Hi everybody, it's Ms. Gardner, and welcome to today's handwriting lesson.

In today's lesson, we're going to be practising our cursive handwriting whilst writing different homophones.

Remember, homophones are words which sound the same as another word, but have very different spellings and meanings.

So I hope you enjoy today's lesson and let's get started.

Your learning outcome for today's lesson is to correctly write homophones in cursive handwriting.

Let's start by looking at the keywords.

We'll do my turn, your turn.

Homophone.

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

Join.

This is how the letters are connected together.

Letter string.

A group of letters that are written together in a word.

Letter spacing.

This is the amount of space between individual letters in a word, ensuring that they are evenly spread out for clear and legible writing, so writing that people are able to read.

So there are four sections of our lesson today.

In the first, we'll be doing a handwriting warm-up.

Then we'll be writing the homophones: right and write.

Then we'll be writing the homophones: bear and bare.

And then we'll be writing the homophones: flower and flour.

So let's start with our warm-up.

Before we start, what are these pictures reminding you to do? Pause the video now and have a think or discuss this with your partner or your class.

So the first picture is reminding us to be sat on a chair and at a table with our feet flat on the floor and our back against the chair.

The second picture is reminding us to angle our paper correctly.

So if you're right-handed, it should be tilted slightly to the left.

If you're left-handed, the paper's tilted slightly to the right.

And then your non-writing hand is supporting by keeping the paper still.

Then the third picture is reminding us to hold our pen or pencil in a tripod grip.

Before starting to write, it's really important to warm up your hands and your wrist muscles just like you would warm up your muscles before a sports match.

Your hands and wrists get stronger when you exercise them, so the more you exercise, the stronger they get.

Warming up your hands before writing will help to improve your handwriting.

So let's do today's warm-up.

So let's do the hand squeeze warm-up.

I'm going to go first and then you are going to have a go.

So we can start with one of your hands, doesn't matter which one.

I'm gonna start with my right.

And then I'm gonna start by stretching my hand as wide as I can.

And then I'm going to squeeze my hand together.

I'm always gonna imagine there's something really precious in the palm of my hand that I don't want to lose, so I'm gonna squeeze my fingers really tight onto my hand so that there's no gaps, maybe like a chain of a necklace or something really small or gemstone that I don't want to lose.

So I'm squeezing my hand tight.

Then I'm gonna open it and stretch my hand wide again and then squeeze it again.

Then we'll do it with my other hand and start by stretching my hand wide open and then squeezing it together, imagining there's something inside I don't want to let go of.

Stretching wide, squeezing tight.

Okay, it's your turn.

Choose whichever hand you want to start with.

I'm gonna start with my right and we are going to start by stretching the hand wide and open and squeezing it tight, tightly holding in whatever is precious to you.

Stretching wide, squeezing tight.

Okay, let's swap hands, and then the same thing.

Start by stretching your hand wide and then squeezing it really, really tightly.

Stretching out wide and then a tight squeeze.

Great job.

Well done.

Okay, let's do some wrist circles.

I'm gonna go first and then it'll be your turn.

So I'm gonna start by putting my hands out, forming little fists, and then moving my wrists in one direction together.

Really nice feeling on your wrists.

Feels like they're getting lots of movement there.

And then I'm gonna switch direction, go the other way around.

Little circles, forming little circles with my wrists.

Really great way to warm your wrists up.

Okay, are you ready? It's your turn.

Get your hands out like this, form little fists, and then choosing which one direction you wanna go in.

Which direction you're gonna go in? Let's go to the right and then forming circles.

This direction.

And then switch direction, other way around, making sure your wrists are feeling really ready for handwriting.

Great job.

Practising writing patterns also helps us to prepare for writing and joining letters.

So you can see the writing patterns on the screen now will actually require similar hand movement to cursive handwriting.

So I'm going to do the writing patterns in the air first with my finger and then you are going to have a go.

So these three here, they almost look like snakes, don't they? So I'm gonna start at the top and I'm gonna squiggle down to the bottom.

I'm really trying to keep my movement smooth and flowing.

I'm gonna start again at the top, left, right, left, right, left, right down to the bottom.

And then the third one, I'm gonna start on the bottom and go up this time.

So up, left, right, left, right, left, right, left up to the top.

Your turn.

You've got your finger ready? Let's do this together.

So starting at the top, smooth and flowing movement, left, right, left, right, left, right, left right.

Let's try that again.

Top to bottom, right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left.

And let's do the third one from bottom to top.

Left, right, left, right, left, right, left right.

Great job.

Time for Task A.

You need to copy and continue these patterns using your tripod grip.

Remember, don't lift your pencil off the page when you're forming the pattern 'cause you really want to try and keep a smooth and flowing movement.

Pause the video now.

Off you go.

Well done, everybody.

Great job.

So, have a think.

Were you using your tripod grip? Did you keep your pencil firmly on the page? And was your movement smooth and flowing? I'm sure you all did a great job.

Well done.

Okay, it's time to write the homophones right and write.

Homophones are words that sound the same when you say them, but they have very different spellings and different meanings.

So for example, the word right, R-I-G-H-T, can have several meanings depending on the context.

So it can mean correct or true.

That is the right answer.

It could mean morally good or just.

Telling the truth is the right thing to do.

It can mean direction.

Take the next right to go to the supermarket.

And it can mean entitlement.

Children have the right to an education.

Then write, W-R-I-T-E.

To write means to mark, so letters, words, or other symbols, on a surface like a whiteboard, but usually paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar object.

So you would write a letter, a thank-you letter, in a card with a pencil.

It can help our handwriting and spelling to practise writing homophones as they will appear in your writing.

Can you remember the four joins in cursive handwriting? There are four joins we've learned.

Here is an example of each.

In a moment, you can pause the video and have a think or discuss with your partner or class.

How could you describe each join? Pause the video now.

Okay, so the first join is from the baseline to the x-height line.

The second join is from the baseline up towards the ascender line.

The third join is from the x-height line to the x-height line, just dipping slightly below it.

And then the fourth join is from the x-height line up towards the ascender line.

Let's have a look at the homophones right and write.

What do you notice about the formation of the words? Pause the video now and take a closer look.

Okay, so the first one, right, starting with an R, the letter R begins with a lead in from the baseline.

The letter G has a looped descender.

H is an ascender letter.

And then T is also an ascender letter, but it doesn't go all the way up to the ascender line.

It just goes above the x-height line, and then it finishes with the lead out on the baseline.

Then write, as in W-R-I-T-E, again, starts with a lead in from the baseline.

We have an ascender letter with a letter T.

And then finishes with a lead out on the baseline.

So let's look at these joins a bit more closely.

So in both words, the first letter has a lead in and the last letter has a lead out.

The word right, R-I-G-H-T, uses the first, second, and third join in its formation.

The word W-R-I-T-E, write, uses the first, second, and third join in its formation too.

You don't lift your pencil until you have completed the letter string.

So that means you will not dot the I or cross the T until after you have finished writing the word.

The letter spacing allows the word to be clear and legible as the spacing is even.

So you don't want your letters to be squashed too closely together or spread too far apart.

You want to keep it consistently spaced.

So I'm going to form the homophones, right and write, in cursive in the air with my finger first and then you are going to have a go.

So let's start with R-I-G-H-T.

Let's take a right turn.

Starting on the baseline and lead in to form the letter R, then joining R to I, just below the x-height line, I to G, and then looped descender, joining G to H up to the ascender line, H to T, not all the way to the ascender line but above the x-height line.

Now, I'll go back and dot my I and cross my T.

Okay, now I'm going to write write, W-R-I-T-E.

Starting on the baseline, find a starting point, lead in, form the letter R, that's W, sorry, joining W to R just below the x-height line, R to I just below the x-height line, I to T up towards the ascender line but not all the way, T to E, and then I go back, dot my I and cross my T.

Great.

Okay, it's your turn.

Get your fingers ready.

Let's all do this together.

Let's write the word right first, R-I-G-H-T.

Starting at this baseline, find a starting point.

Everybody ready? Let's go.

Lead in, form the letter R, R to I, joining just below the x-height line, R to G, looped descender, G to H, up to the ascender line, H to T up towards the ascender line but not all the way, finish with a lead out, and then dotting my I and crossing my T.

Now we'll do write.

So starting on the baseline, lead in to write the letter W, W joining to R just below the x-height line, R to I, I to T up towards the ascender line but not all the way, and then joining T to E with a lead out on the baseline.

Then I go back, dot my I, cross my T.

Great job, everybody.

Well done.

Let's practise writing the homophones right and write.

I'm making sure I'm sitting comfortably with my pen in the tripod grip.

I'm finding a starting point on the baseline and I'm ready.

So ready, line, go.

Writing the word right first, starting with the lead in to form the letter I, then joining R to I just below the x-height line, I to G, looped descender, G to H up to the ascender line, back to the baseline, joining H to T toward the ascender line but not all the way.

And then I'm going to dot my I and cross my T.

Now I'm going to write the word right.

So just finding a starting point on the baseline.

Ready, line, go.

Lead in to form the letter W, joining W to R by dipping just below the x-height line, R to I, dipping just below the x-height line, I to T towards the x-height line but not all the way, and finishing with a lead out on the baseline.

Then I'll dot my I and cross my T.

Checking for understanding.

Can you point to where the second join is being used in the word right? Pause the video now.

So the second join is being used for joining G to H from the baseline up to the ascender line.

It's also being used to join the letters H and T, again from the baseline up towards the ascender line.

So it's time for Task B.

First, you need to practise writing the homophones right and write.

Write each word three times on your tram lines.

Use these reminders to check your work after you've done them.

Have you checked for lead in and lead outs? Check your letter and your join formation and check for appropriate letter spacing.

Pause the video now.

Off you go.

Well done, everybody.

Great job.

Okay, have a look at the words that you've just written and compare them to the examples of the cursive handwriting on the screen.

Did you use the correct joins within the letter strings? Did you keep your pencil or pen on the page until the end of the letter string? If you need to, you can pause the video and make any edits to your words.

Okay, well done everybody.

Great job.

Have a look at all the words you've written in Task B.

Circle your best join and celebrate.

Great job.

Okay, it's time to write the homophones bear and bare.

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings.

So let's have a look at these two.

B-E-A-R, bear.

The word bear refers to a large mammal with thick fur such as a polar bear, or it also means to tolerate or withstand something difficult.

So I had to bear the pain when I fell over.

You could also say I couldn't bear the pain, I could not tolerate the pain.

Then B-A-R-E, bare.

The word bare here refers to something not clothed or covered.

So you could say if someone was bare, they're not wearing any clothes.

Or bare could be described as something lacking decoration or embellishment.

So for example, a room which is bare wouldn't have any paintings on the walls.

It wouldn't have any furniture.

It would be described as bare because it's so empty.

It can help our handwriting and spelling to practise writing homophones as they will appear in your writing.

So let's have a look at the homophones bear and bare.

What do you notice about the formation of the words? Pause the video now.

Okay, so B-E-A-R, like a grizzly bear, starts with a lead in, then you have your ascender letter, the letter B, and then the letter R finishes with a lead out dipping just below the x-height line.

And then bare, the room was empty and bare, starts with a lead in to form the ascender letter B and again finishes with a lead out, but this time on the baseline.

Let's look at the joins closely here.

So in both words, the first letter has a lead in and the last letter has a lead out.

The letter R has a dip down as the lead out.

It dips down just below the x-height line.

The word B-E-A-R, bear, uses the first join for all the connections in its formation, so from the baseline to the x-height line.

The word bare, B-A-R-E, uses the first join and the third join in its formation.

You don't lift your pencil off the page until you have completed the letter string.

And the letter spacing allows the word to be clear and legible as the spacing is even.

I'm going to form the homophones bear and bare in cursive in the air with my finger.

So starting with bear, as in brown bear, polar bear, baseline, find a starting point, lead in to form the ascender letter B, join B to E, E to A, A to R.

All of these joins are the first join, and then with a lead out dipping just below the x-height line.

Now B-A-R-E.

Again, starting point on the baseline.

Lead in to the ascender letter B, joining B to A, A to R, baseline to x-height line, and then dipping just below the x-height line to join R to E, finishing with a lead out on the baseline.

Okay, your turn.

Get your fingers ready.

Let's do this together.

We're gonna write bear first, as in brown bear.

Find a starting point on the baseline.

Lead in to form the ascender letter B, B to E, E to A, A to R, and then finishing with a dip down lead out for the letter R.

Then bare, B-A-R-E.

Baseline, starting point.

Lead in, ascender letter, form the letter B, B to A, A to R, baseline to x-height line, R to E, dipping down just below the x-height line, finishing with a lead out.

Great job.

Let's practise writing the homophones bear and bare.

I'm making sure I'm sitting comfortably and I've got my pen in my tripod grip.

Finding a starting point on the baseline.

I'm going to write bare first.

So lead in to form the letter B, joining B to A with the first join, B to E, sorry, E to A also with the first join, and A to R also with the first join, finishing with a dip down as a lead out.

Now I'm going to write bare, as in the room was bare and empty.

Starting on the baseline.

Ready, line, go.

Lead in to form the letter B, joining B to A, A to R, baseline to x-height line, and then dipping just below, join R to E, and then finishing with a lead out on the baseline.

Great.

Checking for understanding.

Which joins are being used to connect the letters in the word bear, B-E-A-R.

Pause the video now.

Okay, so in the word bear, we only use the first join within the word bear because the first join connects from the baseline to the x-height line, so each letter is joined using the first join.

Well done.

It's time for Task C.

You need to practise writing the homophones bear and bare.

Write each word three times on your tram lines, then use the reminders to check your work.

Check the lead in and the lead outs, check the letter and join formation, and then check the letter spacing.

Pause the video now.

Okay, well done, everybody.

So have a look at the words that you've just written and compare them to the examples on the screen.

Did you use the correct joins within the letter string? Is there appropriate letter spacing between the letters and the words? If you need to, pause the video now and make any edits or rewrite a word again.

Otherwise, have a look through all the words you've just written, circle your best join, and celebrate.

Great job.

Okay, it's time for the final part of our lesson where we are writing the homophones flour and flower.

So we know that homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and totally different meanings.

So for example, flour, the word flour, F-L-O-U-R, refers to a powder made by grinding raw grains, typically wheat, used in baking.

So you might use plain flour, self-raising flour, bread flour in your baking.

The word flower, F-L-O-W-E-R, refers to the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, often colourful and fragrant.

So an example of a flower you might know might be daffodil, daisy, or tulip.

These were examples of flowers.

It can help our handwriting and spelling to practise writing homophones as they will appear in your writing.

Let's have a look at the homophones flour and flower.

What do you notice about the formations of the words? Pause the video now and take a closer look.

Okay, so flower, as in daisies, daffodils, tulips, let's have a look.

Starts with the letter F with a lead in loop, and then a lead out loop.

I love writing the letter F.

I think it's a really beautiful letter.

Then we have an ascender letter with the letter L, and then the lead out for the R is just a dip down below the x-height line.

Then flour, as in the flour that you use in baking.

Again, the letter F starts with a lead in loop and ends with a lead out loop.

You have the ascender letter for the letter L and then a lead out just below the x-height again.

So let's look at the joins.

So for both words, the letter F has a lead in and a lead out loop.

The letter R has a dip down as the lead out.

The word flower uses the first, second, and third join in its formation.

And also the word flour, the other flour, F-L-O-U-R, uses the first, second, and third join too in its formation.

Remember, you don't lift your pencil until you have completed the letter string.

And the letter spacing allows the word to be clear and legible.

Why? Because the spacing is even.

It's not too squashed together, the letters.

The letters aren't too squashed together, but they're also not spread too far apart.

I'm going to form the homophones flower and flour in cursive in the air with my finger.

So I'm gonna start with the word flower, as in a daisy or a tulip.

So starting on the baseline, starting point lead in loop to form the letter F down to the descender line, a loop to descender, and then joining to the letter L, L to O, baseline to x-height line, O to W, dipping just below the x-height line, W to E, again, dipping just below the x-height line, and then E to R, finishing with a dip down lead out.

Now the word flour, as in plain flour or self-raising flour.

Starting on the baseline, then lead in loop, lead out loop at the descender line, joining F to L, L to O, O to U, U to R, and then finishing a dip down lead out.

Okay, it's your turn.

Get your finger ready.

Let's do this together.

We're going to write the word flower first, F-L-O-W-E-R.

Starting on the baseline, find a starting point.

Everybody ready? Let's go.

Lead in loop, down to the descender line, lead out loop, L, L to O, O to W, W to E, E to R, and then finishing with a lead out dip down below the x-height line.

Well done.

Let's now write flower.

Starting on the baseline, lead in loop, looped descender, F to L, L to O, O to U, U to R, and then a dip down at the x-height line.

Great job.

Well done.

Let's practise writing the homophones flower and flour.

I'm going to write the word flower first.

I'm making sure I'm sitting comfortably.

I'm going to write the word flower as in daisy, the flower, first.

So starting on the baseline, finding a starting point.

Ready, line, go.

Starting with my lead in to form a lead in loop, then a looped descender down to the descender line, F to L, back up to the ascender line, L to O, joining O to W by dipping just below the x-height line, E to W, E to R, finishing with a dip down lead out.

Now I'm going to write flour as in self-raising flour.

Starting at the baseline, the lead in loop, looped descender up to the ascender line, L to O, U to R, dipping just below the x-height line, U to R, baseline to x-height line, finishing with a lead out dipping just below the x-height line.

Great.

Checking for understanding.

Which joins are used to write the word flour, F-L-O-U-R? Pause the video now.

Okay, so we use the first join, the second join, and the third join.

If you need to, pause the video now and take a closer look at the word flour and see if you can spot all of those three joins.

Otherwise, well done.

It's time for Task D.

You are going to practise writing the homophones flower and flour, and you'll write each word three times on your tram lines.

Then use these reminders to check your work.

Check for the correct lead in and lead outs, check your letter and join formation, and check your letter spacing.

Pause the video now.

Off you go.

Great job, everybody.

Well done.

Have a look at the words that you've just written and compare them to the examples on the screen.

Did you remember the lead in and the lead out loop for the letter F? Did you use the correct joins within the letter strings? And did you remember the dip down for the letter R? I'm sure you all did brilliantly.

Well done.

Have a look at all the words you've just written, circle your best join, and celebrate.

Great job.

Here's a summary of everything we've learned today.

Two or more words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings are called homophones.

There are four cursive letter joins.

Letters in the homophones will be joined using a range of joins depending on the letters in the word.

The words start with a lead in and finish with a lead out.

There is appropriate letter spacing between the letters joined in a cursive letter string.

You don't lift your pencil until the letter string is complete.

Great job, everybody, today.

Well done.