Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Spelling sequence

Sounds the Same

Homophones and near-homophones

Lesson 6 of 17
Year 2 45 min

Objective

Choose the correct spelling of a homophone by using the meaning of the sentence rather than the sound, and spell there, their and they're accurately.

Board title: Words that sound the same  ·  Say it: “Today we're choosing the right spelling for words that sound exactly the same, by asking what the sentence means before we write anything down.”

Curriculum

  • Y2: homophones and near-homophones (there/their/they're, here/hear, to/too/two, be/bee, sea/see)
  • Y2: contractions and the apostrophe for omission (they're = they are)
  • Y1: words with the same sound spelt differently (Appendix 1, revisited)
  • Terminology: homophone · apostrophe · contraction

Success criteria

  • hear that two words sound exactly the same
  • use the meaning of the sentence to choose
  • spell there, their and they're correctly
  • check my choice by swapping the meaning back in

Key vocabulary

homophone · meaning · spelling · sound the same · place · belonging

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter: say bee and be aloud and ask which one they just heard. They cannot tell, and that is the point. Write both spellings up, take guesses, and say 'hold that thought' without resolving it.
9 min
Model with the café: cover the word in The chefs washed their hands, read the sentence, ask what it means, then choose. Teach the three hooks and make them repeat each one: there has HERE and is a place, their has HEIR and belongs to people, they're is they + are. Do the they are swap aloud on They're making pasta.
8 min
Two Peas in a Pod on the whiteboard, Mild: level 1 is hear/here and sea/see, level 2 be/bee, level 3 to/too/two. Read the whole sentence aloud before the class votes, and make the voter say the meaning, not the spelling.
6 min
Jump to Medium level 1 for there/their/they're with the three hooks still on the board, five items is plenty. Then the four vote pairs: a child says WHY before each reveal (answers: a-left, b-right, c-right, d-left).
14 min
Worksheet, independent. Circulate on Task 3: the tell is a child who wrote the spelling their ear offered, so before you look at the page, ask 'your ears, your eyes, the number or a place?' and only then check the letters. In Task 2, one here is already right, so catch anyone 'fixing' all five.
3 min
Plenary: two children read a Task 3 sentence aloud and the class calls which spelling was needed. Then the class quiz: what is wrong with Polpetta's window sign, Their is fresh bread over they're, and which of them means a place?
On screenSPAGhetti → Two Peas in a Pod → Mild. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. Mild level 1 is hear/here and sea/see, level 2 is be/bee, level 3 is to/too/two, that is the bulk of the lesson. There is no there/their/they're set in Mild: it sits in Medium level 1, so play that one level at the end, with the hooks on the board. Five items there is plenty.
SPAGhetti · Spelling sequence · Lesson 6 of 17  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils Sounds the Same · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the four sentences aloud and vote with thumbs. Or write there / their / they're on three cards and have the class hold up the right one as you read.
If they're on devicesLesson code SAMEB (on the worksheet footer) opens the right game, locks the café until 10 items are done, then unlocks it as the reward.

Misconceptions to watch for

there / their / they're chosen by sound. Their is fresh bread and over they're, the ear offers all three equally, so they pick one at random and are right a third of the time. Teach the hooks as three separate facts: there has HERE in it and is a place; their has HEIR in it and belongs to people; they're is they + are and nothing else.

The apostrophe means belonging. Straight after possession work they read the apostrophe in they're as ownership and use it for their. Say plainly that this apostrophe is holding a missing letter, not showing an owner.

to / too / two. I want to come to and it is to hot. Two is only ever the number. Too means also or very much, the extra o is the extra meaning. That phrasing sticks better than any rule.

Near-homophones treated as homophones. quite/quiet, of/off, were/where. These do not actually sound the same; children spell from an approximate sound. Say both aloud, slowly, side by side, and let them hear the difference before they choose.

The three sheets

Same four tasks on every sheet, in the same order, with the same look. Only the demand changes. Print the one each child needs; nobody does two.

Mild

Same four tasks as every other sheet, same order, same look, the demand is lower, not the dignity. Shorter passage in Task 2, and in Task 3 a word bank or words to tick, with printed sentence starters. Give it to anyone who needs a way in, and expect them to move up.

Medium

The core sheet. Give this to most of the class. No word bank; in Task 3 pupils choose from a few close options, then use one in a sentence of their own.

Spicy

Same four tasks, more demand, a longer passage with a subtler error, and Task 3 asks for two things at once. Not extra work; harder work. Nobody should be doing Spicy and the Medium sheet.

Adaptive teaching

  • Support: three cards on the desk, there, their, they're, with the hook written on each. Task 1, then Task 3 with a scribe.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; read Task 2 aloud before they edit, then again while they check.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, one sentence containing two different homophones.
  • EAL: homophones are a spelling problem, not a listening one. Check they know both meanings first, heir (the person who gets someone's things one day) and bee may be new words in themselves.

Play it

Lesson code SAMEB at playspaghetti.com. The code is printed on the bottom of every pupil sheet with a QR, and Class Quiz in your dashboard opens the plenary quiz for this lesson pre-picked.

SPAGhetti · Spelling sequence · Lesson 6 of 17  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora