Systematic and Explicit Instruction on Using Possessive Nouns in Complete Sentences

What are Possessive Nouns?

Possessive nouns show when someone or something owns an object. We show a possessive noun by using an apostrophe and the letter s. For example, Sarah’s books are in the car. There are some rules for how to use the apostrophe and letter s with possessive nouns.

1. If one person (or other noun) owns something, use ‘s to create a possessive noun.

2. If more than one person (or other noun) owns something, use s’ to create a possessive noun.

3. If a singular noun ends in the letter s, you can either just add an apostrophe after the letter s, or you can add an apostrophe with another letter s. Either way is correct, but you must be consistent in your own writing. For example: Chris’ friends or Chris’s friends. If you are showing a plural possessive noun that ends in the letter s, just add an apostrophe. For example: The Jones’ house is big.

Here is a video to help your students understand possessive nouns.

Example Sentences

After introducing possessive nouns to your students, you will want to show them examples. When looking at example sentences, point out the capitalized first letter, spacing between words, and ending punctuation. Speaking of ending punctuation. I recommend sticking with periods until you can give a lesson on the other types of ending punctuation.

This should be a quick part of the lesson. You can ask students what they notice but quickly point out the important parts of the sentence. In these sentences, you want students to notice the difference in apostrophes and what that means about the sentences.

Possessive Nouns Pictures

You can show these five pictures to your students to help them brainstorm object pronouns. Give students about thirty seconds to think about each picture. Then, have them share with a partner. Finally, collect three to five ideas per picture to record in a class anchor chart.

Printable Resources

These ideas will get you started teaching your possessive noun lessons, but we have printable resources that will make a huge difference. Luckily, my team at For the Love has you covered! You can get all of these resources to make planning and teaching a breeze!

Word List: A list of words for the lesson for when your mind goes blank while brainstorming.

Word Chart: A tool for students to organize words they will use to write sentences. Students record words from brainstorming on their word charts, so when they write sentences, they can focus their attention on the mechanics and syntax of the sentence instead of coming up with new ideas. Word charts are the perfect place to integrate social studies and science lessons into writing.

Example Sentences: A list of example sentences that fit the purpose of the lesson. You can use these to build anchor charts, differentiate instruction or practice for students, or clarify your own understanding of the topic.

Sentence Practice: Students will use the words from their word charts to write complete sentences. The sentence practice pages have more suggestion words as well as reminders about the mechanics of a complete sentence. Students who do not need the support of the handwriting lines can write on a piece of notebook paper, or you can give them the alternate writing paper. It does not have the specific lesson information on it.

You can get the lesson on possessive nouns at Teachers Pay Teachers.

How to Teach Writing Complete Sentences