PRIMARY SPELLING & PHONICS • CURRICULUM ARCHITECTURE TEACHER MASTER KEY INSTRUCTOR REFERENCE • PAGE 2 OF 2

Target Word	IPA Phonetics	Morphological Law	Pedagogical & Orthographic Notes
thumb	/θʌm/	Silent final -b	Silent b — Old English thūma; b added orthographically.
wrist	/rɪst/	Silent initial w-	Silent w — OE wrist; labial onset vanished phonetically.
knee / knuckle	/niː/ / /ˈnʌk.əl/	Silent initial k-	Silent k — historical Germanic /kn-/ cluster now pronounced /n/.
tongue	/tʌŋ/	French spelling loan	Irregular spelling — short u sound /ʌ/ followed by -ngue.

Complete Answer Key & Solutions WHEELER'S EXERCISES

Ex. 1 & 2 Solutions

• Silent Letters: In thumb (b); in wrist (w); in knee (k); in knuckle (k).
• All 20 words classified accurately into their body regions.

Ex. 3 Sample Narrative

“The brave boy tripped and scraped his knee and elbow. His loving mother bandaged his wrist, and he smiled with his mouth and bright brown eyes, knowing in his heart that he was brave and strong.”

Socratic Guiding Prompts & Pedagogical Insights INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Silent K Pattern: Ask: 'Look at knee, knuckle, and knot. What letter always comes after the silent k?' (The letter n!).
Silent B Pattern: Guide: 'Look at thumb, lamb, and climb. What letter always comes before the silent b?' (The letter m!).
Irregular Plurals: Note that tooth becomes teeth and foot becomes feet (umlaut plurals).

Dictation & Oral Application Sentences (Read slowly at normal speaking pace):

1. “A kind smile upon your face and mouth makes friends.”

2. “He placed his strong hand upon the horse's shoulder.”

3. “The human heart beats steadily within the chest.”

4. “She twisted her wrist and scraped her left knee while running.”