http://www.edwinmorgan.spl.org.uk/poems/first_men_on_mercury.html
Last week we worked on performing the poem, and physically representing the gradual shift in the power balance between the two speakers, which Morgan conveys through their shifting use of language.
Our first homework activity this week is this punctuation exercise, revising the correct use of the apostrophe. (Check previous post for Miss Nichola's Guide To The Apostrophe in case you're feeling a bit wobbly on this.)
Please copy the following sentences into your writing books in your neatest handwriting, inserting apostrophes in the appropriate places. This work needs to be completed by Wednesday, as usual.
(...I don't need to remind you to write the date and title, do I? I'm sure I don't.)
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Using the Apostrophe
1) After shed marked all the homework, Miss Nichola got on with planning next weeks lessons.
2) Wouldnt you rather eat a piece of his birthday cake?
3) It was Panns moment of glory, as he beat all the others in the race.
4) Well do better next time because theres no way we can make the same mistakes again!
5) Id love to give you a day off, but unfortunately your educations too important for us to neglect it like that!
6) Dont forget to check your work for any mistakes youve accidentally made!
7) He blamed his sisters because they wouldnt help him. He insisted it was all his sisters fault.
8) One of these days Miss Nicholas cat is going to figure out the way to open the door and itll escape into the apartment building, leaving havoc in its wake.
9) Its true that this is Jouns neatest piece of work! Hes been working very hard to keep it tidy!
10) The cat is so flexible it can lick its own back. Its an amazingly flexible cat!
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Guys, once you've written your correct sentences once, PLEASE go back and check them. Every place you've added an apostrophe, ask yourself which of the two jobs it is doing - is it (1) indicating where some letters have been knocked out when two words got squashed together, or (2) indicating possession? Just make absolutely sure that it's not just hanging around fluttering its eyelashes and looking pointlessly pretty near a random letter S.
AND DON'T FORGET THE PESKY ITS/IT'S RULE!
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BONUS FEATURE:
You might like this cartoon version of 'The First Men On Mercury'
