4.2.B.ii
The Standard
spelling homophones
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading · The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students choose the correct spelling for words that sound alike but have different meanings. They use sentence context to decide which word fits and spell it accurately.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly use pairs and sets such as to, too, two and there, their, they’re in sentences. They use context and word meaning to explain each spelling choice.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may spell a word only by sound and ignore its meaning in the sentence. They often confuse possessives and contractions, such as their and they’re, or your and you’re.
How to Assess It
- Give this exit ticket: “___ going to put ___ books over ___.” Students fill in they’re, their, and there, then explain each choice.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Have students match word cards such as brake and break to picture cards, then write a sentence for each word.
Ask students to explain how meaning changes when here replaces hear in the sentence, “I can hear the music.”
Play Homophone Relay, where teams choose the correct word card to complete a projected sentence and earn a point for explaining why.
Have students find confusing sound-alike words in menus, signs, or online posts, then rewrite each example correctly.
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