This week, our second graders turned into word surgeons! We discovered that when two words come together, they can form one shorter, snappier word—like do not → don’t or we are → we’re.

Our students didn’t just learn about contractions, they became word surgeons in our “Contraction Surgery” activity. With scissors, glue, and a dash of imagination, they carefully dissected words and then skillfully pieced them back together, using apostrophes as their special bandages. The classroom was filled with the sound of giggles, the sight of teamwork, and the unmistakable pride of our young surgeons as they displayed their new creations!

We also searched for contractions in our books and writing, noticing how they make sentences sound smoother and more natural. It’s incredible how much our reading and writing can change with one little apostrophe!