Contractions Lesson Plan: Conventions of Standard English

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Contractions Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Contractions, and supports the standard of demonstrating command of the conventions of standard English grammar when writing or speaking. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display the following contractions:

Couldn’t

We’re

I’ll

Ask students:

  • What do you notice about these words? 
  • What do they have in common? 

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Contractions topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign one of the following Related Reading articles: “In Depth” or “Etc.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Students take the Contractions Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about contractions while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a movie retelling a story you know in which you use at least five contractions. 
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map that uses examples to contrast contractions and possessive nouns.
  • Creative Coding: Code a conversation where the speakers use at least four contractions. 

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of grammatical conventions with these topics: Verbs and their Objects, Possessives, and Subject-Verb Agreement.

Teacher Support Resources:

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    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, BrainPOP, Contractions, Lesson Ideas, Lesson Plan