4th Grade · Vocabulary · L.4.1.G, L.4.4.A

Homophones and Homographs Lesson Plan for 4th Grade

A ready-to-teach homophones and homographs lesson for 4th Grade, built around choosing the correct homophone, homographs with two meanings, there, their and they're, and fixing homophone mistakes. Print the plan, print the practice pages, and you are set.

Approximately 47 minutes

Learning objective

Choose the correct homophone for a sentence
Choose the meaning of a homograph from context
Find and fix homophone mistakes

Materials

Choose the Correct Homophone
Homographs With Two Meanings
There, Their and They're
Homophones in Sentences
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Build the background (5 min)
Bring the real tool: a ruler, a clock, coins, a tally chart. Ask what homophones and homographs is used for before what it is called.
2. Read aloud and think aloud (I do) (10 min)
Model homophones and homographs with the actual object, reading it aloud twice. Deliberately misread it once so students learn that checking is part of the method.
3. Guided practice (we do) (12 min)
Read a second passage together. This time students find the evidence and you record it. Push every answer back to the text with "what words told you that?"
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Choose the Correct Homophone". Students read and answer on their own. Circulate and ask individuals to point to the line in the text that supports their answer.
5. Share and close (5 min)
Two or three students share an answer and the evidence behind it. Restate homophones and homographs one final time in the students' own words, not yours.

Check for understanding

Collect the practice pages and sort them into three piles: fluent, developing, and not yet. Any student in the third pile needs homophones and homographs retaught in a small group before the class moves on.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild homophones and homographs with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own homophones and homographs problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand homophones and homographs.

Skills covered in this lesson

Homophones and homographs practice

Questions teachers ask about teaching homophones and homographs

What is the difference between a homophone and a homograph?

Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things, like sea and see. Homographs are spelled the same but have different meanings, like present (a gift) and present (to show).

How do I help my child with there, their and they're?

Try the swap test. If they are fits, write they're. If it shows belonging, write their. If it names a place, write there, which has the word here inside it. The there, their and they're sheet gives ten sentences to practice the test.

Which standard covers homophones in 4th grade?

CCSS L.4.1.G asks 4th graders to correctly use frequently confused words such as to, too and two or there and their.

Is there an answer key for each worksheet?

Yes. All four homophones and homographs sheets have an answer key.