Homophones can be so tricky for our students! Today I want to share some tips for teaching about homophones. I'll also share a freebie at the end, so hang around!
What are homophones?
Let's start by making sure we clearly understand the definition of a homophone.
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings.
Here's a helpful way to better understand (and remember) the definition of homophones, using the units within the word!
The following words are just a few common examples of homophones:
meet and meat
there, their, and they're
to, two, and too
see and sea
How can we help students better understand homophones?
Here are some tips that have been effective in my instruction.
Explicitly discuss homophones when you encounter them in texts or use them in writing. Once you have introduced homophones to your students, revisit the concept each time you encounter homophones in texts or if students experience difficulty using the correct homophone in writing. The more opportunities they have to engage in discussions (even brief ones) about homophones, the more relevant these words become in their everyday reading and writing tasks.
Don't neglect morphology instruction with homophones! Oftentimes, the words we use today are still very much connected to their word origin. Understanding the history of words can explain words that seem to be "nonphonetic" otherwise. Not only this, but it also often creates a link to the meaning of the words as well.
For example, I was an adult before I learned the connection between the number word two and the Old English pronunciation of the word, twā. We don't hear the /w/ today, but it was distinctive in the Old English pronunciation! Then, when we connect this word to the tw spelling pattern in words like twin, twenty, and twice, (all of which include a form of "2" in their meanings, it further strengthens the connection between the spelling patter and meaning of the word "two." Knowing information like this can help strengthen our students' understanding of language and make the right decision about which homophone to use.
Last, but not least, give students opportunities to interact with homophones through visual cues such as pictures and silly sentences that help apply homophones in the correct context. Students can create their own images and sentences, or you can provide them as an introduction to new homophones and an ongoing teaching tool to support memory.
Here's an example of a visual image of the word "their" one of my students created. You can see how he created a little person out of the letter "i" to help him recall the connection of this word with a person's belongings or ownership. Just the act of creating his own visualization of this word can help support his memory with the word's spelling pattern and connect to its meaning.
Grab your freebie!
As promised, I have a free resource available in the Tally Tales Literacy TPT store that might help your students distinguish between the homophones to, two, and too. This is an example of a sentence and picture that can be used as a visual cue (discussed above). Check it out today, and download it for free! Click here or on the image below to access the free poster!
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