Homonyms,

Figures of Speech

Name: Jean Lukesh (back to professional page)

Building: Walnut Middle School

Curriculum Area: Language Arts, Reading, Library-Media, Technology

Grade Level: 4-8 (and possibly others)

Concept: Homonyms (also homophones, cliches, and puns)

Brief Description of Lesson: Students will:

• be introduced to homonyms (and homophones) in a picture book text,
• brainstorm other school-appropriate homonyms that could also be developed in a similar illustrative way,
• learn more about homonyms, homophones, puns, and cliches,
• research other homonyms to become familiar with some of the more common ones,
• take online homonym quizzes,
• work with Write Source materials to become familiar with using the right homonyms/homophones when proofreading or editing, and
• develop illustrations for two of their own chosen school-appropriate homonym terms.

Click on the underlined words to see how this lesson fits with Nebraska State Curriculum Standards

Requirements:

Hardware Needed: Internet-capable computers.

Computer to Student Ratio: 1 computer per group of students (3-4 in a group)

Software Needed: Internet software; word processing and/or drawing software and/or home page software (optional for individual students).

Amount of computer time needed: Depending upon computer ratio and class time, perhaps one or two days for internet work and perhaps two more for project development.

URLs of Sites:

http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym.html

http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html

http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/quizzes/homonyms.html

Homonyms Lesson Plan

1.Tell students they will be enjoying some books that use words in a different way. The words or phrases they will be looking for are called homonyms. Ask students to listen and try to figure out what homonyms are. Let students know that they may not be able to understand all of the homonyms and homophones, and that is okay. (Hint to students: nym=name, phone=sound.)

Then, read aloud to the class (or break the class into groups and have students read to each other) from one or more of the following picture books:

Gwynne, Fred. Chocolate Moose for Dinner. New York: Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 1976.

Gwynne, Fred. King Who Rained. New York: Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 1970.

Gwynne, Fred. A Little Pigeon Toad. New York: Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 1988.

Cleary, Brian. Give Me Bach My Schubert. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1996.

Cleary, Brian. It Looks A Lot Like Reindeer. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1996.

Cleary, Brian. Jamaica Sandwich? Minneapolis: Lerner, 1996.

Cleary, Brian. You Never Sausage Love. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1996.

2. Put the word "homonym" on the board. See if students can define the word (or look it up in a dictionary). Then put the word "homophone" on the board and define it. Ask students to come up with homonym and homophone examples from the books--have them put these words/phrases on the board. Using the pictured texts, have students discuss some punny homonyms and homophones and respond with the corresponding real homonym or homophone and its actual meaning and spelling. (In some cases, the spellings will be the same.)

3. Working individually or in small groups have students brainstorm other school-appropriate homonyms and homophones and discuss their meanings.

4. Working individually or in small groups at an internet-capable computer have students, go to the following webpage and read about homonyms, homophones, and puns (or the teacher can read this aloud): Allan Cooper's Homonyms. Encourage discussion.

5. Allow students time to read, discuss, and play with the homonym words on the following web page: Allan Cooper's Homonym Lists. Then have them take some of the Homonym Quizzes online, individually or in small groups.

6. Have students open their Write Source books and go to the pages called "Using the Right Word" (or look in the index under homonyms or homophones). Discuss which of those words are homonyms, which are homophones (not all of the words on the page will be either one). Have students make their own homophones/homonyms lists or create a group list on the board, adding new words to the list.

7. Assign one or more of the Using the Right Word Proofreader's Guide worksheets from the Write Source Skills Book. (Remind students that some of these words will be homonyms or homophones and some will not.) (Grades for this part of the project can be based around a percentage grade for the worksheet.)

8. Using the words from the Write Source 's "Using the right Word" section or other school-appropriate homonyms/homophones, have students use paper and art media or word processing, drawing, and/or home page software to create two illustrated homonyms and/or double sided punny pages with punny homonyms and their corresponding real homonyms. For example: the king who reigned/rained--two different homonyms. (See rubric for grading requirements.)

9. Have students refine and edit their work by sharing their pages within small groups. (Not only should they check for peer comprehension and school appropriateness, but also should check work against the criteria listed in the instructor's rubric.)

10. Then share the work with the entire class. (Example: Post student pages on the school's WWW homepage. Do not use students' last names on any internet pages.) Quickly review by discussing where and when homonyms might be used and how they might cause comprehension problems for English speaking people, and then for English as a Second Language speakers.

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