Title:

The Ownership Apostrophe

Grade Level:

9,10

Subject:

English Language Arts

Author:

abcinc

Time:

15-20 Minutes (mini-lesson, used in conjunction with a writing assignment)

Lesson Plan Type:

Interactive Instruction

Keywords:

Possessive case of nouns and pronouns

Brief Description:

To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add an apostrophe, and an ‘s’. To form the possessive case of a plural noun ending in s, add only the apostrophe.

California State Standards Addressed:

English Language Arts/10/Written and Oral English Language Conventions)1.1

Goal(s):

The students will be able to use apostrophes to show possession, ownership, and relationship.

Specific Objectives:

Student will correct sentences by adding apostrophes to show possession.

Required Materials:

• Overhead projector or proxima or Whiteboard
• Overhead transparency with example sentences containing sentences that need a possessive apostrophe
• Pencil and Paper

Anticipatory Set (Lead-in):

Most 10th graders should have no difficulty with this lesson. It should be a review for most of them. Remind the students that understanding this rule is easy. However, remembering to apply the rule can be difficult. Ask the students to list five nouns. The ask them to add items that can be possessed by the noun. Ask for volunteers to read examples aloud.

Lesson Plan Procedure:

1. Review the rules and their application:
2. Rule (1): To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add an apostrophe, and an ‘s’.
                Example:
                  • Bill’s football
                  • Girl’s toy
                  • Tonight’s meal

Note: Point out to students that if they are unsure of whether or not to use an apostrophe, they can use the “of” phrase to test for correctness. Example: tonight’s meal can be checked by saying “meal of tonight”. That works, therefore, you need an apostrophe.

3. Rule (2): To form the possessive case of a plural noun ending in ‘s’, add only the apostrophe.

               Example:
                   • Teachers’ union
                   • Cities’ difficulties

4. Rule (3): Some singular nouns ending in an‘s’ need an apostrophe and an added s to make the meaning clear.

                 Example:
                    • Waitress’s hands
                    • Hughes’s house

5. Rule (4): There are a few plural nouns that do not end in ‘s’. In these instances possession is shown by adding an apostrophe and an ‘s’. 

                 Example:
                    • Oxen’s burden
                    • Women’s shoes

6. Rule (5): Indefinite pronouns require an apostrophe and an ‘s’.

                  Example:
                     • Anyone’s problem
                     • Someone’s umbrella

7. Rule (6): In compound words, organization names, business firms, and words showing joint possession.
                  Example:
                     • Brother-in-law’s car
                     • Board of directors’ report
                     • Smith and Hardy’s Bait Shop
                     • Maria and Juan’s house

8. Hand out sample sentences of nouns and pronouns that need an apostrophe.

9. After the students have completed the exercise, ask volunteers to provide the correct answer.

Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):

Place a number of examples on the board or an overhead and ask for volunteers to place the apostrophe correctly. Include in your examples words that do not require apostrophes.

Assessment Based on Objectives:

A quiz containing examples of words that require an apostrophe and words that don’t require an apostrophe to show possession.

Adaptations and Extensions:

Student who fail the quiz can do further work on the Purdue Owl link and then be retested.

Additional Notes:

It will be helpful to review the spelling rules for forming the plurals of nouns.