A lot of English words sound the same but have completely different meanings. These are called homophones, and canlead to a fair amount of frustration and confusion for kids still building a working vocabulary and learning to spell. All About Homophones is intended to eliminate as much confusion as possible, while getting students excited about increasing their knowledge of the language.
101 pairs of homophones are organized by complexity for grades 1-8. There are varying numbers of sets per grade from 3-21, but author Marie Rippel strongly urges not to be bound by grade-level suggestions if your kids can handle more. Each pair (and occasional set of three) has its own workpage with ten sentences to complete using the correct word. At the bottom are fun facts, tongue twisters, silly sentences and other brief activities to reinforce the words (though the relation between these and the homophones covered is often slight).
Each worksheet is organized alphabetically per grade level for easy reference. More riddles, puns, etc. are included at the back of the book, as well as tips for teaching homophones through books, crossword puzzles for reinforcement, and cards to cut out with rules for games to build speed and proficiency. Answers to all exercises are included, and a "mega-list" of alphabetized homophones to facilitate further study. Six different templates for graphic organizers appear near the beginning—teachers make copies, while students use them to record homophones with pictures and sentences for examples.
The fun approach is meant to encourage interest and excitement in students, and lead them to a general love of language through early introduction to its anomalies. While the grade-level organization can guide study, if students are prepared to learn words "above their level," parents should feel free to let them work through more pages and not be limited by the author's suggestions. The variety of approaches presented in the book will get kids' attention, while the ease-of-use will be attractive to parents and teachers, making this a great introduction to a too-little covered topic.
Did you find this review helpful?