ea ear

I REVIEW the ea spelling pattern with the long-vowel e sound |ē|, as in each and clean. [Lessons 36, 37, 38]

II NEW PATTERN. Introduce the ea spelling pattern with the short-vowel e sound |ĕ|, as in ready and deaf.

Note: Roman numerals I and II introduce the word read. The pronunciation of read will have to be determined by sentence context: “Last night I rĕad a story to Asher” [past tense]; “Let’s rēad a story right now” [present tense]; “We will rēad another story tonight” [future tense]. Noticing context and developing the habit of knowing word meanings will make your student a good reader.

III LEARN the ea spelling pattern that has a long-vowel a sound |ā|, as in great and steak. Only a few words in English follow this pattern.

IV REVIEW the ear spelling pattern with the murmur diphthong |ər|, as in learn and earth. [See Lesson 69]

V LEARN the ear spelling pattern that says |är|, as in heart and hearty.

Review: ea ear

VI REVIEW the five sounds of ea: |ē|, |ĕ|, |ā|, |ər|, and |är|, as in each, ready, great, learn, and heart.

Homonyms

are words that are spelled and sound the same but have different meanings.

bat flying mammal that lives in caves (noun); a stick used to hit the ball in the game of baseball
(noun); to swat away, as in “to bat away a wasp” (verb).

dish a TV satellite receiver (noun); a bowl or plate on which food is placed (noun); old-style slang used to describe an attractive woman, as in “She’s a dish!” (noun); to give or present, as to “dish up” potatoes (verb).

brief a legal document for court (noun); a short or condensed period of time, “Please be brief in your remarks” (adjective); a type of underpants (noun); to give information or instructions, as in “Jimmy will brief the dog handlers” (verb).

foul in baseball a term referring to a ball not being hit within the baselines, as in “Parker hit seven foul balls his last time at bat” (adjective); an infraction of the rules in basketball, as in “The referee called a fourth foul on the team’s star player” (noun); a bad odor, as in “What is that foul smell?” (adjective).

pool swimming trough (noun); the combining of things, as in “Let’s pool our resources” (verb); a group activity as in an “office pool” (noun); a game played on a special table with sticks and numbered balls, as in “That is our pool table” (adjective) and “Let’s play some pool” (noun).

pat to lightly tap on something (verb); small, flat, square piece of something, as in a “pat of butter” (noun); a name or nickname (as for Patricia) (proper noun); a show of approval, as in “John received a well-deserved pat on the back” (noun); trite, as in “a pat answer” (adjective).

mind The thinking place in the head (noun); phrase referring to whether or not someone cares, as in “Do you mind if I take the car into town?” (verb); a verb indicating obedience, as in “You will mind me now!” (verb).