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What are silent letters?

Part of Language and LiteracySpellingYear 1Year 2

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What is a silent letter?

Silent letters are letters that can鈥檛 be heard when the word is spoken.

For example in the word 'sword', you don鈥檛 pronounce the letter 鈥榳鈥.

sword

And the letter 鈥榟鈥 is silent in the word 'ghost'.

ghost

There are lots more examples of words with silent letters in English. So keep an eye out for them, because you won鈥檛 be able to hear them!

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Watch: Silent letters

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Activity 1

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Activity 2

See how well you can spot silent letters with this quiz.

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Activity 3

Can you find the words with silent letters in these short stories. There are 5 in each.

  1. One starry night, bright stars whispered secrets to a knight. Silent moonbeams lit his quest for hidden gems. Happy dreams danced as he slept under the sky.

  2. Silly gnome found treasure quietly. His happy forest friends helped search and giggled. Sunset sparkled, they celebrated within the magical feast.

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Head to the dojo to become an expert in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Karate Cats English game
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