Contractions

Subject(s):ESOL
Gradelevel(s):6thand7th
Author(s):MollyMcCoy,HannahPietrzak,RachelJumper
Overview Thepurposeofthislessonisforstudentstolearnhowtocreatecontractions.This
willdonethroughteacherinstructiononwhatacontractioniswithexamples.A
chartwillbecreatedasaninstructionaltool.Next,studentswilleachcreatea
foldabletouseasareference.Thestudentswillbeassessedthrougha
worksheet.
Objectives Givenaworksheetofsentences,studentswillbeabletoidentifythetwowords
thatmakeupacontractionwith90%accuracy.
Givenaworksheetofsentences,studentswillbeabletoformcontractionsfrom
twowordswith90%accuracy.
Standards R1.2Identifyfrequentlyusedcompoundwordsandcontractions.
R1.4Comprehendsimplephrasesandsentences.
https://ed.sc.gov/agency/programsservices/42/documents/SC_ESOLStandards_8
06.pdf(SouthCarolinaESOLStandards)
Materials Paper,organizer,markers,crayons,scissors,chartpaper
Procedures

Connection
WehavebeenreadingalotofinterestingbooksinEnglishlately.We
haverecentlybeentalkingaboutapostrophesandthemanywaystheycanbe
used.Therearemanyofyouthathavecomeacrosswordsthathave
contractions.Raiseyourhandifyouhaveseentheseinyourbooks.

Hook
Someofusknowwhattheselooklikeandothersdonotyet.Turnandtalk
toyourneighborandtellthemwhatyouthinkacontractionis.

Purpose
Todaywewillbelearningaboutwhatacontractionisandhowtheseare
used.Thisisimportantforustolearn,becauseweseethesealotinbooksand
areverycommonwhenspeakingEnglish.

Teaching
Teacherwillexplainwhatacontractionisashorterwayofsaying,what
youneedtosay
Classwillworktogetherincreatingananchorchart

ActiveEngagement
Raiseyourhandifyouhaveseenacontractioninyourbooks

ActiveLearningListening
Turnandtalktoyouneighboraboutwhatyouthinkacontractionis

Application
Thestudentswillallcreateafoldableindividuallyforcommonexamplesof
contractions.Thiswillbeusedasaresourceforthemineverydaywritingand
reading.

Closure
Willtwopeoplegivemedifferentexamplesofcontractionsinasentence.
Iwillhandoutyourhomeworknowoncontractions.Whenyougetit,put
itaway,andgetyourdesksclearedoffformath.
Assessment Fortheassessmentofthestudentsknowledgeofcontractionsweplantohave
themcompleteafillintheblankassignmentwheretheywillbeaskedtowritethe
contractionthatwouldfitthegivensentence.Duringthisassessmenttheywillbe
allowedtousethefoldabletheycreatedtohelpthemwithfillingintheproper
answers.
http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/freegrammarworksheets/contractionswork
sheet2.pdf

Linktolessonplanpresentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vpZxMvy8rkSEtDzmJF1jgERYgCFcvij5fgKnD9USTVY/edit?usp
=sharing
References
Huck,S.,Schaffer,R.,Chesley,K.,Adams,K.,Klawiter,B.,&Burtnett,O.(1986).Ourreaderswrite:
what'sagoodtechniqueforteachingenglishasasecondlanguage?TheEnglishJournal,75(7),
7678.

ThefirstarticlewereadwasaboutteachingtechniquesandwhatworksandwhatdoesnotforESL
students.InthisarticlewefoundtheaccountsofSharonHuckofGlenbardNorthHighSchoolinCarol
Stream,IllinoisandKathrynChesleyofWestSenecaCentralSchoolsinEggertsville,NewYorktobe
particularlyeffective.Wefeltthatthesetwobestmodeledtheteachingstylewewerehopingtouseinthis
lessonplan.Theybothemphasizedtheimportanceoflettingstudentsmakethelearningexperiencetheir
ownandencouragingthemtobecreativewiththeirwork.Thatisourgoalwithlettingeachstudentcreate
theirownfoldablethatwillbeuniquetothem.Theyalsostressedtheimportanceofsentencebuildingand
changingthecomplexityofsentencestobetterfitthemeaningortheyaretryingtogetacross.Thisis
valuabletoourworksheetwehaveforthestudentsbecauseitrequiresthemtochangethesentencetofit
thecontractionscriteriaweareaskingfor.
Teachingenglishasasecondlanguage.(1966).CollegeCompositionandCommunication,17(3),
pp.198199.doi:10.2307/354471

ThesecondarticlewereadwasabouttheimportanceofthemannerinwhichyouteachESLclasses.It
discussestheimportanceofcorrectinggrammaticalerrorsearlyonwithoutoverwhelmingstudentstothe
pointthattheydonotenjoyorwanttolearnthematerial.Overall,wefeltthiswasvaluabletouswhen
planningourlessonbecauseonethingwewereveryconcernedwithwashowandinwhatwayshouldwe
teachthesestudents.Wedidnotwanttomakethelessontooeasyforthemandtobeoffendedbecause
wedidnotassesstheirlevelcorrectly,butwealsodidnotwanttomakealessonthatwastoodifficultfor
themandmakethemfeeloverwhelmedandfrustratedbecauseofwhatwasbeingaskedofthem.