Homonym Baseball

Summary

This is a fun exercise in the spelling and meaning of homonyms. Teams are chosen and points are earned by matching a homonym to its definition.

Materials

• White board
• One colored magnet for each team
• List of Homonyms (pdf) on overhead, chart or paper copies for each team member.

Background for Teachers

Teacher needs to know the definition of all homonyms being used.

Student Prior Knowledge

basic knowledge of definition of homonyms

Intended Learning Outcomes

The student will:

• gain knowledge of the definition of homonyms
• gain knowledge of different spelling of homonyms

Instructional Procedures

1. Draw a large baseball diamond on the whiteboard. (It doesn't have to be fancy.) Along the side, leave space for scoring of the teams by the use of tally marks.

2. Separate the class into two or more teams. Each team needs a magnet of a different shape or color.

   Note: Board Baseball can be used in a variety of other spelling or vocabulary activities as well.

3. Either give each student a copy of the List of Homonyms (pdf) or display the list for all to see.

4. Team A will begin by spelling a word from the list and asking a member of Team B to use the word in a sentence. If they answer correctly, Team B moves their magnet from Home Plate to 1st base. If the answer is incorrect, they do not advance.

5. Team B would then spell a word from the list and a Team A member would be asked to use it in a sentence.

6. This continues until 10 runs have been made or a team wins when time runs out.

Assessment Plan

A class assessment could be done to identify homonyms that need to be reviewed.

Bibliography

Adapted from Voluminous Vocabulary, LeAnn Nickelsen, Scholastic Inc., 1998