Use a pair of simple homophones in a sentence to introduce the concept to students. For example, say, "The monkey ate eight bananas yesterday." Tell students that the words "ate" and "eight" are homophones because they sound the same, have different spellings and mean different things.
Hold up pictures of two homophones for the students to see and stick them to the chalkboard. Write the pair of homophone words beneath the pictures and ask students to decide which word goes with each picture. For example, use a picture of ocean waves and eyes; students should correctly label the ocean as "sea" and the eyes as "see."
Invite students to give examples of other homophones. Write the homophones on the chalkboard as students suggest them. If students have difficult thinking of any, suggest "flour and flower," "hare and hair," "for and four," "write and right" and "road and rode."
Ask students to use each homophone in a sentence to demonstrate the different meanings of the words in the context of the sentences. Write the sentences on the chalkboard, if you have room.
Write five pairs of homophones on the chalkboard. Examples of suitable homophones include, "sea and see," "tail and tale," "wear and where," "hoarse and horse" and "made and maid." Ask students to choose three pairs of homophones and write a one- or two-paragraph short story that uses the homophones. Ask for volunteers to read their stories aloud for the class.
Provide homophone worksheets to help students practice identifying and understanding homophones. A simple worksheet can contain sentences with blanks where the students must choose the correct homophone. For example, use sentences like "The ______ cub climbed the tree (bear and bare)" and "The girl ________ the answer (nose and knows)."