Contraction Surgery Teacher Guide Teacher Guide: Contraction Surgery
Grade 2 • ELA • Punctuation & Spelling
Unit: Word Medics
Objective
Students will correctly spell contractions by identifying which letters are removed from word pairs and placing apostrophes in the correct position to "heal" the word.
The Schedule (45 Minutes)
05m
Warm-up: Let Us Review
Show the "Let Us Review" screen (Slide 3). Students read the pairs aloud and predict the contraction before it is revealed in the video.
05m
Video Viewing: The Smashing Machine
Watch the Scratch Garden video. Pause at 0:24 and 1:58 for teaching moments. Emphasize the physical "smashing" of letters.
25m
Activity: Contraction Surgery
Students cut out the "organs" (words), remove the "infected" letters, and use "apostrophe band-aids" to join the words back together on their Patient File.
10m
Closure: Grand Rounds
Students present their "healed" contractions to the class, explaining which letters were "smashed" away.
Supply Closet
Patient File Worksheets
Contraction Organ Kits
Student Scissors
Apostrophe Band-Aids
Glue Sticks
Pro-Tip
Encourage students to wear "surgical masks" (paper masks) or blue paper hats to build engagement!
Crucial Teaching Moments
Timestamp 0:24 (The Smash)
"Pause right as the machine prepares to drop the weight. Ask: Which letters do you think will get 'smashed' away? Where will the apostrophe go?"
Timestamp 1:58 (Review)
"Pause at the 'Let Us Review' screen. Point to 'does not' and ask the class to shout out the contraction ('doesn't') and spell it before the machine drops."
Questions for Grand Rounds
Why do we use contractions in our writing and speaking? (To be faster, informal)
If the apostrophe is the band-aid, what is it protecting? (The space where letters were removed)
Which contraction was the hardest "surgery" to perform? Why?
Contraction Surgery Slides ELA Medical Unit
CONTRACTION SURGERY
Scrub in! We're healing word pairs today.
Mission Log
Identify word pairs that need surgery.
Remove the "smashed" letters.
Apply an apostrophe band-aid.
Warm-up: Let Us Review
Read the pairs on the left. What is their "healed" contraction?
I am
does not
where is
there is
Ready for Surgery?
Guess the spelling before we watch the video!
The Smasher at Work
Live Surgery
Embedded media
0:24
THE SMASH!
1:58
REVIEW
Surgical Procedures
1
INCISION
Cut out the word pairs from your organ sheet.
2
EXTRACTION
Remove the "smashed" letters carefully.
3
HEALING
Tape the parts together with an apostrophe band-aid.
SCRUB IN!
Head to your OR (Operating Room) stations.
You have:
20 MINUTES
Contraction Patient Progress File Patient Progress File
Surgeon Name:
Top Secret
Medical Records Div.
Surgical Orders: 1. Cut your word pairs from the Organ Kit. 2. Remove the letters that are "smashed" away. 3. Paste the remaining parts into the patient charts below. 4. Use a Band-Aid to join the words back together!
Case #001
Patient: I AM
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #002
Patient: DOES NOT
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #003
Patient: WHERE IS
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #004
Patient: THERE IS
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #005
Patient: CAN NOT
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #006
Patient: DO NOT
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #007
Patient: IS NOT
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Case #008
Patient: SHE IS
Surgeon's Notes: Paste Healed Contraction Above
Certified Surgeon
Contraction Surgery Organ Kit Organ Transplant Kit: Contractions
Use sterile scissors to extract the necessary letters.
Organ #01
I A M
Organ #02
DOES NOT
Organ #03
WHERE IS
Organ #04
THERE IS
Organ #05
CAN NOT
Organ #06
DO NOT
Organ #07
IS NOT
Organ #08
SHE IS
Apostrophe Band-Aids
Apply to close the surgical gap!
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
Refill ID: 992-CNTRCT Hospital Standard Issue
Instructors: Students should cut the band-aids individually to "tape" the word parts together on their Patient Progress File.
Contraction Surgery Answer Key Answer Key: Patient Progress
Post-Operation Verification Results
Teacher Resource
Case #001 Healed
I AM
I'm
Case #002 Healed
DOES NOT
doesn't
Case #003 Healed
WHERE IS
where's
Case #004 Healed
THERE IS
there's
Case #005 Healed
CAN NOT
can't
Case #006 Healed
DO NOT
don't
Case #007 Healed
IS NOT
isn't
Case #008 Healed
SHE IS
she's
The "Smash" Principle
Remind students that the apostrophe band-aid is placed exactly where the letters were "smashed" away. For most contractions on this list, it replaces the 'o' in "not", the 'a' in "am", or the 'i' in "is". Note that "can't" removes two letters ('n' and 'o').