Silent Letters and Rhyming Words Activities

Silent Letters and Rhyming Words Activities

Read the poem below and do the activity or activities below that your teacher says:
-

Work together to read through the poem below, making sure that the two lines which
are together rhyme, e.g. that line three rhymes with line four. One person should say
just line one, then the next person should say lines two and three, then the next person
lines four and five, etc, so the two rhyming words are said by different people.

-

Listen as your partner reads out the first ten lines of the poem and correct them if any
of the pairs of lines don’t rhyme. They will then do the same as you read the next ten
lines.

-

Listen as your partner reads out the poem with silent letters wrongly pronounced, then
correct them on their deliberate mistakes.

-

Listen as your partner reads out the poem, underline any letters in the final words of
the lines which they don’t pronounce, then discuss which letters you underlined and if
there are any other silent letters.

-

Work together to underline the silent letters in the final words of the lines below, using
the rhymes with the matching words to help. There is one silent letter in each pair of
lines.

Look at lists of silent letters online, try to think of rhyming words, then do one of these
activities:
-

Challenge another group to think of rhyming words for words with silent letters

-

Read out the word with a silent letter and the word you thought of, and see if the other
group agree that they rhyme

-

Read out the word and rhyming word and see if the other group can identify the silent
letter

p. 1

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

Silent letters poem
There are many mountains that I want to climb
I will do one this evening if I have the time

My birthday treat is one chocolate biscuit
But I’m on a diet – I shouldn’t risk it

I shouted out for a hip-hop dancer
But from the street there was no answer

It took some time to walk down the aisle
From the door to the priest was more than a mile

The priest asked us to sing a hymn
But it was difficult to do both that and swim

He asked me to repay my debt
But my money was all far too wet

I wish that I was much more handsome
Then my wife would pay my ransom

I really need a new steam iron
But instead I bought another lion

The police want me to take off my hood
But my hair is a mess, so I don’t think I should

Cavemen didn’t use a comb
Having neat hair was invented in Rome

I nearly bought the whole of Oxford Street
But the man on the corner wouldn’t give a receipt

Mary had a little lamb
But she swapped it for my can of Spam

The tarantula asked to be let out
I shouldn’t have done it, without a doubt

He asked to join me in my tomb
But with me and my car there won’t be room

A typical hitchhiker’s thumb
Is much improved if you stick on a plum

p. 2

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

Matching rhyming words
Thinking about rhyme and meaning, find a matching line for each line on the left.

There are many mountains that I want to
climb

My birthday treat is one chocolate biscuit

I shouted out for a hip-hop dancer

It took some time to walk down the aisle

The priest asked us to sing a hymn

He asked me to repay my debt

I wish that I was much more handsome

I really need a new steam iron

The police want me to take off my hood

Cavemen Britons didn’t use a comb

I nearly bought the whole of Oxford Street

Mary had a little lamb

The tarantula asked to be let out

He asked to join me in my tomb

A typical hitchhiker’s thumb

But I’m on a diet – I shouldn’t risk it

But from the street there was no answer

But instead I bought another lion

But it was difficult to do both that and swim

But my hair is a mess, so I don’t think I
should

But my money was all far too wet

But she swapped it for my can of Spam

But the man on the corner wouldn’t give a
receipt

But with me and my car there won’t be
room

From the door to the priest was more than
a mile

Having neat hair was invented in Rome

I shouldn’t have done it, without a doubt

I will do one this evening if I have the time

Smells and looks better if you stick on a
plum

Then my wife would pay my ransom

Check above.

p. 3

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

Write a rhyming word in each gap below, thinking about the pronunciation and meaning,
making sure that you don’t pronounce the silent letters in the words at the end of the lines.

There are many mountains that I want to climb
I will do one this evening if I have the ________________

My birthday treat is one chocolate biscuit
But I’m on a diet – I shouldn’t risk _____________________

I shouted out for a hip-hop __________________________
But from the street there was no answer

It took some time to walk down the aisle
From the door to the priest was more than a ________________

The priest asked us to sing a hymn
But it was difficult to do both that and _____________________

He asked me to repay my debt
But my money was all far too _________________________

I wish that I was much more handsome
Then my wife would pay my _________________________

I really need a new steam iron
But instead I bought another _________________________

The police want me to take off my ____________________
But my hair is a mess, so I don’t think I should

Cavemen didn’t use a comb
Having neat hair was invented in ____________________

I nearly bought the whole of Oxford ___________________
But the man on the corner wouldn’t give a receipt

Mary had a little lamb
But she swapped it for my can of ___________________

The tarantula asked to be let ______________________
I shouldn’t have done it, without a doubt

He asked to join me in my tomb
But with me and my car there won’t be ________________

A typical hitchhiker’s thumb
Smells and looks better if you stick on a ___________________

-----------------------------------------------------fold--------------------------------------------------

Use these mixed answers to help:
Rome

Spam

Street

answer

hood

it

lion

mile

out

plum

ransom

room

swim

time

wet

p. 4

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

Write a rhyming word with a silent letter in each gap below.
There are many mountains that I want to ________________
I will do one this evening if I have the time

My birthday treat is one chocolate __________________
But I’m on a diet – I shouldn’t risk it

I shouted out for a new dancer
But from the street there was no _________________

It took some time to walk down the ________________
From the door to the priest was more than a mile

The priest asked us to sing a ____________________
But it was difficult to do both that and swim

He asked me to repay my _________________
But my money was all far too wet

I wish that I was much more ________________
Then my wife would pay my ransom

I really need a new steam ___________________
But instead I bought another lion

The police want me to take off my hood
But my hair is a mess, so I don’t think I ________________

Cavemen didn’t use a _____________________
Having neat hair was invented in Rome

I nearly bought the whole of Oxford Street
But the man on the corner wouldn’t give a __________________

Mary had a little ______________________
But she swapped it for my can of Spam

The tarantula asked to be let out
I shouldn’t have done it, without a ___________________

He asked to join me in my ___________________
But with me and my car there won’t be room

A typical hitchhiker’s ____________________
Is much improved if you stick on a plum

-----------------------------------------------------fold--------------------------------------------------

Use these mixed answers to help:
aisle

answer

biscuit

climb

comb

debt

doubt

handsome

hymn

iron

lamb

receipt

should

thumb

tomb

p. 5

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020