Teaching silent letters
Aim: Remember the silent letter in common letter pairs (kn, wr, mb, gn, stle, sc).
How to explain it
Some letters are written but not said. They are left over from how the word was pronounced long ago. Learn them in groups by the letter pair, because the silent letter is always in the same place: k before n (knee), w before r (write), b after m (lamb), g before n (sign), t in -stle (castle). A related word can give the letter back: you can hear the g in signal, and it is silent in sign.
Starter (5 minutes)
Read out words with and without a silent letter (knee, need, write, rice). Children hold up a card saying 'silent' when they think there is a letter they can't hear, then check on the board.
Main activity
Silent letter detectives: sort word cards into kn, wr, mb, gn and stle groups. Then read each group in 'spelling voice', saying the silent letter out loud (k-nife, w-rite). The silly version is easy to remember and makes the letter hard to leave out.
Dictation sentences
- I know the lamb hurt its knee.
- Write the wrong answer in the box, then rub it out.
- The knight climbed to the top of the castle.
Watch out for
- Writing what they hear (nife, rite, lam, casle).
- Putting a silent letter in the wrong place (kinfe).
Quick check
Ask children to spell these without help:
- knock
- wrist
- comb
- whistle
Example words
- knee
- knife
- know
- write
- wrong
- lamb
- thumb
- climb
- gnome
- sign
- castle
- whistle
- island
- science
- doubt
- night