, the week has
possession of the assembly. The same would be true if the sentence said
yesterday’s, or Tuesday’s because these show time. So the second rule for y’all
to write down on your note card: apostrophe’s show time and space.
So the complete sentence reads:
Kurt’s jacket was left in the auditorium after last week’s assembly.
Good enough. There is a third apostrophe rule. Let’s find it in this sentence:
We heard Daves drumming on the CD.
Where does the apostrophe go in this sentence? (Dave’s) Why? (Because Dave
did the drumming) Yes, Mark, that shows the third apostrophe rule – the
apostrophe shows identity. No matter who hears the CD, the drumming will
always be Dave’s. The same could be said of writing, or design - anything a
person makes or does, or that a machine, thing, or country produces – like
computer’s graphics or Japan’s cartoons. Write this rule on your note card.
So the complete sentence reads:
We heard Dave’s drumming on the CD.
We’ll look over four more sentences, and then you all will construct sentences of
your own.
The girl’s bike rested against the tree.
We’re talking about 1 girl. This is an example of singular possession – singular
means one. When a noun is spelled as though there were only one of it (girl)
then possession is shown by putting an apostrophe before the s.
Okay. Next sentence, Herb?
The girl’s bikes rested against the tree.
So here, the girl owns multiple bikes, but there still just one girl – she’s singular.
So when we are only referring to a singular possession, the spelling remains the
same –’s.
The next sentence looks a bit different.
The girls’ bikes rested against the tree.
Notice the apostrophe is in a different place – after the s. Here, it shows there is
more than one girl – it’s plural. Girls’ is the plural possessive use of the
apostrophe. When you’ve got a plural, for example multiple cats’, dogs’, girls’,
you use s’ to show the plural possessive.
For the final sentence, we’ve got a bit of a variable. To introduce, let me tell you
about my best friend when I was in middle school. Her name was Shannon
Rogers. Going over to Shannon’s after school, I was always confused when I
would write a bus slip for my mother to sign “Betsy may ride the bus home to the
Rogers’s house.” Rogers’s always sounded odd to me – didn’t roll of the tongue
too well, you know? But the house belonged to the Rogers family – they owned
it. What to do? Let’s find out. When you’ve got a noun that ends with an s, like
Rogers or Lars, you have a choice on how to show ownership. Let’s look at
sentence 4.
Betsy and Shannon played at the Rogers house.
Any ideas on how to show ownership of the house? Refer back to your note card
for help. (It seems like Rogers’s would work, Ms. Milleson). Yes, Lacey, that’s
true. Rogers’s is correct, because the house belongs to the singular Rogers
family, and the ’s shows possession. However, we have another option in this
case. Because the noun already ends with an s, we can just place an apostrophe
after the s in Rogers. This rule creates a word that is easier to say, and still
shows possession. So the sentence can read either:
Betsy and Shannon played at the Rogers’s house.
OR
Betsy and Shannon played at the Rogers’ house.
AND both sentences are grammatically correct.
Phase 4: Extending and Strengthening Thinking
I’m passing around some worksheets for you to construct your own
sentences. Follow the directions on the worksheet, and we’ll share a few
examples after 10 minutes. Complete problems 1-5 – you’ll do the rest at home
tonight. I’ll leave the sentences we’ve worked with on the board for reference.
Work with your table partner in constructing your sentences, and I’ll come around
the room for help. Write a example sentence from your worksheet under the
appropriate apostrophe rule on your note card.
Okay, Jeremy, let’s hear one of your sentences.
And where did you put the apostrophes?
Class, thumbs up or thumbs down? Down – okay, why? Lisa, you had your
thumb down. You have a critique of this sentence - por que? Lisa answers)
Repeat for 3 sentences.
Post Instructional Tasks
Assessment: Please complete your worksheets at home tonight and turn them in
tomorrow – you may want to instruct your folks on what you’ve learned! I’ll return
them to you at the end of the week. Now that we’ve had this lesson, and we’ve
created note cards, DOL will be including singular and plural possessive
apostrophes. As well, I’ll expect that your writing be correct using this convention.
Be sure to refer to your note card, ask a neighbor, or check with me if you have a
question regarding the possessive apostrophe. I’ve heard from the 7th and 8th
grade teachers that students from this class have excellent punctuation skills. I’m
sure y’all will keep up the trend.
Grading: Student sentences will be graded for correct usage of the singular/plural
possessive apostrophe. Assignment will be worth 20 points, 2 points for each
sentence plus 4 points on two bonus questions. Students will miss 1 point for
each misplaced/missing apostrophe.
Evidence/Task for Positive Impact on Student Learning
Student will develop a cognitive ability required in writing, that of applying correct
punctuation in sentences.
Students will internalize, through practice, the rules of the possessive
apostrophe.
Students will learn to examine potential sentences to apply rules correctly.
Students will learn a valuable writing skill, one that is relevant and required in
higher levels of schooling and in writing on the job.
1. Write a sentence that talks about one cow that lives in a large pen. Write the sentence so
that the word cow is spelled with an s and an apostrophe before the s.
2. The sentence you wrote for #1 above had one cow in it. If there is one cow, and an
apostrophe before the s, the word is called a singular possessive. Write another sentence
that contains the word bear as a singular possessive.
3. Write a sentence in which the main idea is bad weather. Include a singular possessive in
your sentence.
4. Write a sentence that contains the word trees. Make sure your sentence has more than
one tree in it. Use an apostrophe to show that the word trees is a plural possessive.
5. Write a sentence that contains a plural possessive. Make the plural possessive
something you can wear.
6. Write a sentence in which the main idea is a birthday party. Include a plural possessive in
your sentence.
7. Write a sentence that contains birds as a plural possessive.
8. Write a sentence in which your name is a singular possessive.
9. BONUS Write a sentence containing a singular, possessive noun ending in s.
10. BONUS Write a sentence containing a plural, possessive noun ending in s.
Chalen’s EXTRA TIME ACTIVITY – IT’S vs ITS
It's
"It's" is a contraction. It is short for "it is" or "it has". It's not a way to show
possession of an noun represented by “it.". This is an exception to the rules we
looked at earlier, where adding an ’s showed ownership. It’s is a contraction,
similar to won’t or can’t. Write this down on your apostrophe note card with an
example sentence.
Examples:
It's a small world, after all (It is a small world afterall).
You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all
about. (That’s what it is all about).
Well, it's been a long day ( It has been a long day).
Its
"Its" shows possession. Its interpretation is something like "that which belongs to
it", where "it" stands for some previously stated noun. This is an exception to our
apostrophe rule, where possession is shown with an ’s. This is something we can
remember through practice. Write this one down, too, on your apostrophe note
card with an example sentence.
Examples:
He left it dead, and with its head he went galumphing back. (It and its
refer to the Jabberwocky – the Jabberwocky had possession of the head,
hence the its).
Trouble rears its ugly head. (Its stands for the noun trouble)
Using them correctly
With practice, it's easy to tell these two devilish words apart. To help you keep
them separate, here are some handy tips:

Try replacing your "it's" with "it is" in the sentence. If the sentence
becomes obviously wrong, you probably meant to use "its". If it sounds
okay, "it's" can stay. Write this on your note card, it’s an awesome strategy
that is easy to use and pretty failsafe.
Example: "Nothing can take it's place" can't be right, because "Nothing
can take it is place" is nonsense. You probably mean "Nothing can take
its place".
Example: "It's not easy being green". Well, "It is not easy" is right, so the
original sentence is okay.

Try replacing your "its" with "his" in the sentence. If it comes out sounding
right, "its" can stay.
Example: "That's just its way of making friends" must be okay, because
"That's just his way of making friends" is grammatically correct.
In general, "its" as a possessive is like "his". You wouldn't write "hi's",
would you?
As practice, let’s write some sentences that correctly use it’s and its
together.


It’s x 3 sentences
Its x 3 sentences
Okay, so now let’s pretend I’m working on our book report on Part Time
Indian. I’ll write down some sentences and you all need to explain to me if
my it’s/its needs an apostrophe or not.
1) The school’s mascot was an Indian. Its red skin made Junior
uncomfortable.
Apostrophe in this one? Thumbs up or down? Down? Why (Because the
skin belonged to the Indian). Right. It is red skin doesn’t fit. I think you all
have got this down.
2) Junior thought, “Its a shame Rowdy isn’t here with me today.”
Apostrophe here? Thumbs up – why? (The sentence reads it is, so a
contraction has an apostrophe). That’s right.