Shhh… These Letters Are Silent!

Did you know that over 60% of English words have silent letters in them?

There are some basic rules about which letters are silent before or after other letters. But… the rules don’t always work! This is all the more reason to provide plenty of opportunities for our students to immerse themselves in words containing silent letters.

This set of three phonics worksheets has been created to assist your students in identifying silent letters in words they are regularly required to decode (read) and encode (spell). Students are required to colour the words in the table according to the silent letter in the word. Each worksheet focuses on a separate set of silent letters, as follows:

• Worksheet 1 focuses on the silent letters w, g and k.
• Worksheet 2 focuses on the silent letters h, b and l.
• Worksheet 3 focuses on the silent letters n and t.     

Tips for Scaffolding and Differentiation

For students who may be having trouble identifying the silent letters in the words, help them count and map the phonemes in the word. How many sounds can they hear? Which letter in the word is not making any of those sounds?

Encourage fast finishers to make a new version of the worksheets using different words that contain each set of silent letters. Students can swap these with a partner once completed.

Download the File Format That Best Suits Your Classroom!

Use the dropdown menu next to the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource.

This resource was created by Anna Helwig, a Teach Starter collaborator.