Reading Books, Writing Compositions and Examinations
Primary 6 · English
Reading Books, Writing Compositions and Examinations
Lesson 6 of 6
15 min
Let's begin
Umutoni was proud of her composition until her teacher gave it back. One sentence had three red circles: Their is a big lake near Rubavu, and I want to go their too see it.
Every word sounded right when she read it aloud. The problem was the spelling. Words that sound the same but are spelled differently are called homophones. Today you will learn to tell them apart.
Homophone means "same sound". Your ear cannot tell homophones apart, so your eyes and your brain must do the work. The meaning of the sentence tells you which spelling to use.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| there | in that place; also in there is, there are | Put the books over there. |
| their | belonging to them | The pupils packed their bags. |
| they're | they are | They're late for the bus. |
| to | towards; also before a verb | We walk to school to learn. |
| too | also; or more than enough | This tea is too hot. I want some too. |
| two | the number 2 | I bought two avocados. |
| hear | to take in sounds with your ears | Can you hear the drums? |
| here | in this place | Come and sit here. |
| see | to take in with your eyes | I can see the volcanoes from our hill. |
| sea | a very large area of salt water | Rwanda has no sea, but it has beautiful lakes. |
Worked example
fix Umutoni's sentence.
Step 1 Their is a big lake means "a lake exists", so it needs There.
Step 2 go their means "go to that place", so it needs there again.
Step 3 too see it comes before the verb see, so it needs to.
Corrected: There is a big lake near Rubavu, and I want to go there to see it.
Tip
Hunt for the hidden helper
Here hides inside there and where: all three are about places. You hear with your ear, and the ear is inside the word. Two has the same tw as twins and twelve. Too has one o too many. You see with two eyes: ee. And a piece of pie starts with pie.
Choose the right spelling, then check.
I have ___ brothers and one sister. (to / too / two)
Answer: two. It is a number.
The children cleaned ___ classroom. (there / their / they're)
Answer: their. The classroom belongs to them.
Speak louder, please. I cannot ___ you. (here / hear)
Answer: hear. You hear with your ear.
Find the mistake: Mama gave me a peace of cake.
Answer: peace should be piece. A part of something is a piece.
Write one sentence that uses both there and their.
Answer: for example, “The pupils left their bags over there.”
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Quick check
___ going to the market after school.
