These contractions flash cards help kindergarten to 4th grade students see how two words join to make a contraction, with 24 fold-over cards and a practice page. Answer key included.
Play this snowman contractions activity as a memory game: 1st to 3rd grade students match two-word Mitten Cards to Snowman contraction cards and record each pair. Answer key included.
This contractions crossword puzzle worksheet gives 3rd graders seven sentence clues and a 9 by 9 grid, plus a written question about the apostrophe. No word bank. Answer key included.
This contractions list worksheet has 3rd graders sort twelve contractions by not, will and have, then decide if 'd means had or would. An answer key is included for easy checking.
This do you want to build a snowman contractions activity has 1st to 3rd grade students match two-word body cards to contraction head cards, then practice on a worksheet. Answer key included.
This circling contractions worksheet has students pick the correctly spelled contraction, then fix four more in sentences. Built for 3rd grade with an answer key included.
Using Earth Day Contractions Activity, students match two word phrase cards (I cannot) to contractions cards (I can't) in order to use contractions in their writing.
Using Contractions Activity, students match two word phrase cards (I cannot) to contractions cards (I can't) in order to use contractions in their writing.
Squish two words, add one tiny comma
A contraction is two words squished into one, with an apostrophe standing in for the missing letters. Third graders move past the easy ones and learn whole families: the not family (do not = don't), the will family (I will = I'll), and the have and are families. They spell them correctly in their own writing and read them smoothly in books. The big click is seeing the apostrophe as a little bandage covering where letters used to be.
Contractions are a perfect quick-win skill. These three moves get kids spelling them right in real writing, not just on a page.
Write "do not" on a sentence strip, then snip out the o with scissors and tape an apostrophe over the gap. Kids physically see where the letter went. After two or three, they can explain the rule to a partner without you.
Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.
Try it withContractions ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Show the two words, kids call out the contraction, then flip it around and show the contraction first. A two-minute round at the start of ELA keeps the tricky ones fresh, like won't, which breaks every rule.
Why it works: researchers who compared ten study methods found practice testing is one of the two that work best (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).
Try it withContractions Flash CardsFlash CardsOpen it →Once kids know the not and will families separately, mix them on one page so they have to stop and think about which word is hiding. That little pause is where the real learning happens.
Why it works: mixing different kinds of problems in one practice set helped students do far better on a later test (Rohrer and Taylor, 2007).
Try it withContractions List WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →A few kid favorites for centers, early finishers and quick review.
ActivitiesKids match word pairs to their contraction to build a whole snowman, piece by piece.
Open Snowman Contractions Activity →
WorksheetsClues give the two words, the grid wants the contraction. Great for partners.
Open Contractions Crossword Puzzle →
WorksheetsKids read short sentences and circle every contraction they spot, then say the two words out loud.
Open Circling Contractions Worksheet →Teacher favorites right now: Contractions Flash Cards, Snowman Contractions Activity and Contractions Crossword Puzzle.
They are shortened forms of two words joined with an apostrophe, like can't, I'm and they'll. Third graders learn the common families and use them correctly when they write.
It marks the spot where letters were dropped. In she's, the apostrophe replaces the i in is. A quick trick: ask kids to say which letters are missing.
Because it doesn't follow the pattern! Will not becomes won't, not willn't. We teach it as a special rule-breaker and practice it on its own.
Teach the swap test: if you can say "it is" or "it has" in its place, use it's. If not, it's the possessive its with no apostrophe.
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