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For this lesson you will need: • Homophone picture cards (see resource sheet [p6] or full colour version on CD-ROM)• Whiteboards and pens• Post-it notes• Scissors and glue sticks• A blank table• This homophone table for your reference:

pear pair

sun son

sea see

knight night

hare hair

Introduction of new learning• Tell pupils the following joke:

“What do you call a panda with no clothes on?”

A bare bear.

• Do pupils ‘get’ the joke? • Ask pupils what kind of animal a panda is: a bear. Write the word ‘bear’ on the whiteboard. What do

we call having no clothes on? Bare (or naked). Write the word ‘bare’ on the whiteboard. Therefore, a panda with no clothes on is a ‘bare bear’.

• Explain how both words sound the same but that they have different meanings. We call these words ‘homophones’ because homo- means ‘same’, and phone means ‘sound’. Say the word ‘homophone’ as a class.

• Explain that today you will be learning about homophones. Display the blank homophones table and explain that you are going to complete it together.

• Show pupils the image of a pear from the memory game card set (see p6 – you may want to enlarge these and display them on a whiteboard). Ask them what it is and see if anyone can offer the correct spelling. Now show them the pair image. See if anyone can offer a spelling for ‘pair’ meaning ‘two’. Enter the two words into a table. Repeat with the other memory game cards. It is recommended that you start with the more obvious homophone as presented in the homophone table.

Practising with new learningDisplay the completed homophone table on the board. Distribute the memory game cards so that children can play in pairs. Instruct them to place the cards face down on their tables and to take turns at turning over two cards at a time to make pairs. When children have found pairs they should use post-it notes to label each image with the correct spelling.

As extension, children could cut-out and stick a photocopy of the memory game cards into their books and label them with the correct spelling.

Application of new learningPlay ‘quick write’ by saying a word for children to write on their whiteboards and show to you. E.g. “Write ‘pear’ as in the fruit,” and then ask the children to show you what they have written. Continue with other words from the memory card game.

DictationDictate the following sentence to your class.

The sailor climbed the ship’s mast so he could see the sea.

Ask pupils to put down their pencils whilst they listen to you say the sentence clearly (repeat the sentence several times if you feel it will benefit your pupils). Encourage pupils to repeat the sentence silently in their own head. Next ask them to repeat the sentence as a class. Now ask the children to write the sentence. Encourage them to read their writing to check it matches the sentence they have heard. Finally, say the sentence again and write it clearly for pupils to see. Ensure you check the key words used in the lesson.

Other ideasAsk children to draw pictures showing both homophones in the same picture. They should write a sentence or caption underneath showing the use of the homophones e.g. A knight at night, a hare with hair…

For homework, ask children to find jokes that use homophones. Two classroom books that take a fun look at homophones are:

Eight Ate: A Feast of Homonym Riddles by Marvin TerbanDeer Dear: A Book of Homophones by Gene Barreta

Hilarious homophonesLearning to spell by distinguishing between homophones

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• • Two different words are homophones if they sound exactly the same when pronounced. English Programme of Study: key stages 1 and 2. Glossary p.76

• It is important to know the difference in meaning between homophones.English Programme of Study: key stages 1 and 2. Appendix 1: Spelling p.47

Key terminology:: homophone

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Hilarious homophones1 Find four pairs of homophones in the word search.

p e a r s i b n m n

h f v p c i u h k i

u e a p v e t a p g

y z b l h a i r o h

e x x h u c d e i t

p z q b p c i j u h

p h s x k p a i r r

s q o z l d p j k w

s u n b l b v c x s

g g c k n i g h t z

2 Use the pairs of homophones from the word search to complete the table. One has been done for you.

pear pair

3 Circle the correct homophone in each of these sentences.

a) The knight/night rode a horse and carries a sword.

b) I looked in the sky and the sun/son was shining.

c) There was a banana, two apples and a juicy pair/pear in the fruit bowl.

4 There are three mistakes in this paragraph. Underline the mistakes and write out the correct homophones.

Last knight, mum was looking for a pear of socks. She asked her son to help but he couldn’t sea them.

How did you do?

Pupil sheet

1 p e a r s i b n m n

h f v p c i u h k i

u e a p v e t a p g

y z b l h a i r o h

e x x h u c d e i t

p z q b p c i j u h

p h s x k p a i r r

s q o z l d p j k w

s u n b l b v c x s

g g c k n i g h t z

2 pear pair

sun son

knight night

hair hare

3 a) knight b) sun c) pear

4 Last night, mum was looking for a pair of socks. She asked her son to help but he couldn’t see them.

Answers

76

Homophone memory card gameResource