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A little about me and the purpose of this blog. I am a licensed high school teacher (Language Arts 6 - 12) in the state of Tennessee going on 13 years now.  I have 7 children and drive a school bus.  Love me or hate me, none of my students will tell you that I am a typical school teacher.  I, like many, believe that education is woefully equipped to keep pace with technology.  As a technology enthusiast and educator publishing on a crypto website, I am trying to do my small part to bridge this gap for as many people as I can.  Recently, the development of AI has created an accelerated urgency for education to take its head out of the sand and teach relevant skills in the classroom.  The resources, lessons, and philosophy I publish here, I use in my own classroom, and anyone (especially homeschoolers) can use this blog as a resource to supplement their own instruction.  If you are new to my blog, I suggest starting at the beginning as I will be structuring my lessons here the same way I would for my classroom.  Tips are appreciated.  Questions and feedback in the comments are welcome. So if you are a teacher, student, or homeschooler that is motivated to learn about, teach, or utilize all available technology in education (or know someone who is), I encourage you to give me a follow:  https://x.com/TheRealMrE09

And to view  my entire blog:  //https://www.publish0x.com/education-and-ai-resources-and-instruction

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English Lesson 7:  Apostrophes

11-12.L.CSE.1

11-12.L.CSE.2

The ACT tests several elementary concepts.  Many times students are so long removed from the instruction on basic grammar that they can make silly mistakes on questions that are meant to be gimmes (This is also true on the Math test); therefore, it is extremely important that when a student encounters elementary concepts that they mentally slow down and verify that there is not some nefarious plot afoot to trick them into missing an easy question.

This article will briefly reteach the conventions for using apostrophes, and then I will give you a prompt to create practice problems.

The simple most basic functions of an apostrophe is to denote possession and to create a contraction.  It is important to re verify after reading whether the possessive word is singular or plural to correctly place the apostrophe.

Singular Possession: My mother’s jewelry

Plural Possession:  My brothers’ toys (more than one brother)

Contraction: Let's go  = Let us go

There is a weird exception with the word “its”

Contraction:  it’s = it is

Possession:  its 

Does not exist in the English Language = its’   (and yes they will make this an option)

Let's look at a few examples:

Example 1

I objected that none of Grandma’s recipes were written down, but Mom dismissed my concerns, insisting that memory would guide me.

1. No Change
2. Grandmas’ recipes
3. Grandmas recipes
4. Grandmas recipe’s

(correct answer is 1)

Example 2 (The passage containing this sentence is written in the present tense)

Thus, its’ vital to monitor a volcano using GPS and precisely calibrated instruments to detect and react to such changes.

1. No Change
2. It was 
3. Its
4. It’s 

(correct answer is 4)

Prompt for AI

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Prompt:

I am an English teacher preparing my students for the ACT, and I need help creating practice questions focused on the proper use of apostrophes, specifically covering contractions, possession, and the word "its." Please generate one set of 10 ACT-style questions with the following specifications:

• Content Focus:

• 7 questions should test possession or contractions.

• 3 questions should specifically test the use of "its" vs. "it’s."

• Question Format:

• Each question should present a sentence with a potential apostrophe error.

• Provide four multiple-choice options for each question.

• Alternate the labeling of the multiple-choice options between ABCD and FGHJ to mimic the ACT format (e.g., Question 1: A, B, C, D; Question 2: F, G, H, J; and so on).

• Correct Answer Distribution:

• Ensure the correct answers are varied in position (A, B, C, D or F, G, H, J) to avoid clustering most correct answers in the first position (A or F).

• Examples:

• Here are two example questions to guide the style and structure:

• Example 1:
  "I objected that none of Grandma’s recipes were written down, but Mom dismissed my concerns, insisting that memory would guide me."
  A. No Change
  B. Grandmas’ recipes
  C. Grandmas recipes
  D. Grandmas recipe’s

• Example 2:
  "Thus, its’ vital to monitor a volcano using GPS and precisely calibrated instruments to detect and react to such changes."
  F. No Change
  G. It was
  H. Its
  J. It’s

• Additional Instructions:

• Vary the sentence structures and contexts to provide diverse practice scenarios.

• Ensure the questions are appropriate for 11th-grade students preparing for the ACT.

• Include an answer key at the end of the set, listing the correct choice for each question (e.g., 1. A, 2. J, etc.).

Please generate one complete set of 10 questions following these guidelines, including the answer key.

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After you have entered this once, simple type "Create another set of practice problems" for more.

Again, I want to end by stressing.  This is a short article and a very simple concept, but these elementary concepts really should be reviewed and practiced at least once shortly before the exam.  Students almost never adhere to these grammar practices in their everyday texting and typing, so do not underestimate the tendency for these simple concepts to slip their memory.