Consonants
Silent letters
Knee, write, gnat, lamb and half all carry a letter that is written and not said. Most are fossils of older English where the letter was pronounced, which is why they cluster in particular pairs rather than appearing at random.
Teach by pair, not by letter. Silent k appears before n, silent w before r, silent b after m. A reader who knows the pair can decode a new word; a reader who has memorised a word list cannot.
Patterns and example words
Every word below is from the word list Cody generates from, not a hand-picked sample. The count is how many words in that list carry the pattern.
kn
194 wordsknew know knowing known knows knowledge knock knocked
wr
121 wordswrite writes writing writings written wrote wrong wronged
gn
150 wordsdesign designed designing designs sign signed signing signs
mb
146 wordsclimb climbed climbing climbs bomb comb crumb lamb
silent l
171 wordswould could should half halved halves halving folk
silent t
238 wordsoften listen listened listening listens castle castles listener
silent w
95 wordswho whom whose whole wholes answer answered answering
silent u
311 wordsbuild building buildings builds built though bought although
mn
17 wordscolumn columns autumn solemn
Curricula that teach this
Cody generates material against the scope and sequence you already teach. This skill appears in Cody Curriculum, Custom Pattern Selection, UFLI Inspired.
Make a decodable story for this skill
Cody generates stories, word lists and worksheets constrained to the patterns a student has already been taught, so practice on silent letters does not smuggle in something they have not met yet.