PRIMARY SPELLING & PHONICS • CURRICULUM ARCHITECTURE TEACHER MASTER KEY INSTRUCTOR REFERENCE • PAGE 2 OF 2
LESSON 71 TEACHER GUIDE & ANSWER KEY HOMOPHONE PAIRS
Wheeler's Elementary Speller — Page 40
Homophone IPA Sound Part of Speech & Etymology Orthographic Law & Pedagogical Rule
I /aɪ/ Pronoun (OE ic, ME ich / I) Always capitalized — single vowel pronoun standardized in Middle English for manuscript visibility.
eye /aɪ/ Noun (OE ēage, Proto-Germanic *augō) Silent medial/final <ye> — historical velar spirant dropped, leaving digraph ey with terminal silent -e.
right /raɪt/ Adj. / Noun / Adv. (OE riht) Silent trigraph -gh- — marks Old English palatal fricative /ç/; preserves long vowel /aɪ/.
write /raɪt/ Verb (OE wrītan, "to incise/carve") Silent initial w- — labial onset /w/ vanished phonetically; retained to avoid homographic clash with right.
Complete Answer Key & Solutions WHEELER'S PAGE 40 EXERCISES
Ex. 1 & 2: Solutions & Context Fill

1. “I am old, so old I can write a letter.”
2. “Each day and every day, / Do what is right.”
3. “The sun wakes up, and his round eye / Stares and stares at the big round sky.”
4. “Always write with your right hand, and choose the right path.”

Ex. 3: Silent Letters Detective Solutions

• Silent initial w in write: The w was once sounded (/w-r/) when scribes carved runes into wood. Today it is silent but immediately signals the action of writing.
• Silent -gh- in right: The -gh- represents an ancient throat sound (like in Scottish loch). It now serves as a marker showing that vowel i is long (/aɪ/).

Socratic Guiding Prompts & Pedagogical Insights INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
  • Disambiguation through Orthography: Ask: "When you close your eyes and I say /raɪt/, can your ears tell whether I mean correct or penning a letter? No! But when you open your eyes, the silent 'w' in 'write' and the silent '-gh-' in 'right' tell your brain instantly!"
  • Capitalization of the pronoun 'I': Guide students: "A single lowercase letter 'i' could easily be lost or overlooked on a written page. Early English scribes capitalized 'I' so the reader could clearly see the pronoun."
  • The Physical Hand Test: Have children raise their right hand while saying: "I use my right hand to write the right words!"
Dictation & Oral Application Sentences (Read slowly at normal speaking pace):
1. “I will open my eye when the morning sun shines.”
2. “Always do what is right in word and deed.”
3. “Please write your name neatly upon the paper.”
4. “Turn to the right when you reach the garden gate.”
Wheeler's Elementary Speller • Lesson 71 • Teacher Master Key Page 2 of 2 (Instructor Reference)