Commonly Confused Words Lesson Plans

Students practice descriptive writing in a thank-you note format. In this descriptive writing lesson, students read the example letter and analyze the corrections in the letter. Students read the example thank you notes and focus on the courteous manner in the writing. Students write their own thank-you note to someone who helped them using the model. Students also identify commonly confused words.

Eighth graders examine the key strategies to proofreading a piece of writing for errors in sentence structure, usage, mechanics and spelling. They practice putting into correct passage commonly confused words (too, two, to) when writing to a particular audience.

Fourth graders explore the proofreading process. They practice proofreading for errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics. Students develop strategies for proofreading and differentiate between commonly confused words.

Students edit and correct written mistakes.  In this comprehension lesson students work through guided practice of the task then students will complete a worksheet independently. 

Ninth graders examine the different misspelled words in the English language. In this English lesson, 9th graders read an article and answer guided reading questions. Students write an email to their teacher about what they have read.

Students participate in activities that engages word walls into their daily routine. In this word wall lesson plan, students use a word wall to practice language arts words through games, routines, and chants daily.

Host a spelling bee in your classroom with the Visual Thesaurus! Applicable for all grades, this activity links your class to the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee, which assesses their spelling abilities. They can then join small groups to share spelling rules and work collaboratively. This activity could work well in a computer lab or as a whole class, with the teacher presenting the spelling bee on a projector or SMARTboard.

Students develop their own list of words. They alphabetize the list to use as a "cheat sheet" any place they do writing. They identify words that follow one of the basic rules on the handout.

Students think about the specific definitions of commonly misused words and to use them correctly in sentences.

Geared toward international Teacher Assistants who need "a little more practice" in the English language, this lesson could also work well for ELD pupils. A list of commonly confused words (female/feminine, clothes/cloths) are provided, as well as instructions for testing through spellingcity.com. The spelling words could be changed to match your class' spelling or vocabulary words.