Plural possession pairs

Playing Plural possession pairs

Read the cards and match each one to its partner. Find six pairs, with no timer. Think about the meaning before choosing.

What this game practises

Year 4 spelling includes apostrophes for plural possession. Plural possession pairs distinguishes regular plurals ending in s from irregular plurals such as children, men and women. The owner needs to be identified before the apostrophe is placed. The prepared prompts explicitly name more than one owner so that the plural meaning is clear, rather than relying on a guess from a picture. Compare the girls’ coats with the children’s books. Girls is already a plural ending in s, so the apostrophe follows that s. Children is plural without a final s, so possession adds apostrophe plus s. Write a short sentence for each example and explain who owns the objects. Avoid using the apostrophe merely because a word is plural.

Progress and trying again

The normal game controls let children finish, save stars on this device and play again. A previous best result is kept when a later attempt scores less. Matching games count incorrect pairs; ordering games score the first check of each round; sorting games give another chance after a mistake. Take time to talk about a choice rather than racing.

Return to the learning collection for curriculum guidance, examples and activities to try away from the screen.