
Author: Elaine Kirn-Rubin
Suitable for: 3-8, Secondary, Young Adult, Adult
What They Are: Beginning Homophone Decks 1-6 contain 54 pairs of matching homophones; Intermediate Decks 7-11, 90 pairs; Advanced Decks 12-15, 104 pairs. All cards are two-sided, with the vocabulary items themselves on their faces and Pictures + Definitions on the backs of of 288 cards--and Usage Examples + Definitions on the other 216. There are three Activities & Ideas Books. At various levels of perceived difficulty, these tell all that's necessary to teach/learn pairs and groups of words that sound the same but that have different spellings and meanings.
Why You Need Them: Homophones exist because there's more than one correct spelling for many English sounds. Therefore, two, three, or even four different sequences of letters can have exactly the same pronunciation. These confuse not only English learners but also and educated speakers of the language. They're worthy of attention and instruction in lessons that address pronunciation, oral reading, spelling, and vocabulary.
What They Do:
- tell why homophones exist in English, giving charts of the spellings that produce them
- explain how the cards work, inspiring ideas on how to make efficient, effective, and creative use of them
- give other ways to teach and/or learn these interesting vocabulary pairs and groupings
- offer reproducible Mastery Checks of more than four varieties, including fill-ins, error correction, making choices, paraphrases, and a story. There are Answer Keys.
- include Reference Lists of all relevant items, spurring learners on to add to them.