Homophones

"End the Confusion"

"Homophone Rap"
Homophones are words that sound the same, but they have different meanings and spellings.  Using them in speech is easy (since you can’t SEE how someone is spelling the word they are saying), but they can cause trouble when putting language into a written form. Two GrammarSongs videos are used along with the following activities.  “Homophone Rap” focuses on homophones such as hear/here or pear/pair.  “End the Confusion” focuses more specifically on homophone pairs that cause daily trouble during writing, such as there, their, and they’re.  As always, music creates a memorable tool that helps in the retrieval of the content.

Review Video & Follow These Instructional Guidelines

Third Grade

  1. Extra Engagement: Use and apply the information presented within the grammar sheet as a whiteboard or smartboard introduction.
  2. Even More Engagement: Print out and cut apart “Homophone Matching Cards (Intermediate).”  Allow students to cooperatively play a memory match/concentration matching game. When a child gets a match, he or she should orally use each of the words in a sentence.  This provides an instant formative assessment to exemplify the student's understanding of each individual homograph.
Instant Writing Center: Print out the “Homophone Matching Cards (Intermediate).” Cut each homophone pair of cards across the page and fold on the middle line to create a homophone card with one homophone on the back and one on the front. (For example, “maid” might be on the front and “made” should be on the back.)  Place the cards at a writing center with dictionaries and paper placed landscape direction with a solid dividing line from top to bottom, creating two sections.  The students should select a card (maid/made, for example) and illustrate a picture of a maid on one-half of the paper with the word used in a sentence.  (The maid picked up all the laundry, for example.) On the other half of the paper, the student should illustrate “made.”  Maybe he/she would draw a tower of blocks, and write the sentence “Tyler made a big tower out of blocks.”
  • Make note of homophone errors when writing in everyday life. Complete the grammar sheet “Homophone Help” as a whole class smart board activity or as an easily prepared writing center.  
  • Notice homophones used each day in oral conversation.

Fourth Grade

  • Review GrammarSong video “End the Confusion.”  Complete grammar sheet “Homophone Practice.” 
  1. Extra Engagement: Use the information presented within the sheet to model sentences on a whiteboard or smartboard to create a whole class lesson.  Cut the sheet apart, gluing the related answers from the answer key on the back to use within a cooperative learning structure or as a self-checking center activity.  
  • Review GrammarSong video “Homophone Rap.”   
  1. Additional Engagement: Print out and cut apart “Homophone Matching Cards (Intermediate)” and/or “Homophone Matching Cards (Advanced).” Allow students to cooperatively play a memory match/concentration matching game. When a child gets a match, he or she should orally use each of the words in a sentence.  This provides an instant formative assessment to exemplify the student's understanding of each individual homophone. 

Instant Writing Center: Print out the “Homophone Matching Cards (Intermediate)" and/or “Homophone Matching Cards (Advanced).” Cut each homophone pair of cards across the page and fold on the middle line to create a homophone card with one homophone on the back and one on the front. (For example, “edition” might be on the front and “addition” should be on the back.)  Place the cards at a writing center with dictionaries and paper placed landscape direction with a solid dividing line from top to bottom, creating two sections.  The students should select a card (addition/edition, for example) and illustrate a picture of an addition problem on one-half of the paper with the  word used in a sentence.  (In first grade, I learned how to do addition.) On the other half of the paper, the student should illustrate “edition.”  Maybe he/she would draw a video game illustration.  The sentence could read ”Pokemon Gold came out with a new edition of the game.”

Fifth Grade

  1. Additional Engagement: Print out and cut apart “Homophone Matching Cards (Intermediate)”  and/or “Homophone Matching Cards (Advanced).” Allow students to cooperatively play a memory match/concentration matching game. When a child gets a match, he or she should orally use each of the words in a sentence.  This provides an instant formative assessment to exemplify the student's understanding of each individual homophone.
  • Complete grammar sheet “Homophone Quiz.”
  • Notice the use of homophones when reading and writing.  
Instant Writing Center: Print out the “Homophone Matching Cards (Intermediate)" and/or “Homophone Matching Cards (Advanced).” Cut each homophone pair of cards across the page and fold on the middle line to create a homophone card with one homophone on the back and one on the front. (For example, “colonel” might be on the front and “kernel” should be on the back.)  Place the cards at a writing center with dictionaries and paper placed landscape direction with a solid dividing line from top to bottom, creating two sections.  The students should select a card (colonel/kernel, for example) and illustrate a picture of a military colonel on one-half of the paper with the word used in a sentence.  (My grandfather was a colonel in the military.) On the other half of the paper, the student should illustrate “kernel.”  Maybe he/she would draw popcorn kernels.  The sentence could read ”When I get popcorn at the movies, I eat each and every kernel.”