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Homophones

English · Year 2–Year 6

There, their, they're and more, chosen by the sentence they go in.

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About the homophones

A sentence with a gap in it, and the words that sound the same on the toolbar. Tap one and it goes in the gap; tap it again and the gap comes back. Press Next for another sentence.

The sentence picks the word, and nothing else can. That is the whole objective and the reason a list of definitions does not teach it: every child can tell you that their means belonging to them, and they still write their going home, because the choice happens while they are writing a sentence rather than while they are reading a table.

So the board answers with the MEANING, never with a cross. Put they're in the gap and it says they're means they are, does that fit? A class that reads they are coats out loud can hear that it is wrong, which is the teaching moment; a cross is the end of the conversation.

The words offered are only the ones this sentence is choosing between. A row of every homophone in the bank would be a spelling test rather than a question about the sentence in front of them.

There are forty-six sentences across fourteen families, and each family asks for every one of its words somewhere: a family whose sentences all wanted the same answer would teach a class to pick that one every time, which is the habit the tool exists to break.

How to use it on your whiteboard

  1. 1Read the sentence with the gap in it.
  2. 2Ask the class which word belongs there, and why.
  3. 3Tap the word on the toolbar. It drops into the gap and the board says what it means.
  4. 4Tap it again to take it out and try another.
  5. 5Press Next for the next sentence, or Back to go over one again.

Questions

Why does it not say the answer is wrong?
Because a cross ends the conversation. It reads back what the chosen word actually means, so a class that has put they're into the children put on their coats hears they are coats and works out for themselves that it does not fit.
Which homophones are in it?
The ones children actually get wrong: there, their and they're; to, too and two; your and you're; its and it's; were, we're and where; and ten more, including hear and here, no and know, brake and break, and whether and weather.
Why are only some of the words on the toolbar?
Because the question is about the sentence in front of the class, not about every homophone there is. The toolbar offers the family that sentence is choosing between, which is two or three words.
Can a class type their own sentences?
No. Almost nothing in this product needs a keyboard on purpose: the words are on the toolbar and the sentence is on the board, so a teacher standing at a board only needs a finger.