English lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 45 minutes

Tricky word pairs (affect/effect, advice/advise…)

Spelling

CCSS L.6.2.BCCSS L.7.1England: Y5/6 Spelling (homophones)England: KS2 SATs GPS

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Tricky word pairs (affect/effect, advice/advise…).

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Homophones and near-homophones

Leads to: their/there/they're, its/it's, your/you're, whose/who's

Materials: Word cards, Look-say-cover-write-check sheets, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Homophones and near-homophones). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Choose the correct homophone. Grandpa told us a ___ about a dragon. (tale / tail) → talePrompt: Both words sound the same. Think about what each one means.
Choose the correct homophone. We ___ a deer in the forest. (sore / saw) → sawPrompt: Both words sound the same. Think about what each one means.
Choose the correct homophone. She wore a ___ white T-shirt. (plane / plain) → plainPrompt: Both words sound the same. Think about what each one means.

Hook · 5 min

Show a word spelled two ways and ask which looks right, then why.
Share the objective: Tricky word pairs (affect/effect, advice/advise…). Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Choose the correct word. Yesterday the guide ___ us up the hill.
Step 1: These words are often confused because they look or sound alike.
Step 2: 'led' is the past tense of 'lead' (to guide).
Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "Yesterday the guide led us up the hill."
Step 4: So the answer is: led
Answer: led
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Choose the correct word. The ___ of the school gave a speech. (principle / principal) → principalPrompt: Is the gap a noun (a thing) or a verb (an action)?
Choose the correct word. The medicine had a good ___ on her cough. (affect / effect) → effectPrompt: Is the gap a noun (a thing) or a verb (an action)?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Choose the correct word. The car stayed ___ at the red light. (stationery / stationary) → stationaryPrompt: Is the gap a noun (a thing) or a verb (an action)?
Choose the correct word. Yesterday the guide ___ us up the hill. (led / lead) → ledPrompt: Is the gap a noun (a thing) or a verb (an action)?

Watch out for

Spelling every word exactly as it sounds.
Learning a list for a test but not using the words in writing.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Homophones and near-homophones.
Use concrete materials: word cards.
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: their/there/they're, its/it's, your/you're, whose/who's.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder