WHEELER'S ELEMENTARY SPELLER • TEACHER ANSWER KEY
EDUCATOR REFERENCE • SHORT U, LONG U & SILENT LETTERS
TEACHER GUIDE
LESSON 31 • TEACHER ANSWER KEY & LINGUISTIC GUIDE
Diacritical Markings (ŭ & ū) • Silent Letters (-e & -b) • Biblical Dictation Script
PAGE 21 KEY
| Word |
Webster Mark |
IPA |
Vowel Sound |
Silent Letter |
Orthographic / Etymological Rationale |
| use |
ūse |
/juːz/ |
Long (ū) |
Silent -e |
V-C-e pattern; voiced coda /z/; final -e is silent |
| muse |
mūse |
/mjuːz/ |
Long (ū) |
Silent -e |
V-C-e pattern; voiced coda /z/; final -e is silent |
| dusk |
dŭsk |
/dʌsk/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable ending in consonant cluster -sk |
| musk |
mŭsk |
/mʌsk/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable ending in consonant cluster -sk |
| snug |
snŭg |
/snʌɡ/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable CVC with voiced velar stop /ɡ/ |
| swung |
swŭng |
/swʌŋ/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable with velar nasal /ŋ/; past form of swing |
| clung |
clŭng |
/klʌŋ/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable with velar nasal /ŋ/; past form of cling |
| jump |
jŭmp |
/dʒʌmp/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable with voiced affricate j- and nasal blend -mp |
| cube |
cūbe |
/kjuːb/ |
Long (ū) |
Silent -e |
V-C-e pattern; initial c- before u; final -e is silent |
| tube |
tūbe |
/tjuːb/ or /tuːb/ |
Long (ū) |
Silent -e |
V-C-e pattern; final -e is silent |
| mule |
mūle |
/mjuːl/ |
Long (ū) |
Silent -e |
V-C-e pattern; lateral coda /l/; final -e is silent |
| buzz |
bŭzz |
/bʌz/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
FLOSS rule: -zz is doubled after a single short vowel |
| cut |
cŭt |
/kʌt/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable CVC; c- before u (/k/ sound) |
| but |
bŭt |
/bʌt/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable CVC; basic high-frequency short vowel word |
| rush |
rŭsh |
/rʌʃ/ |
Short (ŭ) |
None |
Closed syllable ending in palato-alveolar fricative digraph -sh |
| dumb |
dŭmb |
/dʌm/ |
Short (ŭ) |
Silent -b |
Silent letter: final -b is silent after -m; short ŭ sound |
| pure |
pūre |
/pjʊər/ or /pjɔːr/ |
Long (ū) |
Silent -e |
Proverb keyword: V-r-e pattern; long ū; final -e is silent |
Morpho-Phonological & Historical Orthography Notes:
1. The Silent -b in dumb: dumb descends from Old English dumb (silent /b/ after /m/). The final /b/ was pronounced in Proto-Germanic but underwent coda cluster reduction in Middle English. The spelling retains the historic etymological -b.
2. The Split Digraph V-C-e: In use, muse, cube, tube, mule, pure, the final silent -e signals the vowel to represent its alphabetic “long” value (/juː/ or /uː/), rather than the lax short vowel /ʌ/.
3. FLOSS Rule in buzz: Single-syllable base words ending in /z/ immediately preceded by a short vowel double the final letter (-zz).
Classroom Dictation Script (10 Sentences)
- use: Please make good use of your time at school.
- cube: An ice cube melted quickly in the warm sunlight.
- snug: The kitten felt cozy and snug in the wool blanket.
- dusk: Street lamps turn on automatically at dusk.
- tube: Squeeze the blue paint gently from the metal tube.
- clung: Wet yellow leaves clung firmly to the stone wall.
- buzz: Honey bees buzz happily among garden flowers.
- rush: Take your time and do not rush your work.
- dumb: Ancient storybooks spoke of gentle, dumb animals.
- pure: “Unto the pure all things are pure,” states the proverb.
Diagnostic Scoring Rubric (50 Points)
| Target Skill |
Criteria for Mastery |
Pts |
| Careful Copying |
Accurate letter formation & baseline penmanship for 16 words. |
/16 |
| Vowel Marking |
Correct identification of short ŭ vs. long ū on all words. |
/16 |
| Silent Letters |
Accurate identification of silent -e (5 words) and silent -b (dumb). |
/8 |
| Memory Sentence |
Accurate transcription of Bible proverb & analysis of keyword pure. |
/10 |
| TOTAL SCORE: |
/50 |
COMMON STUDENT ERRORS:
• Omitting silent -b: Spelling *dum instead of dumb.
• Omitting silent -e: Writing *cub for cube or *tub for tube.
• FLOSS rule failure: Writing *buz instead of buzz.