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Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns

A 40-minute Grade 2 lesson on capitalizing holidays and product names, apostrophes for contractions and possessives, and spelling patterns.

Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns is a free 40-minute Grade 2 English lesson plan for Common Core standard L.2.2 — capitalize proper nouns, use apostrophes and commas, and spell patterns you have been taught. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 2
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
L.2.2

Grade 2 · Language

L.2.2

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Objective

Students will be able to place an apostrophe correctly in a contraction and in a singular possessive, and capitalize holidays, product names and place names.

Students are successful when they can

  • Writes do not as "don't" and can not as "can't," with the apostrophe where the letters were taken out.
  • Writes "the dog's bowl" with 's for one owner, and does not add an apostrophe to a plain plural like "dogs."
  • Capitalizes a holiday, a place and a product name: "On Saturday we went to Lake Erie."
  • Uses a known pattern to spell a new word, e.g. cage to spell "page."

What you need

  • Word cards: do, not, can, is, was, did, and an apostrophe card
  • Sentence strips for sorting: contraction, belongs to, plain plural
  • A short list of known patterns: cage, boy, light, bake
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — what got taken out?

5 min
  1. Hold up the cards "do" and "not" side by side. Ask the class to say them fast together: "don't."
  2. Slide the cards together and cover the "o" of "not" with the apostrophe card. Ask: "What letter disappeared?" Fish for "the o."
  3. Do the same with "can" + "not" (two letters, n and o, vanish) and "was" + "not" (wasn't).
“In a contraction, the apostrophe sits exactly where the letters were taken out. It marks the gap.”

Teach — two jobs, one mark

13 min
  1. Write: "The dogs bowl was empty." Ask: "Whose bowl is it?" (The dog's.) Add the apostrophe: "The dog's bowl was empty." The 's shows the bowl belongs to the dog.
  2. Write three sentences and ask which needs an apostrophe: "The dogs ran away." / "The dog's tail wagged." / "I don't like rain." The first is a plain plural — more than one dog — and needs none.
  3. Give the test: "Is something taken out? Does something belong? If neither, no apostrophe."
  4. Capitals: write "on saturday we went to lake erie and ate crunchy oats." Ask which words name one special day, place or product. Circle Saturday, Lake Erie and Crunchy Oats, and rewrite with capitals.
  5. Spelling patterns: write "cage." Ask how to spell "page" and "stage" using it. Then "boy" to spell "toy" and "joy." A word you know spells words that sound the same.
“An apostrophe has two jobs only: something is missing, or something belongs. A word that just means more than one never gets one.”

Guided practice — three piles

12 min
  1. Hand each pair six sentence strips: "The cat's dish is blue." "The cats are asleep." "We can't find the kite." "That is Ada's coat." "I didn't see it." "The lions slept."
  2. Pairs sort them into three piles: contraction, belongs to, plain plural. Each pair must say the test aloud for each strip.
  3. Check together. Expect arguments over "The lions slept" — the fix is to ask "Does anything belong to the lions in this sentence?" No, so no apostrophe.
  4. Finish with two quick capitals fixes on whiteboards: "in november iosif joined the class." and "grandpa and tess walked to the rock pools."

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the printable. One sheet gives sentences with a missing apostrophe in a contraction or a possessive to rewrite correctly; the other fixes capitals for names and places and commas in lists and letter greetings.
  2. Remind them to run the test on every apostrophe they add: taken out, or belongs?

Close

2 min
  1. Write "The crows beak couldnt reach." Ask for both apostrophes and the reason for each: crow's (belongs) and couldn't (o taken out).

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Puts an apostrophe in every plural: "The apple's are red" and "I have two cat's."

Why: They have learned that 's sometimes goes on the end of a word, and the -s plural is the commonest ending they write, so the mark is attached to the shape, not the meaning.

Fix: Run the two-question test on each one aloud: "Is anything missing? Does anything belong?" For "apples" the answer is no to both, so the mark comes off.

Places the contraction apostrophe in the wrong gap, writing "do'nt" or "ca'nt."

Why: They know the apostrophe goes between the two words, so they put it where the words joined rather than where the letter was dropped.

Fix: Build the contraction physically with cards: lay "do" and "not," then cover the "o" with the apostrophe card. The mark sits where the "o" was.

Capitalizes only the first word of a name: "Lake erie" or "Crunchy oats."

Why: They have learned "a name starts with a capital" and treat the whole name as one word with one start.

Fix: Say that every important word in a name is capitalized, and practice with names from the class: Oak Street, Green Park, Mother's Day.

If they are not there yet

  • Work on contractions only, using the word-and-apostrophe cards for every one before writing it.
  • Give a sorting mat with the three piles drawn and one example already in each pile.
  • Limit capitals to days and months first, then add places on a second day.

If they finish early

  • Explain the difference between "its" and "it's" and write one sentence using each correctly.
  • Find five contractions in a reading book, write each out in full, and sort them by which letter was taken out.
  • Write a short thank-you letter that uses a capitalized holiday, a contraction, a possessive and a comma after the greeting.

Exit ticket

Rewrite correctly: "on monday sams dog didnt eat its dinner."

What to look for: "On Monday Sam's dog didn't eat its dinner." All three fixes: secure. Writing "dogs" as "dog's" too: still attaching the apostrophe to any -s. Writing "did'nt": knows a mark goes in but not where — rebuild with cards. Missing "Monday": capitals for days need a quick reteach.

Printable practice for L.2.2

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns

How long does the Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.2 — L.2.2, Language for Grade 2: “Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.” In plain terms, capitalize proper nouns, use apostrophes and commas, and spell patterns you have been taught.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Word cards: do, not, can, is, was, did, and an apostrophe card, sentence strips for sorting: contraction, belongs to, plain plural, a short list of known patterns: cage, boy, light, bake and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: puts an apostrophe in every plural: "The apple's are red" and "I have two cat's."; places the contraction apostrophe in the wrong gap, writing "do'nt" or "ca'nt." and capitalizes only the first word of a name: "Lake erie" or "Crunchy oats.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Rewrite correctly: "on monday sams dog didnt eat its dinner.".” "On Monday Sam's dog didn't eat its dinner." All three fixes: secure. Writing "dogs" as "dog's" too: still attaching the apostrophe to any -s. Writing "did'nt": knows a mark goes in but not where — rebuild with cards. Missing "Monday": capitals for days need a quick reteach. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns?

Yes — 1 printable L.2.2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Apostrophes and Spelling Patterns free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to L.2.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.