Homophones in English

Unit Overview
They’re, their or there? Which one?

Focus: Homophones

Aim: To raise students awareness of their/they’re/there and other homophones in English. Although homophones sound alike, their written forms differ depending on the intended meaning. This is true in both English and French.

Example:

English: They’re very fast skaters and their goalkeeper is fantastic. There are lots of people watching them play.

French: C'est un très bon match. Martin et ses coéquipiers jouent bien ces jours-ci.

They’re, their and there sound alike but are written differently. A similar situation exists in French, where c’est, ses and ces sound alike but their spellings depend on the meaning and grammar of the sentences in which they occur.


Major homophone activities to be completed in one 60-minute lesson:

  1. Riddle guessing activity with lesson plan, about 20 minutes.
  2. Focus on written forms of there, they’re, their on student sheet, about 20 minutes.
  3. Whiteboard team activity (see plan), about 20 minutes.

Mini-lessons for homophones, 15-20 minutes each, to be completed in class or for homework:

  1. Fill-in activity: there, they’re, their and other homophones with student sheet, teacher sheet
  2. “I want to be a bee!” writing activity with student sheet, teacher sheet
  3. “Write it right!” whiteboard team activity with plan
  4. Homophones board game with plan and board

Lesson plan (pdf)

Mini-lesson 1: teacher sheet (pdf) & student materials (pdf)

Mini-lesson 2: teacher sheet (pdf) & student materials (pdf)

Mini-lesson 3: whiteboard team activity with plan (pdf)

Mini-lesson 4: homophones board game with plan (pdf) & board (pdf)