Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's spelling lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss, and I'm really looking forward to teaching you.

With you today you need to bring your looking eyes, your listening ears, and your thinking brains.

As well as that, something to write with and write on, and someone or something to talk to would also be brilliant.

Right, let's get right into today's spelling lesson then.

In today's lesson we're going to be investigating homophones.

The outcome will be, "I can spell homophones and revise previously taught homophones." The keyword for today's lesson is one word and one word only, my turn, your turn.

Homophone, homophone, brilliant.

A homophone then, or homophones are words that sound the same, but have different meanings and spellings.

Today we're gonna be investigating homophones.

We're gonna look at some homophones, write some homophones that I'm sure you know already, then we're gonna practise and apply some spellings, and finally, we're gonna spell some curriculum words.

Let's get on with looking at what homophones are then, and looking at some examples.

So homophones sound the same, but have different meanings.

And this word homophone, we get from Greek.

The word homos, or homo, the first part of homophone we get from the Greek word homos, which means one and the same, so the same.

And phone, like a phone that you would pick up, like a telephone, is sound, or a phoneme, that sound in a word.

So homophone then means same sound, words that sound the same, and we get that from the Ancient Greek, that phone from the Ancient Greek, phone, or phon.

So, homos phon, homophone now in English, which we get from ancient Greek, means the same sound.

So let's look at some homophones.

"The weather is lovely today," so that's talking about the weather outside.

"I'm not sure whether to go or not," or whether to do something.

They sound exactly the same, but look, they're spelled differently, and they have different meanings.

So our homophones here are weather, weather spelled W-E-A-T-H-E-R, like the weather outside, and whether, spelled W-H-E-T-H-E-R, whether to do something or not.

Although these words sound the same when spoken, they have different spellings and different meanings, and so we call these homophones.

Same sound, different spelling, different meaning.

So true or false, homophones are words that have the same spelling but different meanings? And then justify your answer with either A, homonyms have the same spelling but the words have different meanings, or B, homophones sound the same, but they have different spellings and meanings.

Pause the video, true or false, and then select your correct justification, off you go.

Brilliant, absolutely this was false.

It wasn't right, was it? Homophones aren't words that have the same spelling, they're words that have different spellings, but they sound the same.

They have different spellings and different meanings.

So they're not homonyms, okay? Homonyms are slightly different.

They're words that can have the same spelling but different meanings, and they can actually also be pronounced differently sometimes.

So homophones sound the same, but they have different spellings and meanings, they're different to homonyms. So let's have a read of some words.

My turn, your turn, groan, and this is like the groan I might make if I'm in pain, like (groaning).

Missed, like I missed the shot.

Peace, like tranquil and peaceful, calm.

Plain, like a plain piece of paper.

Berry, like the berry you might eat.

Ball, like the ball you might throw.

And medal, like the medal you would put on, if you won a competition.

These words are all homophones.

I'm wondering if you know how to spell any of the other homophones here.

Let's have a look at them.

They sound the same as other words, but they have different spellings and meanings.

And here are those homophones.

So know we have grown, like the tree has fully grown.

We have O-W-N.

We have mist, like the mist that might roll in off the sea, I mean you can't see very well.

We have piece, like I ate a piece of pie.

We have plane, like the aeroplane that you might fly in.

We have bury now, like you might bury something under dirt.

We have bawl, B-A-W-L, which means to cry, not the ball you would throw.

And meddle, which means to interfere in someone else's affairs.

So they all sound the same when said, groan and grown, missed and mist.

Careful with that one, 'cause the E-D one can also sound like the T at the end, can't it? Peace and piece, plain and plane, berry and bury, ball and bawl, and medal and meddle, but they have different spellings and different meanings, so they are homophones.

The way a word is spelled and its place within a sentence will tell us its meaning.

So homophones are quite tricky.

We just have to learn the spellings of each individual one by sight, and understand how to use each of those spellings in the context of the sentence.

Can you spot the homophones then in these sentences? "The hiker felt a sharp pain in her heel." "The wound took a long time to heal." "He'll be delighted to see you." So pause the video now, have a read through those sentences again.

Where is my homophone in those sentences, a word that sounds the same, but is spelled differently, three different times, and means different things? Pause the video and see if you can find it.

Great, well my homophone here is heel, heel as in the back of your foot, heal as in to get better, and he'll as in he will, he'll, that contracted form, he'll, with that apostrophe for contraction.

So our homophone here is heel.

Let's think about what each of these heels means, then.

We have to know the meanings of the homophones to spell them correctly.

The word heel, H-E-E-L, is most commonly a noun meaning the back part of the foot.

"The hiker felt a sharp pain in her heel." The words heal spelled H-E-A-L, with that E-A, is a verb which means to make healthy again.

"The wound took a long time to heal," to get better.

And H-E, apostrophe L-L is the contracted form of either he shall, he'll, or he will, he'll.

"He'll be delighted to see you." So either he shall be delighted to see you, or he will be delighted to see you.

It has an apostrophe for contraction.

So here we have three different spellings and three different meaning of the same-sounding word, heel.

We have to know the meaning of each of these spellings to be able to use them in the correct contexts.

So with that in mind, I'd like you know to pick the correct spelling in each sentence.

Read the sentences, which is the correct heel for each sentence? Pause the video, see if you can work it out now, off you go.

Fantastic job, team.

"I bruised my heel playing football." We're not going to say, I bruised my he will, he shall playing football," and I know it's not going to be that verb heal, so the correct spelling is my E-E-L, that back part of my foot.

"When do you think he'll return?" Let's try our contraction here.

When do you think he will return? Ooh, that makes sense.

When do you think he shall return? That makes sense.

So it's our contracted he will, he shall, he'll, with that apostrophe for contraction.

The others wouldn't make sense, would they? When do you think the back part of my foot will return? When do you think getting better will return? No.

"You've got to give the injury time to heal," to get better.

So it's our E-A-L spelling there, brilliant.

I'm hoping you now know the meaning of each of the different spellings of the word heel.

Some homophones are also what we might call near-homophones, dependent upon how you pronounce them.

We can have accept, some might say accept, and the others might say except, but they can both sound very similar.

"I gladly accept your invitation to the party." So accepting something, saying yes.

"Everyone except Sarah attended the party." So she was the only person not to do something, the exception.

They can sound very similar, but have different spellings and different meanings.

And affect, some people might say affect, some people might say effect, but they can also be pronounced just as affect, and sound very similar.

"The bad weather will affect our travel plans." "The storm had a significant effect on the city." Better watch out for those ones, near-homophones.

So unlike many other rules that we investigate in spelling, there are no patterns for homophones.

We just have to know the meanings of the different spellings of the words.

We can come up with our own ideas to help us remember the spellings.

For instance, let's hunt now for some homophones.

We have peace, as in calm and tranquil.

"Peace and order were finally restored after the revolt." "Each piece of the puzzle fit together perfectly." This as in a single piece of something, or many pieces.

Piece I've noticed, contains the word pie, and you might eat a piece of pie.

So the word pie is in piece, P-I-E, so I can remember that to know how to spell that version of the word piece.

And I've also noticed there's a pea in peace, as in calm and tranquil.

So knowing and recognising those little quirks in the spellings can help me remember how to spell them.

Look at these homophones for me.

Can you come up with your own way to help you remember how to spell them correctly? "The river has a strong current," so the flow of the river.

"The cake is full of currants." Currants are small little piece of fruit, they're very tasty.

So could you come up with your own way of remembering how to spell these words, current, as in the current of a river, or the currant in cake, correctly? Pause the video and have a think.

Oh amazing, some really creative ideas there.

So I've come up with this idea that if we look at the letter that is different, here it's one single letter that is different, isn't it? An E and and A.

And I know that in the word river there's a E.

River with E, and current with E.

And in cake there's an A, cake with A and currant with A, like the currants in a cake.

So I'm making some links there between the spellings of other words and these words, to help me remember.

River with E, current with E.

Cake with A, currant with A.

So I'd like you to have a go at selecting the correct spelling for each sentence, for A, B, C and D now.

Pause the video, read the sentences, and see if you can select the correct spelling, off you go.

Fantastic job, team.

"The serene garden was a place of peace." So it's not going to be a piece of pie, is it? It's going to be pea with peace, P-E-A-C-E.

And I know that serene means calm and peaceful and tranquil, and that's what peaceful means.

"She handed me a piece of chocolate." Ooh, like a piece of pie, a piece of something.

Pie, piece, P-I-E, that's that correct spelling there.

"The river's current," now river with an E, current with an E, "was strong after the rain." And, "I made a delicious currant jam." Now there's no cake here, but we know it's that, if it's cake with A, it's currant with A, something you can eat, currant, that fruit.

So identify the homophones in these sentences for me.

Listen carefully for the words that sound the same.

"Please don't meddle in my business." "She wore her medal with pride." Where are my homophones here? Say it now.

Brilliant, absolutely.

My homophone is meddle, which means to interfere in someone's business, and medal, which is a medal you might wear, M-E-D-A-L.

Can you come up with a way to remember when to use each spelling? Think of some actions maybe, whilst chanting the spelling can be helpful.

Pause the video and see if you can think of a creative way to remember it now.

Brilliant, I've come up with M-E-D-A-L spells medal, whilst I'm putting on a medal from winning something, and that's my medal, M-E-D-A-L, a medal you might wear.

M-E-D-A-L spells medal.

So identify the homophones in these sentences for me.

Listen carefully for the words that sound the same.

"I sat in the shade of the giant beech tree." "We spent a relaxing day at the beach." Say the sentences again.

Which word is my homophone? Say it now.

Brilliant, the homophone absolutely is beech, sounding the same in each, but the first beech, B-E-E-C-H, is in a type of tree, and the beach, B-E-A-C-H is the place by the seaside with the sand and the pebbles that you might go to.

So the way I remember this is, beech, like the tree, contains a double-E, like tree.

And beach with E-A contains E-A like sea, and the beach is next to the sea.

So our practise task now is to listen to these four sentences, and to choose the correct homophone to fill the gap.

Think about how they might be spelled, and think about the correct spelling.

"I ate a piece of pizza." "The swimmers were warned about the strong ocean current." "She won a gold medal in the swimming competition." "We took a stroll along the sandy beach." So number one is piece, number two is current, number three is medal, and number four is beach.

Pause the video, remember, don't get tripped up by the homophones, think about the correct spellings.

We've looked at them.

Pause the video and have a go at writing the correct spellings for each one now, off you go.

Great job team, let's see how you've done then.

"I ate a piece of pizza," pie as in piece, as in something you might eat, so P-I-E-C-E.

Current, the water, remember? River with an E, current with an E.

So current, C-U-R-R-E-N-T.

And, "She won a gold medal," M-E-D-A-L, okay? M-E-D-A-L spells medal, when we're actually putting a medal on.

And, "We took a stroll along the sandy beach." You're not gonna walk along a tree, are you? So it's not my E-E spelling, it's the beach by the sea.

Sea has E-A, beach has E-A, beach.

Great, how did you do there? Do you need to make any corrections? Did you use one of the wrong homophones? Pause the video and make those corrections now, and show you're learning.

Onto our next learning cycle then, which is the practise and apply spellings.

You need to use the context of the sentence to work out the spelling of the homophone.

Remember, there are no rules here.

"The keys are over there on the table." "Their clothes were soaking wet." "They're planning a surprise party." Understanding their meaning will help to spell homophones correctly in the context of the sentence.

I'm sure you've looked at this homophone for there before.

Let's double check.

So the word there is used to show place.

"There is a beautiful park in this city." That is their, T-H-E-I-R, indicates possession by a group of people or something.

The word they're with an apostrophe, they are, is the contracted for of they are, they're.

"I can't believe they're leaving." So we have there, T-H-E-R-E, with is position or location.

We have their, E-I-R, which is that indication of possession by a group of people or things.

Then we have they're with that apostrophe, they are, they're.

Lots of homophones are common exception words as well, which makes them a little bit trickier.

Sometimes you can link the spelling of the word to its meaning, look at this example.

So we have there, T-H-E-R-E, with an arrow through the R, 'cause it's that location, it's over there.

We have their of the person, with the I as a person.

I, me, possessed by me.

And we have they and are, which makes up they're, with our apostrophe for contraction.

This is like the naughty letter strategy, but we're also thinking about the meaning, as opposed to just learning the spellings.

So which homophone fits in the sentence, with the three spellings of there that you've looked at? "(humming) eating lunch outside." "(humming) favourite colour is red." "(humming) is mud all over the floor?" There's there in each sentence.

Pause the video, have a go at saying the sentences with there, to let the correct spellings now, off you go.

So our first there is that location there, T-H-E-R-E.

"There is mud all over the floor." The next one is they are, they're, our contraction with the apostrophe.

Let's see which one it'll work with.

"They are eating lunch outside." "They are favourite colour is red?" "They are is mud on the floor?" It has to be the first one, doesn't it? They're.

And finally, "Their favourite colour," is that possessive, T-H-E-I-R, that is their favourite colour, that favourite colour belongs to them, so T-H-E-I-R.

So have a look here for me, and a read of these sentences.

Tick the sentences that contain the correct spellings.

We have, "They're going to camp in the summer holidays." "Put the book on the table over there." "The team were pleased to be back in their stadium," and, "They're excited about the new playground equipment." Pause the video, select the sentences that contain the correct spelling of the homophone there, off you go.

Brilliant, "They're going to camp in the summer," that's there as the direction or indication.

That doesn't work, it should be they are, they're, or they are, contraction they're.

"Put the book on the table over there." Possessive? No.

It should be that direction of there, T-H-E-R-E, so the first two don't work.

"The team were pleased to be back in their stadium." That stadium belongs to the team, so the possessive one works.

And they are, let's try it.

"They are excited about the new playground equipment." "They're excited about new playground equipment." That makes sense, doesn't it? Saying the un-contracted form, the full form of the word, can sometimes help us see if it's that contracted form, and it works, so that does work.

So we have looked at different ways to try to remember the correct spellings of homophones.

We can find a word or some letters that are similar to other words within the word.

For instance beech contains two E's, like tree.

Chant the spelling, so we had M-E-D-A-L spells medal, whilst putting our medal on.

And we can also look at the spelling and link it to its meaning.

So we had the three theres, and we had our there, T-H-E-R-E, with the R as a directional arrow.

We had the their with the I as a person for possession, and we wrote out they are, the full form, of our contracted they are, they're.

There are lots of spelling strategies that can be used to help us to remember homophones.

So I'd like you to choose four homophones to practise spelling.

I've chosen beech, piece, currant, and he'll, the he shall or he will contracted form.

I'd like you to choose the words that you found most difficult from this lesson, or you can use these words.

I'd like you to write them out three times.

Can you think of a way to help you remember them? For instance, I'm gonna remember beech, 'cause that's the type of tree, 'cause it has E-E like tree.

I know that there's a pie in piece, like a piece of pie.

I know there's an A in currant like cake, and he shall or he will spells he'll.

That's how I remember, and I'm gonna have a go and writing them out three times, and think about those strategies, okay.

Pause the video now, have a go at writing out, for any four homophones three times, off you go.

Brilliant job, team.

So I'm hoping you've managed to write your words out a number of times, three times in fact.

I have beech, I have piece, currant, and he'll.

And the way I'm gonna remember these, like I said, is that's beech as in the type of tree, has an E-E like the word tree.

There's a pie in piece, like a piece of pie.

There's an A in currant, like cake, and he shall or he will makes he'll.

What did you do to remember the spellings? Share with me now, and share with those around you.

Pause the video.

Onto our final learning cycle then, which is spelling curriculum words.

Curriculum words are those words which will appear with great regularity in our reading and writing, so it's important we know how to spell them.

Some elements of these curriculum words might be trickier to spell, or they might be common exception words.

So let's have a read of some words, my turn, your turn.

Straight, like I'm walking in a straight line.

Caught, like caught the ball, our irregular past tense of catch.

We don't say catched, we say caught.

And possess, if you possess something you own it, it belongs to you.

Have a say at these words again.

What do you think might be tricky about them, given how they're spelled compared to how they sound? Pause the video and have a think.

Brilliant, what I've notice, in straight there's that A-I-G, making that A sound, isn't there? Obviously in caught there's A-U-G-H, making that aw sound.

Remember, we can remember that as another upside-down grumpy hippo.

And in the word possess, there's two lots of S, possess, S-S-E-S-S, possess.

And here's how we can remember that A-U-G-H, another upside-down grumpy hippo, a nice pneumonic device there.

So we have straight, caught, possess.

So which of these are spelled correctly, from those curriculum words we just looked at? Which is the correct spelling of the word straight? Pause the video and point to it now.

Brilliant, remember it has that A-I-G-H representation of that A sound, s-t-raight, straight.

So it's this one here.

Caught was our next one.

Remember, what pneumonic device can you use to help you remember that? Pause the video and point to the correct spelling of caught now.

Great, another upside-down grumpy hippo, A-U-G-H, c-aught, this is the correct spelling here.

And possess, pause the video, point to the correct spelling of possess now.

Brilliant, remember it has double-S, double-S.

P-O, double-S, E, double-S, brilliant.

So as these are curriculum words, they're gonna appear with great regularity, and you're going to want to use them as well in your writing, so it's important you know how to spell them.

So again, use the strategy of look, cover, write, check now.

Really great, independent self-checking strategy.

It's where you look carefully at the word, you consider what's difficult about it.

So look at straight, that A-I-G-H, for that A sound.

St-r-aight, I look at it carefully.

I then cover it up when I've got it memorised.

I have a go at writing it out, and then I check back by uncovering it.

And you can do this a number of times, even if you get it right the first time.

Keep practising it to really embed that spelling into your long-term memory.

So you need to pause the video now, use the look, cover, write, check strategy to practise with straight, caught, and possess, off you go.

Great job team, how did you do? What corrections do you have to make? What did you notice about those spellings, straight, caught, and possess? Pause the video now, make those corrections.

Great job in spelling today, everyone.

We've been investigating homophones.

Remember, homophones are words that sound the same, but they have different spellings and meanings.

We can use the context of a sentence to figure out the spelling of a homophone.

There are no spelling rules for homophones, remember, so we must try to learn them by sight, and use some practise strategies to help us remember them, and you can be really creative with these.

Keep up the great spelling, and I'll see you soon.