Week 17 of 36 · 10 words · ages 16–17

11th Grade spelling words, week 17: Silent letters inside words

A silent letter can sit in the middle or end of a word, like the g in paradigm or the l in qualm. Memorize where it hides.
paradigm
The pattern everyone's thinking follows.
exhilarating
So exciting it takes your breath away.
ghastly
Shockingly horrible.
exhume
To dig up from a grave.
apostle
A devoted early follower sent out to spread a belief.
apropos
Fitting the moment, or with regard to something.
asthma
A condition that makes breathing difficult.
pestle
A club-shaped tool for crushing things in a bowl.
jostle
To push and bump roughly in a crowd.
qualm
An uneasy feeling of doubt about whether something is right.

Ten minutes a day this week

Short and daily beats long and once. A word met on five separate days is remembered; a word met five times on Thursday night mostly is not.

  1. Monday

    Read the list together. Say each word, clap its syllables and find the pattern in it.

  2. Tuesday

    Look, say, cover, write, check — each word once from memory, then check the letters.

  3. Wednesday

    Use every word in a sentence, out loud or on paper, so each one means something.

  4. Thursday

    Practice test: a grown-up reads each word aloud. Circle the misses for tomorrow.

  5. Friday

    The test. One try per word, no letters given. The circled words go first.

Practise these 10 words, free

One tap puts this week’s list in SpellChirp. It reads each word aloud, checks the spelling, brings back the ones that went wrong, and can write them into a story your child stars in. No account needed to start, and no advertising.

Add week 17’s words