Nardagani Takes a Closer Look at Homophones

Homophones are pairs of words that sound the same, but have different meanings and different spellings. Understanding homophones is an essential part of mastering the English language, both for vocabulary building and spelling.

But why does English have so many homophones?

English has many vowel sounds, silent letters, and lots of words that come from many other different languages. As a result, there are also homophones in English.

Here are five examples of homophones:

1: son and sun

son (noun): A male child.

My mother had four sons.

sun (noun): The star at the center of our solar system. 

If you look directly at the sun, you will hurt your eyes.

2: knight and night

knight (noun): A man given a special honor (or rank) by a king or queen.

The knight battled the dragon.

night (noun): The period of time when it’s dark and most people sleep.

I love when it’s dark and quiet at night.

3: hear and here

to hear (verb): This is the action that you do with your ears. 

I hear the music.

here (adverb): Here indicates the place where you are at any moment. 

Can you put my couch here?

4: flour and flower

flour (noun): Flour is made from ground grains and often used in baking.

Do you have any flour to make a cake?

flower (noun): The decorative, colorful part of a plant.

The bride carried flowers at her wedding.

5: to, too, and two

to (preposition): This usually indicates a direction that something is moving.

Matthew walked to school. 

too (adverb): “Too” can usually either mean “also,” or it can indicate that there is more of something than necessary.

I’m too full to finish my dinner. 

two (noun): The number after one and before three.

I have two eyes.

The Nardagani Reading Program is designed to eliminate the guesswork involved in reading and identifying homophones. The program is comprised of 12 simple symbols, used below letters, that allow the reader to know which sound to make. Students learn a few symbols at a time. They memorize the symbols through exercises, games, and reading books coded with the symbols. Once students learn the first few symbols, they work on sounding out words, and increase their list of sight words. 

Within six hours of Nardagani instruction, students have learned the 12 symbols and are reading our coded practice books with ease. 

Once students have gained confidence in sounding out words, the symbols will no longer be needed, and can be removed, like training wheels from a bicycle. 

Click here to learn more about the Nardagani Reading Program and take our Masterclass.