Wheeler Speller Audio • Lessons 85 & 86 (Andersen & Silent k / b)
Wheeler's Elementary Speller • Page 47 LITERATURE • SILENT LETTERS • ORTHOGRAPHY Student Worksheet
Student Name:
Date:
Grade / Room:
Score:
Lessons 85 & 86 • Andersen's “The Flax” & Silent Consonants (k & b)
Concept: “Seen but not heard” • Page 47
1 Lesson 85: Literature Study & Sentence Copywork: Read Andersen's poetic prose. Copy the closing lines on the handwriting lines below.
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
“The flax was in full bloom. It had pretty little blue flowers as frail as the wings of a moth... The sun shone, and the showers watered it... They look much prettier for it, and so did the flax.”
— Hans Christian Andersen
Copy: “They look much prettier for it, and so did the flax.”
2 Lesson 86: Silent Letter Detective: Read each word aloud. Draw a red line through the silent letter (k or b), then copy neatly.
16 TARGET WORDS
Silent b after m
dumb
crumb
thumb
numb
Silent b in -mb & -bt
lamb
climb
doubt
debt
Silent k before n
knot
knob
knock
knit
Silent k before n
knife
knee
kneel
knew
Consonant Doubling: Double consonant before -ed / -ing
knotted
knobbed
knitting
3 Original Sentence Application: Choose any 2 silent letter words above and write an original sentence for each.
SYNTHESIS & MEANING
Key Orthographic Rules to Remember
1. Silent K before N: When k precedes n at the beginning of an Anglo-Saxon root (knot, knee, knife), the k is completely silent.
2. Silent B after M / before T: At the end of a syllable after m (thumb, climb) or before t (doubt, debt), the letter b is silent.
3. Consonant Doubling: When adding -ed or -ing to a one-syllable word ending in a single short vowel and consonant, double the final letter (knot → knotted; knit → knitting).