Grade 6
Lesson 14, Part 1
UbD
Unit Name:
Stage
1
Unit EQ
Unit EU
Stage
2
Stage
3
Writing to Learn About Myself
How do I draw from my experiences to create meaningful texts?
What makes writing effective?
How can writing help me to learn?
Writers use personal experience to create meaningful texts.
Writing is effective when it’s honest and specific
Lesson Title
Standards:
Content
Process
GLE
Lesson EQ that
relates to Unit
EQ
Knowledge
and/or
Skills
Preparing for Presentation - possessives
W2E: In writing, use apostrophe in irregular and plural possessives
Time Frame
Assessment
Evidence
(including DOK)
Materials
½ of a block
Exit Slip - paragraph
Published piece with few errors in conventions
What makes writing effective?
I can use apostrophes correctly irregular and plural possessives
Small white boards or paper
Instructional
Sequence
G – CLARIFY TODAY’s LEARNING TARGET WITH STUDENTS ((Pose the lesson EQ)
The teacher should ask the students, “What do you do just before you leave the house?” Someone will
probably say, “Look in a mirror.” Or, the teacher should ask, “What goes on at your house when company is
expected?” Someone will probably volunteer that the family cleans up so the house looks good. Explain that
this is exactly what writers do when they are preparing to publish, or share, their writing. They know the
content is good, but they need to make sure the details are correct so that the appearance doesn’t detract
from the content or readability. Explain that for the next two days they will be learning rules that will help
them be sure their piece is ready for publication.
A – LINK TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE (from previous lessons or students’ experiences)
As students enter the class, have these five examples displayed for them to write as possessives as a “Do
Now.”
 A toy that belongs to one boy (boy’s toy)
 A book that belongs to Charles (Charles’s book)
 Two dog that belong to the children (children’s dog)
 A pizza that belongs to Jenna and Gabe both (Jenna and Gabe’s pizza)
 Homework that has been done by each Mia and Jesus (Mia’s and Jesus’s homework)
Share the correct answers in parentheses with the class as students volunteer what they think is the correct
way to write the possessive. Tell them that today the class is going to review the rules for possessive nouns
so that they can use them correctly in their writing.
N - Acquire NEW Information and Process Information for Deeper Understanding: TEACHING POINT
Students should take notes in their mini-lesson folders as the teacher reviews the following rules:
Rule #1: Making singular nouns possessive
Add an apostrophe + s to most singular nouns and to plural nouns that do not end in s.
You’ll use this rule the most, so pay particular attention to it. English has some words that are plural
but do not add an ‘s’. Words like children, sheep, women and men are such words. These plural words
are treated as if they were singular words when making noun possessives.
Examples:

Singular nouns: kitten’s toy, Joe’s car, MLB’s ruling

Plurals not ending in s: women’s dresses, sheep’s pasture, children’s toys
Rule #2: Making plural nouns possessive Add an apostrophe only to plural nouns that already end
in s. You don’t need to add an extra ‘s’ to plural nouns that already end with the letter ‘s’. Simply tuck
the apostrophe onto the end to indicate that the plural noun is now a plural possessive noun.
Examples:

Companies’ workers

Horses’ stalls

Countries’ armies
Rule #3: Making hyphenated nouns and compound nouns plural. Compound and hyphenated
words can be tricky. Add the apostrophe + s to the end of the compound words or the last word in a
hyphenated noun.
Examples:

My mother-in-law’s recipe for meatloaf is my husband’s favorite.

The United States Post Office’s stamps are available in roll or in packets.
Rule #4: Indicating possession when two nouns are joined together.You may be writing about
two people or two places or things that share possession of an object. If two nouns share ownership,
indicate possession only once, and on the second noun. Add the apostrophe + s to the second noun
only.
Examples:

Jack and Jill’s pail of water features prominently in the nursery rhyme.

Abbot and Costello’s comedy skit “Who’s On First” is a classic act.
Rule #5: Indicating possession when two nouns are joined, and ownership is separate. This
is the trickiest of all, but thankfully you’ll probably need this rule infrequently. When two nouns indicate
ownership, but the ownership is separate, each noun gets the apostrophe + s. The examples below
may help you understand exactly what this means.
Example:

Lucy’s and Ricky’s dressing rooms were painted pink and blue. (Each owns his or her own
dressing room, and they are different rooms).

Senator Obama’s and Senator Clinton’s educations are outstanding. (Each senator owns his or
her education, but they attained separate educations).
A – Use Higher-Order Processing Skills to APPLY New Learning
Divide your students into groups of three or four. Organize a class game, using small white boards or paper.
The teacher should display, using the document camera or Smart Board, examples such as were used in the
“G” section of today’s lesson. After a few minutes, the groups should hold up their answers and points should
be awarded if correct. Play several rounds to determine a winning group.
G – GENERALIZE (CLOSURE)
Exit Slip: Students should write a paragraph that includes three possessive nouns, punctuated correctly. Ask
students to underline the examples of possession.
Students should be allowed time to edit their drafts to look for correct punctuation of possessive nouns.
WHERETO
Grappling’s
Circle for this lesson: Where Hook Equip Reflect Evaluate Tailor Organize
Level one
Targeted
Concepts &
Skills:*
Citizenship,
Level two
Level three
Level four
Workplace
Readiness,
Equity
Literacy
Strategies
Research
Other
Glossary for
Teacher
Glossary for
Students
Teacher Notes:
Differentiation,
Common
misconception
Resources