Session 1

Achievement Standard

• Use phonics and word knowledge to fluently read more complex words.
• Understand how language features, images and vocabulary choices are used for different effects.
• Use knowledge of letter-sound relationships including consonant and vowel clusters and high-frequency words to spell words accurately.

Content Descriptions

• Know that word contractions are a feature of informal language and that apostrophes of contraction are used to signal missing letters
  • Recognising both grammatically accurate and inaccurate usage of the apostrophe in everyday texts such as signs in the community and newspaper advertisements
• Understand how to apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships, syllables, and blending and segmenting to fluently read and write multisyllabic words with more complex letter patterns.
• Understand how to use letter-sound relationships and less common letter patterns to spell words.
• Recognise and know how to write most high frequency words.

Materials

Powerpoint, LI and SC student cards, pencils, sentence strips + blanks and word cards, scissors, student books

• Download the Powerpoint
• Download Display Text

Familiarising

• Read the text – from Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl – p. 20
  Today we’re going to look closely at how two words are joined together to make one new, shorter word.
  .
• Have text segment available in large format – Word document/PowerPoint slide projected:
  “Listen,” he said angrily, “I want that fox! I’m going to get that fox! I’m not giving in till I’ve strung him up over my front porch, dead as a dumpling!”
  “We can’t get him by digging, that’s for sure,” said the fat Boggis. “I’ve had enough of digging.”
  .
• Read the text again with the students joining in.
  .
• Provide the students with the LI and SC cards.

Learning Intentions

We are learning to

• understand how language features are used for different effects
• use our knowledge of letters, sounds and words to spell accurately

Success Criteria (co-constructed – students record the success criteria on their cards)

I can

• use an apostrophe to replace the missing letters
• use contractions in my writing

Our focus today is on the words that have been joined together – click on first animation – I’m – then with the students identify and click on each of the rest of the contractions.

Modelling

• Introduce the terms: contraction and apostrophe – display the words and explain (students say the words)
• Using sentence strips for the first section of the text, talk through the process of identifying and cutting out the words that are contracted. Put these words in the sentence-maker still in the sentence.

I’m going to get that fox! I’m not giving in till I’ve strung him up over my front porch, dead as a dumpling!

• Talk through the breaking apart of the contractions: I’m going to … means I am going to ….

Take out “I’m” and replace with “I am” – repeat with “I’ve”

Sharing

• Talk about (demonstrate) how it sounds when read aloud – choose one or two students to read it aloud with both versions
• Look at the second section of text (in the sentence maker):

“We can’t get him by digging, that’s for sure,” said the fat Boggis. “I’ve had enough of digging.”

• Together, identify the words that are contracted – ask a student to cut the word out and place back into the sentence maker.
• Together, break apart the contractions: We can’t get him … means: We can not get him … (might need to talk through this one by talking about the positive, e.g. We can get him … we can not get him…

That’s for sure means: that is for sure.

• Ask a student to write out the pair of words that replaces the contraction.
• Hand out word cards to students in groups of 3. Students read the words.
• Direct the students to take turns to cut each word into its parts, keeping the apostrophe with the part that has letters missing.
• Students write the contraction in their books and write the pair of words next to the contraction.

Plenary

Review LI and SC with students

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Session 2

Materials

Power point, text, LI and SC, student text segments (2), highlighters (1 per student), scissors (1 per group of 3-4), word cards, student books, glue, pencils

Familiarising/Modelling

• Review of text from previous session – read and draw attention to the words highlighted:
  We looked at the contractions in this text – say ‘contraction’ (Students repeat)
  We know that they are made up of two words joined together with letters missing; the apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters: say ‘apostrophe’
• Review the learning intentions on the poster:
  (Students have these recorded)

Sharing

• Today we’re going to look at another piece of text and find the contractions there.
  The part of the text we’re using is when the foxes are still in their tunnel and the farmers are now using the two caterpillar tractors to dig down.
  .
• Read page 23 – Down in the tunnel…. Dig, dig, dig!
  .
• Give students the text and display on power point:
  “What’s happening Dad?” cried the Small Foxes. “What are they doing?”
  Mr Fox didn’t know what was happening or what they were doing.
  “It’s an earthquake!” cried Mrs Fox.
  “Look!” said one of the Small Foxes. “Our tunnel’s got shorter! I can see daylight!”
  . 
• With the students, read the text. Together, highlight the contractions.
  .
• Hand out word cards to students in groups of 3. Students read the words.
  What’s, didn’t, it’s, tunnel’s
  .
• Direct the students to take turns to cut each word into its parts, keeping the apostrophe with the part that has letters missing, using the sentence maker and sentence strips to support the students.
  .
• Together, name the two parts of the word in full.
  .
• Use the sentence maker and re-write the words in full.

Guiding

• Show the students the task:
  We’re going to see now if we can make some contractions. Your text has had the contractions changed back to two words. You will have to find the pairs of words and circle them.
  .
• Demonstrate with student contributions:
  “We are going to make it! I am sure we are!”
  .
• Give groups of students the next pieces of text (one per group):
  “Have you caught sight of him yet?” Bean called back.
  “Not yet,” shouted Boggis. “But I think you are close!”
  “I will pick him up with my bucket!” shouted Bounce. “I will chop him to pieces!”
  .
• “Hey there, Mr Fox!” yelled Bunce, leaning out of his tractor. “We are coming to get you now!”
  “You have had your last chicken!” yelled Boggis. “You will never come prowling around my farm again!”
  .
  “Did you hear that, Mr Fox!” yelled Bean, bending low and shouting down the hole. “It is not over yet, Mr Fox! We are not going home until we have strung you up dead as a dingbat!”
  .
  Bean made a sickly smile. When he smiled you saw his scarlet gums. You saw more gums than teeth.
  “Then there is only one thing to do,” he said. “We will starve him out. We will camp here day and night watching the hole. He will come out in the end. He will have to.”
  .
  The groups identify the pairs of words that can be contracted, circle them and decide on the spelling of the contraction. They write the contraction above the words on their piece of text.

Plenary

The groups report back on their decisions and record the contractions and their pairs of words on a master copy of the text