Create a worksheet with illustrations and labels depicting flour, knight, pair, aunt, steak, wine, steal, prey and rein. Leave room next to each for students to draw and label the correct corresponding homophones. Develop additional sheets with more homophones. For a different twist, allow students to create sheets for each other.
For this homophone version of the card game Old Maid, divide students into small groups and provide them with pairs of cards having a homophone written on each. Include an "Old Maid" card in every set. The "dealer" shuffles the cards and distributes them among the group. The players take turns requesting a card from the person next to them. Each time a player gets a match, he calls out, "homophone." In order to keep the cards, he must define each word or use it in a sentence. The student with the most matches wins.
Give each student a large piece of drawing paper. Explain that they are to use their imaginations to create a picture of something with eight large parts and that each part must have a space large enough to write two homophones in it. Suggest possibilities like a spider with eight legs, a star with eight points or a flower with eight petals. Tell them they may use dictionaries to help them but not each other. When all are finished, discuss the results to discover how many different homophones they came up with.
Write a sentence on the board using incorrect homophones. For example: "Eye love two due knew things." Ask for a volunteer to come to the board and correct the errors by substituting the appropriate homophones. Have sentences prepared ahead of time so many students get a turn. For a more challenging activity, ask the class to create their own silly sentences.
Prepare index cards with pairs of homophones written on them. Split class into pairs and give each pair one card and a dictionary. The students must look up the definition of each word and write it on the back of the card. Wait until everyone has completed this task. Call on one pair to stand and provide a sentence for one of their homophones. Ask the rest of the class to spell the homophone used and guess its partner.
This is a tough but fun activity to be used when your sixth graders have a solid grasp of homophones. Place children in groups of four with paper and pencil. Direct them to find 26 pairs of homophones beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Put a time limit on the activity, depending on the skill level of your class. The group with the most pairs when time is up wins.