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Year 2

Silent letters: the 'kn' spelling

I can spell words with 'kn' representing the 'n' phoneme.

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New
New
Year 2

Silent letters: the 'kn' spelling

I can spell words with 'kn' representing the 'n' phoneme.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. 'kn' can be a representation of the 'n' phoneme.
  2. The representation 'kn' is usually found at the start of a word.
  3. How to spell the common exception words: push and pull.
  4. Words connected in word families often have similar spellings.

Keywords

  • Grapheme - the letter or group of letters that represent a sound

  • Phoneme - the smallest unit of sound

  • Homophone - homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings, like "two," "to," and "too"

  • Word families - a group of words common in feature, pattern or meaning

  • Silent letter - a letter in a word that is not pronounced when the word is spoken

Common misconception

Children can often spell the past tense how it sounds, e.g. with a 'd' at the end rather than 'ed'.

Before writing the sentence, remind children that the suffix 'ed' can sound like 'd' or 'id' or 't'.


To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Silent letters: the 'kn' spelling, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

This lesson looks at a number of homophones. Be sure to use images and put the words into a variety of context sentences to ensure children understand the meaning of each different spelling.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each word to the number of phonemes it contains.
Correct Answer:not,3
tick

3

Correct Answer:running,5
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5

Correct Answer:sooner,4
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4

Q2.
How many syllables are in the word winner?
1
Correct answer: 2
4
6
Q3.
Choose another spelling that can also represent the sound 'n', like in 'win'.
m
mm
Correct answer: nn
mb
Q4.
Choose the correct word and spelling to complete this sentence. I hurt my __________ with the hammer.
fumb
Correct answer: thumb
thum
thumm
Q5.
Choose the correct word and spelling to complete this sentence. I can't wait to __________ that tree!
clime
clim
Correct answer: climb
Q6.
Match the word to its definition.
Correct Answer:grapheme,the letter or group of letters that represent a sound
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the letter or group of letters that represent a sound

Correct Answer:phoneme,the smallest units of sound that make up words
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the smallest units of sound that make up words

Correct Answer:silent letter,a letter in a word that is not pronounced when spoken
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a letter in a word that is not pronounced when spoken

6 Questions

Q1.
Choose the correct word and spelling to complete this sentence. I had to __________ the heavy door to open it.
Correct answer: push
poosh
pus
Q2.
Choose the correct word and spelling to complete this sentence. You need to __________ the lever.
pool
pul
Correct answer: pull
pol
Q3.
Which words contain the 'kn' spelling of the 'n' sound?
Correct answer: know
sink
Correct answer: knock
blink
Correct answer: unknown
Q4.
Choose the representation of the 'n' sound that matches the words.
Correct Answer:not,n
tick

n

Correct Answer:winner,nn
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nn

Correct Answer:knot,kn
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kn

Q5.
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: The answer to the question was unown.
Correct Answer: unknown
Q6.
Where is the 'kn' spelling usually found in a word?
Correct answer: the beginning
the middle
the end

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