Does your word study block need an energy boost? These contraction games help students match contractions with NOT, IS, HAVE, and WILL to their expanded forms and see which letters the apostrophe replaces. Students practice with words like doesn't, there's, I've, and you'll in a partner board game and an independent memory match card game.
The games are aligned to Words Their Way: Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers (3rd Edition), Unit 8, Sort 56, but they work alongside any word study program. They were developed with 3rd-5th graders in mind and fit students in the late Within Word Pattern stage who are reading and writing many words with inflected endings and have already shown success with long vowel patterns, r-controlled and ambiguous vowels, complex consonants, and homophones.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Lock and Key Board Game (Partner Game)
Students take turns drawing a card with a contraction and matching it to its expanded form on the game board. The recording sheet makes it easy to check that students matched each contraction correctly and stayed on task.
- Teacher directions
- Lock and Key game board
- Word cards
- Student-friendly directions
- Recording sheet
- Answer key
Memory Match Card Game (Independent Activity)
Students play a memory match game with word cards, matching each contraction with its expanded form.
- Teacher directions
- Word cards
- Student-friendly directions
- Recording sheet
- Answer key
ALSO INCLUDED
- Black and white and color versions of everything
- Word list of all included words
- Answer keys for both activities
HOW THIS RESOURCE HELPS YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS
- Gives students two engaging ways to practice the same contractions
- Works for partner centers, small groups, early finishers, and independent practice
- Recording sheets for both activities build in accountability and quick assessment
- Uses the same game formats as most of Unit 8, so students don't have to learn new rules each week
- Matching contractions to expanded forms shows students exactly what the apostrophe replaces
- Ready to print and use with no extra prep beyond cutting cards
Want every game in this unit? This game set is included in the Contractions, Plurals, & Inflectional Endings Unit 8 Within Word Pattern Games Bundle, so you can get all of the Unit 8 games together and save.
ABOUT THE WITHIN WORD PATTERN STAGE
This stage is where students move past single-syllable short vowel spelling and begin studying vowel patterns in depth. Students at this level can spell most consonant sounds and short vowels correctly and are ready to explore long vowel patterns, r-influenced vowels, diphthongs, and complex consonant patterns. Instruction focuses on how the same vowel sound can be spelled several different ways, and students learn to recognize the patterns that signal each one. By sorting and comparing words, students strengthen spelling accuracy while building the pattern recognition that supports fluent reading.
NEED PRINTABLES FOR THE ENTIRE WITHIN WORD PATTERN LEVEL?
See the Within Word Pattern Printable Bundle (contains all 4 resources)
Or, Shop By Activity:
- Word Study Notebook
- Word Searches
- Fill in the Blank Word List Activity
- Weekly Spelling Homework & Word Lists
Copyright © Tammy Roose, Tarheelstate Teacher.
The purchase of this resource gives the buyer permission to download and copy for single classroom use only. Electronic distribution is also limited to single classroom use. Copying for other teachers, school-wide use, or school systems is only allowed with the purchase of additional licenses.
