Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's spelling lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss.

I love spelling and I'm really looking forward to teaching you.

With you for today's lesson, 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 you would also be excellent, right? Let's get right into today's spelling lesson then.

In today's spending lesson, we're going to be looking at some of my favourite types of spellings, which is homophones.

The outcome will be, I can spell words that sound the same, that these are called homophones.

Let's look at the key vocab for today's lesson then.

My turn, your turn.

Homophone, spelling, just two words, but keep an eye and ear out for them, particularly an ear actually.

So what do these words mean then? Well, homophones or homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

Spellings is the act of forming words by arranging letters in the correct order.

So we are gonna be looking at words today that might sound the same, but they're gonna have different spellings and different meanings.

So here's the outline.

We're gonna look at homophones.

We're then going to practise and apply some of these spellings, and we're finally going to spell some curriculum words in our final learning cycle.

Let's get on with looking at these homophones then.

Let's think about what the word homophone means then.

Homophones sound the same, so they sound the same, but they have different spellings and different meanings.

Let's break this word homophone down.

Let's think about it.

Homos means one and the same, but phone means sound, so it literally means same sound.

We get these words from ancient Greek.

The Greek were homos, meaning same, and phon, meaning sound.

Homophones then, words that sound the same but importantly are spelled different and have different meanings.

For instance, the bride walks down the aisle, the boat anchored next to a deserted isle.

Here my words in purple aisle and isle sound the same, but you'll notice they're spelled differently and they also have very different meanings.

The bride walked down the aisle, means she's walking down the middle of rows and the boat anchored next to a deserted isle.

The isle there is a place, it is like an island.

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

We call these homophones.

My turn your turn.

Homophones.

So true or false, the words aisle and isle are homophones.

True or false? And then justify your answer.

Look at the reasonings A or B, select from the correct one now.

Off you go.

Great job.

They sound the same, don't they? So it is true.

Why is it true? Well, homophones, remember, sound the same, but they have different spellings and meanings.

They're not homonyms. Homonyms would have the same spelling, but the words would have different meanings depending on the context they were used in.

Homophones, remember are the same sound but different spellings and different meanings.

Let's read some words.

Heard, I heard what you said.

Missed, I missed the opportunity.

Passed, I passed my friend the ball.

Guessed, I guessed the answer.

Effect, complement.

Those two colours complement each other nicely.

Aloud, she spoke aloud.

These words are all homophones.

Let's have a look at the words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings that go with these homophones then.

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

We have two ways of spelling heard.

We have heard as in I heard, H-E-A-R-D, and then herd H-E-R-D as in a herd of sheep.

We have missed as in I missed the opportunity or missed as in that now and mist as in those clouds of water vapour that can cover an area.

We have passed, as in I passed my friend the ball, and past as in it happened in the past.

Guessed as in I guess the answer, but guest as in someone who can also stay.

Be careful with that one.

'Cause one of the spellings has definitely has the T spelling, doesn't it? But guess with our ED suffix can be confusing.

Effect and affect.

Be careful with those.

Compliment means something that goes along with something.

And compliment, I can give you a compliment about how you perhaps look or a piece of work that you've done.

And then aloud as in I spoke out loud, that's our A-L-O-U-D spelling and then allowed as in I allow you to do this A-L-L-O-W-E-D.

They all sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings and it's really important that we're able to tell the difference between them.

So we make sure we use the right ones in our writing.

The way a word is spelled and its place within a sentence, its context will help us to know its meaning.

Can you spot the homophones in these sentences? The herd of sheep were grazing on the hill.

I heard the sound of birdsong when I woke up this morning.

Read those sentences again and select the homophones.

Those words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings.

Off you go.

Brilliant, our homophones are herd and heard.

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

The word herd, H-E-R-D refers to a group of cattle or wild animals that travel and feed together.

The herd of sheep were grazing on the hill.

The word heard, H-E-A-R-D, is the past tense of the word hear.

We don't say heared, we say heard.

It's in a regular past tense.

I heard the sound of bird song when I woke up this morning.

If we were to use the other spelling in each sentence, the sentence would then not make sense.

Select the correct spelling in each sentence.

Read the sentences for me and select the correct spelling of heard.

Watch out for those homophones.

Off you go.

Brilliant job team.

Loved hearing you read those sentences out loud.

I'm hoping you can understand the spelling and meaning of each of these words.

Jun heard the teacher explaining the rules.

Well, my herd of animals spelling here wouldn't it make sense, would it? So it has to be my hear heard.

The herd of cows had escaped from the field.

Would the hearing bit here work? No.

So it's herd as in that noun, H-E-R-D, that collective group.

Speak loudly so your voice is heard.

Hmm? Herd of sheep or cattle here? No, it's to do with hearing, isn't it? Think about the context in which the word is written to help you know which spelling to use.

Unlike many other rules you will have investigated in spelling, there are no patterns for homophones, which is why they're super tricky.

We can come up with our own ideas to help us remember the spellings and we can be really creative with this.

So let's get ready to be really creative with our spelling, team.

The bad weather will affect our travel plans.

The storm will have a significant effect on the city.

These two sound very similar, don't they? But you'll notice we have an A at the beginning of one and an E at the beginning of another and they have slightly nuanced different meanings.

Look at the letter that is different.

Affect, for instance, is typically used as a verb.

Remember if you do it or you are it, and the word is a verb.

So we can think of that A at the beginning of affect as standing for action.

This shows us that one way we can choose the correct spelling is thinking about word class.

Look at the homophones.

Can you come up with your own way to help you remember how to spell them correctly? Please read this sentence aloud to the class.

We were allowed extra play time at school today.

Oh wow.

Be creative.

How do you think you might remember how to spell each of these homophones? Pause the video and have a think.

Brilliant.

We can think of the double L in that root word allow in allowed as being associated with a treat, such as having lots of lollies, double L, lots of lollies and aloud the other spelling there.

I thought you should always talk loudly and proudly in your lessons.

You should always sound loud.

There's a link there, proud, sound and loud.

They all have that O-U in.

So that's how I can remember that one.

With that in mind, select the correct spelling of the word allowed for each of these sentences.

Read the sentences, consider the context, consider the spelling of each homophone.

Off you go.

Great job, team.

The sound affect made it difficult to concentrate, so the sound affect made it difficult to concentrate.

Hmm, in this instance affect here is a noun, isn't it? The sound affect.

It is not a verb.

And remember we said that A for action in affect, A-F-F-E-C-T would then help us.

It's a different word class.

So it's that E-F-F-E-C-T spelling.

Eating healthily will affect your energy levels.

In this instance it's an action.

It's having an impact on something.

So it's our A spelling.

I am allowed to watch television after dinner.

Oh, that sounds like a treat like lots of lollipops.

So it's our double L spelling, isn't it? He read the story aloud.

You should always read loudly and proudly when you're reading and you're making a sound, aren't you? That O-U spelling.

So aloud here.

He read the story aloud to his little sister.

Remember we can be really creative in the ways that we can try and remember the correct spelling of these homophones.

Identify the homophones in these sentences for me.

Listen carefully for the words that sound the same.

My friend gave me a compliment after the performance.

So he said something nice about the performance.

The colours in the painting complement each other perfectly.

So go along with each other.

Hmm, read the sentences again.

Which words here are the homophones? Off you go.

Brilliant job.

So our words that are homophones here are compliment and complement and they have one letter that's spelled differently in each of them.

An I and an E.

A compliment with an I is a nice remark.

The word complement with that E spelling instead is used when things go well together.

They complement each other.

It is related to the word complete so you can remember it by thinking that it makes something complete.

They go together nicely to complete something perfectly.

I'd like you now for our practise task to listen to the full sentences.

I'd like you to choose the correct homophone to fill the gap.

You have to listen really carefully.

These are homophones that we've looked at so far this lesson, so you should know the spelling of each of them.

We were allowed extra time to finish the test.

This is a good thing.

We were allowed extra time to finish the test.

Number two, have you heard the good news? Number three, Izzy liked my new coat so she gave me a compliment.

She said something nice.

Number four, planting trees has a positive effect on the environment.

And the ticket master walked down the aisle of the train.

So the walkway between the seats, the rows of seats.

So I'll read these one more time for you.

We were allowed extra time to finish the test.

Think about which spelling of allowed.

Have you heard the good news? Think about which spelling of heard.

Izzy liked my new coat, so she gave me a compliment.

Think about the correct spelling of compliment.

Planting trees has a positive effect on the environment.

And the ticket master walks down the aisle of the train.

Correct spelling of aisle.

Pause the video and add the correct homophones now.

Off you go.

Amazing job team.

Really, really careful consideration of what is a really tricky skill.

So listen to them again and check to see if you've managed to put the correct homophones in.

So allowed was our double L O-W-E-D spelling.

It wasn't about talking out loud, it was you're allowed to do something.

You've been allowed to do something good.

Our LL lots of lollipops.

Have you heard the good news? It's about hearing, isn't it.

Not herd as in a herd of sheep or cattle.

Izzy like my new coat says she gave me a compliment.

That's where she says something good.

It's not to do with it being completed.

So it's our I spelling in compliment.

Planting trees has a positive effect on the environment.

It's our E spelling here.

The ticket master walked down the aisle of the train.

Our strange, A-I-S-L-E.

It's not isle as in an island, an aisle as in walking down that gap between the rows.

How did you do there? Make any corrections now, off you go.

Onto our next learning cycle then, which is going to be practising and applying some of the spellings that we've looked at so far.

Some homophones have similarities.

If we can remember the spelling of one, this can help us with the spelling of other words.

I missed the bus because I was running late.

Always be careful with these ED verbs that sound like a T.

A silver mist hovered over the lake.

So that water vapour that's covering the lake there that might be making it difficult for you to see.

We waved as the train passed by.

So again, we have our ED verb here.

I am interested in learning about the past.

So things that have happened previously in history.

Words ending in double S E-D are usually verbs in sentences.

Words ending in our S-T are usually nouns.

So we can think carefully about their word class here.

I guessed the answer to the question.

That's a verb, isn't it? It's an action, it's something you are doing.

You're guessing.

We welcomed each guest with our S-T spelling.

A noun is a person, with a drink and a biscuit.

Knowing this can help us remember which spelling you should use in a sentence dependent upon the word class.

For a little check here, I'd like you to sort these homophones into the correct columns in my table.

Are they a noun or are they a verb? Think about what we just looked at.

Off you go.

Brilliant job.

Absolutely, our S-T words are nouns, guest, mist and past.

And our double S E-D with that E-D past tense verb suffix ending are verbs.

Guessed, missed passed.

They're all doing words, they're actions.

Spelling rules can help us to know how to spell words, but we also need to practise, and this is especially true of homophones, where we don't have very many clear rules.

When you practise, you remember the words more easily.

You get better at noticing how the words are spelled and you feel more confident when using them.

There are many strategies to use to practise spellings.

We will try today using one strategy called the naughty letter strategy.

My turn, your turn.

Naughty letters.

The naughty letter strategy helps us in several ways.

Listen carefully.

First, as with any spelling strategy, we have to look carefully at the word, paying close attention to its spelling and any tricky parts to it.

Then we copy the word showing the tricky part of the word by writing the letter larger.

This helps us to pay attention to the letters or spelling that we might forget.

You might even draw a naughty little face onto the letter as well.

This example is of see.

This is a homophone.

We have see as in I see you, and sea as in the waves in the sea E-A.

I've added some eyes to my S-E-E as in I see because that's the meaning.

And I've added a wave underneath sea as in the salty sea 'cause of our E-A spelling.

Help me, what order do these go in for this strategy, the naughty letter strategy? What do you always have to do first and then what do you do? Put them in the correct order.

Great job.

We always look carefully and then we copy with the naughty letter larger.

We could add a naughty face to it.

Remember we should always look carefully at spellings before we practise them.

So important.

I'd like you to choose three homophones to practise using the naughty letter strategy with.

Choose the homophones that you found most difficult so far in this lesson.

Choose those words now and then consider and look carefully at them.

Which letter is naughty? Write it out larger, add a face to it, and off you go.

Brilliant job.

So I chose the words guest, heard and aisle.

I chose guest because of that naughty U.

And I've made that my naughty letter.

I choose in heard that A, because it looks like heared, doesn't it? But it's that E-A making that uh sound.

And in aisle there's that strange A at the beginning, isn't there? Which is a naughty letter for me.

So I've drawn them out bigger.

You may even have wanted to add naughty faces to them.

Did you enjoy writing them out this way? Share with me now your favourite string of letters that you've written out or string of words I should say, and the naughty letters that you've added to them.

Show them now and make any corrections.

Great job.

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

Curriculum words are these words which are going to appear a lot in our reading and writing and they might have slightly tricky elements to them.

So it's important we know to spell them.

Let's read these words.

Century.

A century is a hundred years.

Breath.

I took a deep breath.

And linked demeaning and also spelling, breathe.

He found it hard to breathe.

What do you notice about these spellings? Is there anything tricky about them? Pause the video and have a think.

Great job, team.

Well, I've noticed a few things.

In century which we get from the Latin centuria, meaning a group of one hundred, it has a soft C at the beginning, century.

Also be careful with that N-T-U in the middle sounds like a ch, ch but it's not.

Century, T-U-R-Y.

In breath, the letters E-A are making an eh, eh sound like in head or bread.

But in breathe we have that long E sound, don't we? Breath and breathe are connected in meaning and also spelling, but we cannot hear the E at the end of the word.

So that might be a naughty letter for you.

Take a snapshot of these curriculum words now.

So I'm gonna test you on them in a minute.

Century, breath, breathe.

Are you ready? Which of these words are spelled correctly? Century.

Point to it now.

Excellent job, team.

Century, soft C, E-N-T-U-R-Y.

This is our correct spelling.

Which is the correct word or spelling for breath, go.

Excellent.

So remember it's that E-A spelling for that, eh? Like head and bread, B-R-E-A, and it's th, th, breath and linked in spelling and meaning to that word breathe.

Point to the correct spelling of breathe now.

Brilliant job.

So it's that E-A spelling, but making a different sound here and that TH and that naughty letter at the end, which is an E, breathe.

So we are gonna use a strategy now, another spelling strategy called the look, cover, write, check strategy.

I also find this really helpful practising with homophones.

We're gonna practise the word century, breath and breathe.

This works by looking carefully at the spelling, considering what's difficult about it.

So if I look carefully at century, I've got that soft C E-N-T-U-R-Y.

I then cover the spelling up and have a good writing out in my neatest handwriting.

And then I check back and see and I see if I've got it right, make any corrections.

And even if I get it right first time, I practise that a number of times to really embed the spelling into my long-term memory.

Use the look cover, write, check strategy now to practise century, breath and breathe.

Off you go, team.

Incredible job.

So I'm hoping you've managed to get them written out like this.

Great if you have.

Make any corrections and share your learning now.

Off you go.

Well done for today's learning everyone.

We've been looking at homophones, they're those words that sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings.

Remember that we can use the context of a sentence to figure out the spelling of the homophone.

There are no spelling rules for homophones really.

So you must learn them by sight and use practise strategies to help us remember them.

Remember, a strategy like naughty letters can help us to remember the tricky letters in a spelling.

Keep up the great spelling practise team and I'll see you again soon.