EnglishPhonics & Word ReadingAges 5–9

Reading Contractions

Read and understand contractions with apostrophes, knowing the apostrophe represents omitted letters

Lesson

Set out your lesson

Read contractions and explain the missing letters.

Before teaching

Activity

Follow this model in an accessible mode before attempting independent work. Graph ordering is not learner mastery; revisit prerequisites if the guided task still needs full modeling.

Policy

Check readiness rather than assuming source graph order establishes attainment.

Printer, credit, and teaching notes

Use supplied sentence strips. Keep possessive its distinct from contraction it’s. Open Show (S), then Guided (G), then Try (T). Hide earlier work and keys before Try. Use only the supplied stage material; do not invent additional cards. Pause or split the session if needed.

Materials are ready in each step. Use them on screen or print just the current step. Put teaching examples aside before the learner tries.

Next: Show

Adult extras

What this lesson covers and its limits

These are bounded opportunities, not learner attainment. Partial and blocked source requirements remain so.

partial: Read and understand contractions with apostrophes, knowing the apostrophe represents omitted letters
Four fresh contextual expansions; not all contraction or possession patterns.
partial: Read common contractions in text (e.g. 'I'm', 'we'll', 'don't')
Four fresh contextual expansions; not all contraction or possession patterns.
partial: Match contractions to their expanded forms (e.g. 'I'm' = 'I am')
Four fresh contextual expansions; not all contraction or possession patterns.
partial: Explain that the apostrophe shows where letters are missing
Four fresh contextual expansions; not all contraction or possession patterns.
partial: Does {{name}} understand that 'can't' means 'cannot' and 'it's' means 'it is' — knowing the apostrophe stands for the missing letter or letters?
Four fresh contextual expansions; not all contraction or possession patterns.

Four fresh contextual expansions; not all contraction or possession patterns.

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Read contractions and explain the missing letters.

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Learning resources

Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.

UF Literacy Institute · Practice link — not the full lesson

UFLI Foundations Toolbox

Open practice(new tab)

Before you open · source notes

UFLI Foundations Toolbox supports Reading Contractions. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.

Free educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.

Before you open

Ask the learner one fact they learned and one question they still have.

Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.

Source, access and review notes

Public UF Literacy Institute page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.

UF Literacy Institute. “UFLI Foundations Toolbox.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.

Unknown — link only

Check understanding

Read common contractions in text (e.g. 'I'm', 'we'll', 'don't')
Match contractions to their expanded forms (e.g. 'I'm' = 'I am')
Explain that the apostrophe shows where letters are missing

“Does your child understand that 'can't' means 'cannot' and 'it's' means 'it is' — knowing the apostrophe stands for the missing letter or letters?”

Curriculum record

Type: Procedural
Subject: English
Domain: Phonics & Word Reading
Age range: Ages 5–9

Standards

the-ontario-curriculum-language-2023:ON-LANG-2023-G3-B3.3uk-nc-2013:Eng_Y1_RWR_07