32. Silent letters b and p

The lesson, step by step

1. Look at the pattern

   Some letters are written but not said. In these words a b (or, in a few, a p) is written but silent: lamb, debt, doubt.

   The book puts it this way:

   B is silent after m and before t, and p is silent before s.

2. Read the list aloud together

   Open the book to the lesson. Read the words aloud together, one column at a time. Some of them:

   lamb, numb, debt, debtor, comb, bomb, doubt, doubtful, tomb, crumb

   Then your child reads a column alone, pointing to each word.

3. Spell aloud

   Your child looks at a word, says it, spells it aloud letter by letter, and says it again. Then close the book and try the same words from memory.

   Do eight or ten words, a few from each column.

4. Write from dictation

   Close the book. Read 10 words from the list, one at a time. Say each word clearly, use it in a short sentence of your own if it is unfamiliar, then say it again.

   Your child writes each word on a slate or paper. No peeking at the book.

   Then dictate the book's sentences, one at a time:

   The lamb is a dumb animal.

   Comb your hair, but do not thumb your book.

5. Check and correct

   Open the book and check each word together, letter by letter. For each mistake, your child looks at the right spelling, says it, spells it aloud, and writes it correctly three times.

   Add any word that was missed to a hard-words list.

6. Quick review

   Ask three or four words from the hard-words list, or from the last lesson if the list is empty. Words spelled right twice in a row can come off the list.