We've been attacking contractions this week! To contract means to "make smaller" and that is just what happens to words when they are made into contractions. Surgery has been performed on words by cutting them up and making them anew as one word. A band-aid has even taken the place of an apostrophe at times! The children noticed that most of their "just right" books contain multiple contractions on each page. Many students challenged themselves by going on a contraction hunt in a variety of books. When directions or instructions are given, students noticed that it is easier to use a contraction, such as "It's time for handwriting". The first word of a contraction is generally a snap word and this was helpful as these words are used frequently in their writing. You're going to be in for a a treat as they've been working hard on their persuasive pieces, many of which contain contractions spelled the right way!