KS2 SATs 2019 — English GPS Paper 2: Spelling

The idea

Some letters in English words are written but not heard. The k is silent at the start of knee and know. The w is silent in write and wrong, the b is silent in lamb and climb, and the h is silent in honest and hour. You may also meet a silent t, as in castle and listen. These spellings cannot be worked out from sound alone, so learn each word as a whole pattern and underline the silent letter in your mind.

The letter string -ough is especially tricky because it can make different sounds. It sounds different in thought, through, though, cough and rough. That means the words do not rhyme even though they share the same letters. Group the words, look at their full shapes, and practise them one family at a time.

A good strategy is to say a special spelling voice in your head. For example, say the k in knee silently to yourself as you write it. Then cover the word, write it again and check every letter.

Worked example

Which spelling is correct for the word meaning 'had an idea in your mind': thort, thought or thawt?

1. The word is the past tense of think.
2. It uses the -ough letter string, even though it does not sound like through.
3. The full pattern is t-h-o-u-g-h-t.

Answer: thought

Watch out

• Leaving out a silent letter, such as writing nee for knee.
• Expecting every -ough word to rhyme: thought, through and cough all sound different.
• Spelling only from sound, which misses letters you cannot hear.