Or is this spelling test a nonsense?

[user5292769]

Surely no apostrophes are needed for single words, only in the context of a sentence? Does this not encourage them to stick apostrophes everywhere including for plurals where they aren't needed?

This is a lesson about possessive apostrophes though. So this seems totally fine to me.

Yes but you only need possessive apostrophes in a sentence which shows possession? It isn't a lesson it is a spelling test? Ds gets a list to learn every week and this is this weeks. No context given. Spelling and punctuation are two different things which are being conflated here.

This week's list! The irony!

I'm a teacher and I would not do this.
They need to be seen in context of single possession.

I expect part of the purpose is to teach them how to write apostrophes.

I'm a primary school teacher, and it does seem a bit pointless learning the words on their own. If I was setting this homework, I'd ask the children to put each word into a sentence to show they know how to use apostrophes for possession.

I agree it's bloody stupid.

With chair and pencil in the list (they being more unlikely to be owners of things than be in plural) it seem harder to argue that the apostrophe is what the spellings are about.

I'd assume they've been learning about the genitive case.

Without knowing what they've been taught and learnt it's impossible to say whether this is appropriate or not.

Depending on the age, stating whether possession, plural or neither is appropriate could be a better assessment.

I'd quesion this if I knew it had been used in my school but wouldn't assume it's poor practice.

YANBU

this is probably the reason some people write your/you’re interchangeably. The teacher doesn’t have a clue and teaches them the wrong thing.

It would only work if there were two versions of the word cats/cat’s and the child has to choose.

Yeah I get you. It would make sense as homework where they had to write one sentence using the word with a possessive apostrophe and one without, but not simply as a spelling test.

This is a lesson about possessive apostrophes though. So this seems totally fine to me. confused
Its a piece of paper to tale home! That is not a lesson - a lesson is teaching, by the teacher, including the use of those words IN CONTEXT. Because those combinations of letters are only the correct this g to write for those nouns, in a very specific context.

It does seem odd if it's a spelling test!

It would be a very confusing exercise for any children who weren't clear about possessive apostrophes - the ones who use an apostrophe at the end of any words that end with an s!

Its stupid. I'd be very unhappy about this.

"Its stupid"

Yes, apostrophes are clearly badly taught.

I'm at a loss to see where it says it's a spelling test

It'd make more sense if the words without the possessive s were the spellings. Then there was a separate worksheet which the same words were used, but needed the pocessive added. Or a mixture of using the word as plural or possessive.

Well the addition of the word "man's" shows it may well be an exercise designed to teach possessives seeing as the plural of man is men.

This is a grammar excercise not a spelling test surely?

That list is a perfect example of why people do not know when to use apostrophes.

Possessives should never be shown striped of context, or they just become another word to simply spell.

I doubt I'd be able to stop myself sending it back with a little note about the importance of context.

And yes, I am a little OTT - 3 years trying to coax 16 - 19 year olds through Functional Skills and/or GCSE re-takes when teaching like that had left them absolutely convinced they were simply too stupid to understand!

Oh the irony exercise

Ridiculous. No wonder you see apostrophes everywhere. Apple's, orange's, shoe's, bag's.

Would have made MUCH more sense to get the kids to write "Gran's car" or "dog's bowl" or "Ben's game" as that would hammer the point home.

I'm at a loss to see where it says it's a spelling test

It's in a booklet of spelling texts for the term

I've only ever seen the possessive being taught in context - so in a sentence.

Writing them like this just increases the chances that kids will think this is the plural of a word, and will add apostrophes willy-nilly.

Or give them both with and without the apostrophe and ask them to write each in a sentence.
E.g. The girls are naughty./The girl's mum was cross.