Lesson video

Hi there, I'm Mr. Moss.

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

With you, for today's spelling lesson, you're going to 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 really helpful.

Let's get into today's spelling lesson then.

In this lesson we are going to be spelling homonyms. The outcome will be, "I can identify the meaning and the correct pronunciation of homonyms, based on their context.

Here are the key words for today's learning, my turn, your turn, "homonym," "homophone," "word class," "context." Great, thanks so much for saying those back to me.

Let's have a think about what these words mean, then.

Homonyms, which is what we're gonna be concentrating on today, are words that have the same spellings, and often pronunciation, although that pronunciation can be different as other words, but a different meaning.

The key here is they have the same spelling.

Homophones, on the other hand, are quite similar, but a little bit different.

They're words that sound the same, but have a different spelling and a different meaning.

And, "word class" refers to different types of words, that are used to form sentences.

Interestingly, homonyms and homophones can have different word classes.

And finally, the "context" is the surrounding words or sentences that help determine the meaning of a word or phrase.

This is really important when looking at homonyms, because they're spelled the same.

So, for the lesson outline, we are going to begin by looking at homonyms, and then we're going to have a go applying some of the spellings that we're looking at today within a sentence.

I really can't wait for the application of these spellings in a sentence later on.

Let's get on with looking at homonyms first, though.

So homophones and homonyms are slightly different, and we're gonna consider what each of these words mean, first of all.

A homophone, for instance, we derived from Greek.

"Homos," meaning one and the same, and "phone." meaning sound, so, it's the same sound.

Let's look at some examples of homophones.

"Learning from the past, can help us prepare for the future." "Mr. Jones waves as he passed me on his bike." "Past" and "passed" here, both sound the same, but you'll notice they are spelled differently.

Our P-A-S-T is things that have happened previously in time.

Our P-A-S-S-E-D, past tense verb here, is going passed someone, that act of moving passed them.

They have different meanings, and different spellings, although they sound the same, so they are homophones.

So, homophones sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings.

Homonyms, then, well, again, we derive this word from Greek and that "homo" part at the the beginning, again, comes from "homos," meaning one and the same, or homos.

"Nym" means word or name, so it means same name or same word.

In this way, homonyms have the same spelling, but different meanings.

"The dog in the house next door began to bark." "The tree's tough bark provided a protective layer." "Barking," like the dog, or the "bark" of a tree.

It is spelled the same, but they have different meanings.

Interestingly, here, as well, they have different word classes.

One is a verb, to bark.

One is a noun, the bark on a tree.

So, homonyms then, have the same spelling as other words, but different meanings.

And, interestingly, we're gonna look at this in some more detail today.

They can have different pronunciations, as well, although these, this example here, doesn't have a different pronunciation.

So, given what we've just looked at there, and our distinction between homophones and homonyms, have a look here for me.

The words "hear," and "here," are homophones, true or false? And, then try and justify your answer by picking from the reasoning A or B.

Pause the video now.

Is this true or false? Justify your answer.

Off you go.

Brilliant job, team.

Absolutely "hear" and "hear," in this instance are homophones.

Now, one of them is, "I can't hear you," and, "I am sitting here," is my H-E-R-E spelling, they're spelled differently, and they mean different things.

The reason they're homophones is because they sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings.

They're not homonyms, because they're not spelled the same.

The word match, M-A-T-C-H, is a homonym.

Let's look at the different meanings that this word can have though.

"Will you come and and watch my football match next week?" That's that game of 90 minutes, that football match.

"The colours in your outfit match perfectly," so they come together and look really good.

That's that meaning of "match." And, finally, "We need to find a match to light the fire." "Match" here, is that noun, that thing that you can strike, and then begin a fire with.

The context and position within a sentence tells us the meaning of the homonym.

That key word context is really important here.

We look at the words surrounding it, and what the rest of the sentence is meaning, to understand which meaning of the word we are looking at.

"Tear" or "tear" is also a homonym.

This is a really interesting one, because it can have a different pronunciation.

"A single tear rolled down my cheek as I waved goodbye." "If you tear the paper in half, we can each have a piece." Notice the fact that they're spelled the same, but they have different meanings, and they're also pronounced differently in this instance, as well.

Some homonyms are spelled the same, but the words are pronounced differently, as well as having different meanings.

Here we have "tear," making that "ear" sound, but we also have "tear" with the same spelling, making an "air" sound.

Again, the context, and position within a sentence, is going to tell us which way we should pronounce this word.

I'd like you to read through this sentence, and fill in the blanks for me.

Complete the sentence using the words below.

"(hums) are words that have the (hums) spelling, but a (hums) meaning." The meaning of a homonym changes depending on the context.

Pause the video now, fill in the blanks, say the sentence.

Off you go.

Great job, team.

Amazing hearing you say that sentence, and thinking carefully about the correct words to put in.

So, "Homonyms are words that have the same spelling," well done, "but a different meaning.

The meaning of the homonym changes, depending on the context." And, unlike homophones, as well, some homonyms can be pronounced differently, too, like "tear" and "tear," that we just looked at.

Let's read some words.

These will all be examples of homonyms. I'm wondering if you can think of the different meanings that they might have as we read them.

"Scale." I could scale a building to climb it, or I might weigh something on a scale.

"Rose." A rose, as in the flower, or "I rose from my chair." that verb, that doing word.

"Saw," "I saw you," or "I used a saw to cut through the wood." "Fair." "I can't wait for the fair to come to town." or "That is not fair." Now, this could be "bow" or "bow." This is one of those homonyms that can be pronounced in different ways.

What about this word? It could be "wind," like the wind that blew, or wind.

"I had to wind it up." And, here, we have either "wound," "He received a wound in battle," or "wound." "I wound it up." And, here, could either have "read, "I read the page," or "Read." "You must read it." These words are all homonyms. They're words that are spelled the same, but can have different meanings dependent on the context.

Sometimes homonyms sound the same, and sometimes they don't, "Scale," "rows," "Sore" and "fair," all sound the same no matter their context.

Whereas, "bow" or "bow," or "wind" or "wind," "wound" or "wound," and "read" or "read,' are homonyms that can be pronounced differently but have the same spelling and different meanings.

Unlike many other rules that you will have investigated in spelling, there really are no patterns for homonyms and homophones.

They're just words that we need to learn, and we need to learn their spelling and meaning within their context.

The meaning of the word class of homonyms can be determined by their context.

Homonyms can be nouns, verbs, or adjectives.

So, can you spot the homonym in these sentences? Pause the video, read the sentences, see if you can spot it.

Great job.

"I travelled by train." "I am going to train hard today." So, our homonym here is train.

They're spelled the same, remember as all homonyms will be.

They're also pronounced the same here, they sound the same, but they have very different meanings depending on the context.

"I travel by train," is a noun.

That's the thing you are going on.

"I'm going to train hard today," is a verb.

It's a doing word, it's something you are doing.

The word train can be both a noun and a verb, it depends here on the context.

True or false, homonyms can belong to different word classes, justify your answer as well.

Off you go.

Okay, absolutely it is true! Think about the example we've just looked at.

The word train can be both a noun and a verb, depending on its context.

"I'm taking a train to the next town," "I need to train today." It could be a verb or a noun.

Can you identify the homonyms in these sentences? "Aisha read the instructions carefully before she began." "I like to read before I go to sleep each night." Pause the video, read the sentences, see if you can identify the homonyms now.

Good job, now it's these words here.

They're spelled the same, but they're pronounced differently, aren't they? We have "read" and "read." These homonyms are pronounced differently in each sentence, depending on the tense.

So, we have here, "Aisha read," in the past tense, and, "I to read," in the present tense.

Read, in the past tense is also a homophone, isn't it? With the colour red.

So, watch out for that one.

Can you identify the homonyms in these sentences? Read them carefully.

Off you go.

Brilliant job, lovely reading, and really careful consideration of the words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings dependent on the context.

"Measure the ingredients on the scale, before you start cooking." "We must scale the hill before we enjoy our snack at the top." Well, these, in both sentences, but it's not a homonym here.

It's doing the same thing in each sentence.

It doesn't mean something different.

It's work class hasn't changed.

That's the same for before, as well.

Our homonym then is "scale." In the first sentence, it's that noun, that thing you would measure something on.

And, in the second sentence, "we must scale the hill," it is a verb, it's an act.

The act of climbing up.

Can you identify the homonym in these sentences? Read both of them now, off you go.

Great.

"After flying the kite, Sam carefully wound the string in." "The soldier suffered a serious wound during the battle." So, they may sound different, but remember for those homonyms, they're going to be spelled the same.

So, we're looking for the two words that are spelled the same, but are perhaps pronounced differently and have different meanings, given the context.

So, here we have "wound" and we have "wound." They're spelled the same, but pronounced differently.

These homonyms also belong to different word classes.

That "wound," here, is the act of winding something up, isn't it? It's a verb.

And, a "wound," is an injury you might receive.

It's a noun, it's a thing.

"Can you use the context of the sentence to work out their meaning?" Well, yes, of course we can.

We look carefully, we are talking about the kite and the string attached to it.

And, you would wind some string up, you wouldn't wound the string.

"The soldier suffered a serious wound during the battle." Well, you wouldn't suffer a serious wound during the battle.

So, we know it's going to be the pronunciation "wound," because of the context of the sentence.

Looking carefully that context is really important when dealing with homonyms and homophones.

Using the context of the sentence, can you match the homonym to its word class? Off you go.

Brilliant.

"The mountain rose above the clouds." "I picked a beautiful rose in the garden." So, this is an action word, isn't it? It's what the mountain is doing, so it's the verb.

"I picked a beautiful rose in the garden," that's a noun, isn't it? It's a thing.

So, they both are homonyms, they're spelled the same.

And, these ones also pronounce the same, rose, but given the context that they're in, they can either be a noun or a verb.

So, I want you to listen to me really carefully now, and I want you to choose the correct homonym to fill the gap.

"I wiped a tear away as the train departed." So, the first one is "tear." "The doctor used a clean bandage to dress the wound," match the sentence to the correct answer.

"The novel was gripping, so I read it in one sitting." And, "Despite the bad weather, one beautiful rose grew." So, think carefully here about the spellings of each of these homonyms. "I wiped a tear away as the train departed." "The doctor used a clean bandage to dress the wound." "Match the sentence to the correct answer." "The novel is gripping, so I read it in one sitting." "Despite the bad weather, one beautiful rose grew." Complete those sentences, off you go now.

Brilliant job, team.

So, let's see how you've done here.

"I wiped a tear away as the train departed." That homophone, or homonym, I should say, is "tear," with that one, isn't it? "The doctor used a clean bandage to dress the wound." Be careful, it's not "wound" here, it's "wound," the way they're spelled the same.

"Match the sentence to the correct answer," the act of matching something.

"The novel was gripping, so I read it in one sitting." It's not "read" here, it's "read," and it's not "red" as in the colour, it's "read" as in the past tense of "read," "Despite the bad weather, one beautiful rose grew," that's that noun, that rose, that you might find in the garden.

How did you do that with the spelling? Was anything tricky about those words as well? Make any corrections now, and share your learning.

Off you go.

Onto our next learning cycle then, which is applying spellings within a sentence.

So, we're gonna read some curriculum words first.

My turn, your turn.

"Community." Brilliant, a community is a group of people living together.

"Leisure," great.

Leisure is your free time when you're not working.

What do you notice about these spellings? Have a go at saying them again.

You notice anything interesting about the way they're spelled, compared to how they sound? Are there any tricky elements to them? Pause the video and have a think.

Brilliant.

So, I've noticed a couple of things.

"Community,' has a double M in it, which can be hard to remember, "community." And, in leisure, the E and the I are working together to make an S sound, aren't they? Leisure, which is a very rare spelling for that S sound.

Be careful, as well, with that "SURE." It's S-U-R-E.

How are you going to try and remember these spellings? Pause the video and have a think now.

Okay, I'm wondering what creative ways you've come up to help you remember these spellings.

How are you going to remember that double M in "community?" And, how are you going to remember that EI making that S sound in leisure.

So, which of the words that we've just looked at is spelled correctly? Pause the video now and point to "community." Great job.

Remember it has that double M in it, doesn't it? And, then that ITY prefix at the end, "community." Great.

How do I spell "leisure?" "I went to the leisure centre," point to it now.

Brilliant, remember, it's that S sound, but that rare spelling, EI, and then "sure," I remember it as there's "sure" in leisure, S-U-R-E.

So, we are now going to have a go writing a sentence containing some of our focus spellings, some of those homonyms. When we write the whole sentence, we have to do several things at once.

So, as to make sure we're in a good place to do this, perhaps even have a brain break.

We're gonna remember the whole sentence, sound out the words we need to know, think of our spelling rules.

Remember there are no spelling rules here, really, other than thinking about the context for our homonyms. Look out for those common exception in curriculum words.

Remember we've just looked at leisure and community, and, of course, remembering our sentence punctuation.

So, I'd like you to just listen to me read the sentence, first of all, use your great hearing, and listen to me.

And, try and hold the sentence in your head.

We're then going to have a go at saying it a number of times together, and use some strategies to help us remember it.

So, just listen to me say the sentence first of all, "During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practise scales on the piano." "During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practise scales on the piano." So, we're gonna make sure to sound each word out, think about this common exception words, and don't forget our sentence punctuation.

But, before we start writing, we are gonna use some strategies to help us remember this sentence.

The first is to repeat the sentence several times out loud, just like I did a moment ago.

"During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practised scales on the piano." "During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practises on the piano." We can also picture what's happening in our head as we say it, or as I say it.

Picture what is happening now.

"During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practised scales on the piano." So, imagining someone in the corner reading, nice and calmly, someone training for a potentially a football match, and someone practising beautiful scales on the piano.

And, finally, counting how many words there are.

"During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practised scales on the piano." I made that 19.

Okay, so you're gonna have a chance to write the sentence sow.

Just a reminder, remember to sound out each word, think about those common exception words, watch out for those homonyms. And, also, remember to check your sentence punctuation.

I'll say the sentence one more time.

"During leisure time, Izzy read her book, June trained for a match, and Sam practise scales on the piano." Off you go, team.

Brilliant job, excellent work.

Check our work now, and make any corrections.

So, "During leisure," that was one of those curriculum words that we looked at.

Remember that "eh, eh," is spelled EI.

And, there's "sure," S-U-R-E, in leisure time.

And, here we have a comma as well, don't forget.

"Izzy." capital letter, obviously, 'cause it's proper noun, someone's name.

"Read," now be careful with this.

It could be "read" or "read." Remember, it's a homonym.

Also, watch up that homophone "red," the colour.

It's R-E-A-D.

"Her book, June," capital letter, proper noun, "trained for a match." That's that noun, that game, that match that you might play.

"And Sam," capital letter, proper noun, "practised." S-E-D, "scales." Now, these are scales, not scales that you'd weigh something on, but scales as in musical notes played together, "on the piano." Be careful as well, in piano, it's such that O spelling at the end.

And, of course we have to have a comma after our fronted adverbial here.

"during leisure time," and a comma to separate our items in a list.

How did you do that? What did you learn? How did you get on with our curriculum word, "leisure, and how did you get on with those homonyms, "red, "match," and "scales." Pause the video now, make any corrections, and share your learning.

Great job in spelling today, team.

We've been looking at homonyms, two or more words that are spelled the same but have different meanings are called homonyms. Some homonyms are spelled the same, but also have contrasting sounds and different meanings, such as "read" and "read." The meaning and word class of homonyms can be determined by their context, their position within a sentence and the words around them.

Keep up the great spelling, and see if you can spot any more homonyms in your reading.

I'll see you again soon.