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Years 5 and 6 English · Key Stage 2 · Spelling – English Appendix 1

Years 5 and 6 spelling: silent letters and homophones

In Years 5 and 6 children are taught to spell words with silent letters, such as the b in doubt and the s in island, and words that are easy to mix up, such as advice and advise, past and passed, or principal and principle. These are the spellings where sound is no help at all, so children learn them through meaning, word families and memorable checks.

Silent letters and confused words, explained

A silent letter is one that is written but not heard. The curriculum describes them as letters whose presence cannot be predicted from the pronunciation of the word. Examples include the b in doubt and lamb, the s in island, the n in solemn and the t in thistle. The curriculum guidance notes that some silent letters were sounded hundreds of years ago: knight used to be said with a k sound before the n, and the gh stood for a sound like the ch in the Scottish word loch. Spelling kept the old pattern after speech changed, which is why the letters look so odd today.

Because silent letters give no clues when children listen, teachers give children other ways in. One is a spelling voice: saying the word out loud as if every letter were sounded, “dou-b-t” or “sol-em-n”. Another is to find a relative where the letter is heard. Solemn is linked to solemnity, where the n is sounded. Column is linked to columnist, autumn to autumnal, and sign to signature. Children also learn to highlight the silent letter in colour when they practise.

The second half of this objective is homophones and other words that are often confused. A homophone sounds the same as another word but has a different spelling and meaning, such as aisle and isle, aloud and allowed, steal and steel, or heard and herd. Other pairs are not true homophones but are easy to swap, such as affect and effect, or farther and further. Because the sound cannot help, children have to attach each spelling to its meaning, which is why practising them in sentences is more useful than learning them from a list.

A group worth knowing is the pair of words where the noun ends in -ce and the verb ends in -se: advice (noun) and advise (verb), device and devise, licence and license, practice and practise, prophecy and prophesy. In British English the noun has the c and the verb has the s, and a handy memory trick is that noun and verb are in alphabetical order, n before v, just as c comes before s. With advice and advise, and device and devise, you can also hear the difference, with an s sound in the noun and a z sound in the verb. Practice and practise, and licence and license, sound exactly the same, so for those the noun-or-verb check is the only guide.

Words your child will hear

Silent letter
A letter that is written but not sounded, like the b in lamb or the s in island.
Homophone
A word that sounds like another but has a different spelling and meaning, such as steal and steel.
Noun
A word for a person, place, thing or idea. In British spelling the noun in advice/advise is the one ending in -ce.
Verb
A doing or being word. The verb in advice/advise is the one ending in -se.
Contraction
A shortened form where an apostrophe shows that letters are missing. Who’s is short for who is or who has.
Word family
Words related in meaning and spelling, such as solemn and solemnity.
Spelling voice
Saying a word in an exaggerated way so every letter is heard, to help remember it.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to:

  • Spell words with ‘silent’ letters (i.e. letters whose presence cannot be predicted from the pronunciation of the word)
  • Spell homophones and other words that are often confused

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: choosing the right word

Which word is right in each sentence? (1) It is a matter of (principal / principle). (2) The doctor gave me good (advice / advise) and (advice / advise) me to rest. (3) (Who’s / Whose) coat is this?

  1. Principal or principle: decide what the word means in the sentence. “A matter of ___” means a rule or belief a person holds. Principle, which ends in -le like rule, is the word for that. Principal means main or most important, or the person in charge.
  2. Advice or advise: ask whether the gap needs a thing or an action. “Good ___” needs a thing, so it is the noun advice, with a c. “___ me to rest” is something the doctor does, so it is the verb advise, with an s. You can hear it too: advise ends with a z sound.
  3. Who’s or whose: replace the word with “who is”. “Who is coat is this?” makes no sense, so it is not the contraction. The question is about who owns the coat, so it is whose.
  4. Say each answer in a sentence of your own, such as “The principal reason I like swimming is that it keeps me fit.” Writing a sentence helps the spelling attach to the meaning.

(1) principle (2) advice, then advise (3) Whose coat is this?

Common mistakes and how to help

Leaving out silent letters, such as “dout”, “iland”, “lam” or “thisle”

Children spell what they hear, and nothing in the sound tells them the letter is there. The mistake is a sign of good phonics, not carelessness.

What helps: Say the word in a spelling voice and highlight the silent letter. Look for a related word where it is heard, such as solemn and solemnity, and practise writing the whole word from memory.

Using advice and advise, or practice and practise, the wrong way round

Both spellings are real words, so which one is right depends on how the word is used. Practice and practise sound exactly the same, and advice and advise differ by only one sound.

What helps: Ask whether the word is a thing or an action. Try the pair with “some” in front: “some advice” works and “some advise” does not. Remember that n comes before v in the alphabet and c comes before s, so the noun takes the c.

Writing “who’s” when whose is meant (or the other way round)

They sound the same, and children have learned that an apostrophe is used for belonging. Some apply that rule in the wrong place.

What helps: Replace the word with “who is” or “who has”. If that works, the apostrophe belongs there. If not, it is whose, which shows ownership and has no apostrophe.

Mixing up past and passed, or led and lead

In speech past and passed sound the same, and led sounds just like the metal lead, so a child can’t tell which is meant from the sound.

What helps: Passed is the past tense of the verb pass, as in “She passed the ball”. Past is used for time or place, as in “in the past” or “walked past the school”. A quick test: if “passed” can be swapped for “handed” or “went by” in the sentence and it still makes sense, it is passed. Led is the past tense of lead (to guide), so “He led the way”, while lead with the “e” sound is the metal.

How to help at home

  • Use a spelling voice. Choose a silent-letter word each evening, say it with every letter sounded, such as “is-land” or “sol-em-n”, then cover it and write it from memory. The silly voice makes the hidden letter memorable.
  • Hunt for word relatives. Ask your child to find a family word where the silent letter is sounded: sign and signature, autumn and autumnal, column and columnist. Write the pairs side by side and circle the letter.
  • Sentence pairs for confused words. Pick one pair a week, such as desert and dessert, and ask for two sentences that show the difference. Putting the right word in a real sentence is better than copying a list.
  • Proofreading game. Write a short paragraph with three deliberate errors, such as who’s for whose or practise for practice, and ask your child to find and fix them. Swap roles and see if they can fool you.

Related topics

Builds on

More on spelling – English Appendix 1

Everything in Years 5 and 6 English

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