Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Back to Study HubBrowse Year 2 English Guides

Year 2 - English

Silent letters: the 'mb' spelling

Alternative GPCS for consonants and homophones

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils learn to spell homophones, near-homophones and new consonant spellings.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to spell words with 'mb' representing the 'm' phoneme.

Key Notes

  • mb' can be a representation of the 'm' phoneme.
  • The representation 'mb' is often found at the end of a word, such as climb.
  • How to spell the common exception word: parents.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • grapheme: the letter or group of letters that represent a sound
  • phoneme: the smallest unit of sound that can change its meaning
  • silent letter: a letter in a word that is not pronounced when the word is spoken

Common Mistakes To Avoid

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

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

mb' can be a representation of the 'm' phoneme. The representation 'mb' is often found at the end of a word, such as climb.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'grapheme'

the letter or group of letters that represent a sound.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Children can often spell the past tense how it sounds, e.g. with a 'd' at the end rather than 'ed'. Correction: Remind children that the suffix 'ed' is often used to mark the past tense, even though it can sound like 'd' or 'id' or 't'.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 2 English guide library.