Lesson 5

Teacher's Note: Some grammar books refer to these words as homophones.

Tell your student that since we can't tell any difference by listening to these kind of words, we have to find other ways to know the meaning of the word. One way is to look up the word in the dictionary. Usually, we can understand the meaning of a word by looking at how the word is used in the sentence. By using the clues in the sentence, we often know the meaning of the word.

Read the following sentence to your student and ask him which word is used in this sentence: tail or tale. The bird has a long tail. t-a-i-l

d. Ask your student to read these words and tell what he thinks they mean: meet meat one won

e. How Do You Spell That Word?

Give your student a piece of paper and a pencil. You will dictate the spelling words to him, guiding him through the process of spelling the words. Read any of the following sections your student needs.

We know that the letters c and k can make the /k/ sound at the beginning of a word. So how do you know when to use a c and when to use a k? If the letter after the /k/ sound is an e or i, the /k/ sound is usually spelled with the letter k. If the /k/ sound is followed by a, o or u use the letter c. Let's try these words.

1) cut - This word begins with a /k/ sound. What vowel sound do you hear after the /k/? If the /k/ sound is followed by an e or i, the word begins with a k; otherwise it begins with the letter c. If your student has difficulty with the word, repeat the rule.

2) keg - If needed, repeat the rule given in 1.

3) kit - If needed, repeat the rule given in 1.

4) call - If needed, repeat the rule given in 1.

f. Look at the title of the story again. The word Sparrow ends with an /o/ sound. Ask your student how he thinks the /o/ sound is spelled in Sparrow.  ow

The letters ow make two different sounds. The ow can say /o/ as in Sparrow or /ow/ as in now. Ask your student to read the words in the Phonics Word Box. Tell him to try the /o/ sound and the /ow/ sound to decide which one is correct:
cow  now  low  blow  plow  own  how  down  grow.

Teacher's Note: If he has difficulty, tell him the word. A word like now may be difficult.