Looking for a Contraction Activity?

Are your students learning about contractions? Understanding contractions is essential for effective writing and communication. To help students master this skill, Teach Starter has created a fun and interactive match-up activity focused on contractions.

How to Play this Contraction Game

1. Prepare the Cards: Cut out the cards provided in the activity sheet. Each card will have either a full phrase (e.g., “do not”) or its corresponding contraction (e.g., “don’t”).
2. Set Up the Game Area: Lay the cards face down in the playing area, mixing them up to create a memory-style game.
3. Recording Sheets: Provide each student with a recording sheet where they can write down the matches they find.
4. Matching Pairs: Students work together or independently to find matching pairs. Each matching pair consists of a full phrase card and its corresponding contraction card.
5. Rules of Play: Students take turns flipping over two cards at a time, trying to find a match. If they find a match, they keep the pair and take another turn. If they do not find a match, the cards are turned back over, and the next student takes their turn. The game continues until all matches are found.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize Contractions: Students will learn to identify contractions and their full forms.
• Improve Memory: This activity enhances memory skills as students remember the positions of cards.
• Collaborative Learning: Students can work together, fostering teamwork and communication skills.

Differentiating Your Contraction Practice

For Additional Support:

• Reference Materials: Provide conversion posters or reference sheets that list common contractions and their full forms. This can help students who need a reminder of how contractions are formed.
• Guided Practise: Work with students in small groups to help them understand and practice finding matches.

For an Additional Challenge:

• Complex Contractions: Include more complex or less commonly used contractions in the match-up activity to challenge advanced students.
• Sentence Integration: Ask students to use each contraction in a sentence after they find a match, integrating their understanding into practical use.

Download and Match Up Contractions Today!

Use the drop down menu to choose between the editable Google Slide version of this resource or the easy to print PDF version.

Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter collaborator, contributed to this resource.

More Contraction Activities for the Classroom

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