The Letter W

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Content The Letter W

Understanding the Letter W – Definition and Sounds
Writing the Letter W – How to?
The Letter W – Example Words and Sentences

Words with the Letter W

The Letter W – Summary
The Letter W – Frequently Asked Questions

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Basics on the topic The Letter W

Introduction to the Letter W

Today's exploration delves into a particularly versatile and widely used letter in our language—the letter w. It plays a crucial role in numerous fundamental words. Whether you are crafting a narrative or expanding your vocabulary, mastering the letter w is essential for developing proficient reading and writing skills.

Understanding the Letter W – Definition and Sounds

The letter w is the 23rd letter in the English alphabet, characterised by its distinct and often resonant sound, which phonetically approximates /w/ .

This letter is a consonant, and its articulation involves rounding the lips and creating a voiced sound. The phonetic presence of the letter w is prominent in words such as window, wonder and whale.

What sound does the letter w make?

Can you name a word that begins with the letter w?

How do you use your mouth to make the letter w sound?

Writing the Letter W – How to?

Writing the letter w is straightforward and involves a series of simple lines. To write the capital W, begin at the top left, draw a diagonal line down to the right, then draw another diagonal line up to the right, followed by another diagonal line down to the right and finish with a final diagonal line up to the right. For the lower case w, replicate the same pattern on a smaller scale, starting in the middle of the line. To write a pre-cursive w, follow the steps below.

Step	Instruction
1	Start on the black line
2	Whoosh to the top.
3	Make a diagonal line back to the bottom.
4	Make a diagonal line in the other direction to the top creating a point at the bottom.
5	Repeat this making another diagonal line to the bottom.
6	Make another diagonal line to the top creating another point at the bottom.
7	Finish with a small flick to the side.

The Letter W – Example Words and Sentences

The letter w is versatile and widely utilised, appearing at the beginning, middle and end of words. For instance, Wendy watched whales while wandering by the waterfront. In this sentence, the letter w is used at the start of several words, demonstrating its frequent usage and adaptability.

Words with the Letter W

The letter w is relatively common and can be found in a variety of words. Here is a comprehensive list of words that prominently feature this letter:

Begin With	Contain	End With
water	downward	show
window	sandwich	snow
whale	twenty	glow
wisdom	between	follow

The Letter W – Summary

Key Learnings from this Text:

The letter w is known for its distinctive resonant sound, phonetically represented as /w/ .
It is the 23rd letter in the English alphabet.
Writing the letter w involves drawing a series of diagonal lines.
The letter w can appear at the beginning, middle or end of words.

Continue to explore the fascinating world of letters with our interactive lessons and printable activities. The letter w is just one integral part of your linguistic journey!

The Letter W – Frequently Asked Questions

What is the sound of the letter w?

How do you write the letter w?

Can you provide an example of a word that starts with the letter w?

Do you know any items that start with the letter w?

Is it important to learn about the letter w in reception?

What are some ways to practise writing the letter w?

Are there printable worksheets for practising the letter w?

What kind of interactive activities can aid in learning the letter w?

How do designers incorporate the letter w in their work?

What are some creative projects for children that involve the letter w?

Transcript The Letter W

Let’s join Dee and Kala in the phonics garden and learn all about /w/. This is the letter W, it makes the sound /w/. This is a capital /W/ and this is a lower case /w/. They both make the /w/ sound like in well, water and wing! Let's practise the /w/ sound with Kala! "/w/, /w/!" Can you spy anything in the garden that begins with /w/? "There's a windmill, that starts with /w/!" Is there anything else in the garden that starts with /w/? "There's a wheel that also begins with /w/!" Uh-oh! /W/ is hiding with the other letters! Can you help find /w/ in the alphabet? Point to the letter when you find it! Did you also point here? You did some great work in the phonics garden! Today we learnt all about /w/, we listened to and made the /w/ sound! We found words that begin with /w/ and found it in the alphabet! Interested in a challenge? Watch this video again and see if you can find the worm, the wolf and the wagon hidden in the garden! Comment below when you find them! If you want to learn more, check out the next sound!

The Letter W exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learnt? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video The Letter W.

Which one is the correct letter?

Hints

Listen carefully to the sound, play it again and think about what you can hear.

This huge mammal is a ____.

Look again at the picture above. What sound does this word start with?

Solution

The correct letter is w. This makes the /w/ sound.
What sound does the letter make?

Hints

The word worm starts with the sound.

Listen to all four sounds again. Which one is the same as the beginning of the word whale?

Solution

The correct sound is /w/.
Find the objects that begin with w.
Hints

There are 5 items that start with w to highlight.

Listen to this word. Can you find it in the picture?

Listen carefully to the names of the objects.

Solution
The five items that start with w are:
- witch
- window
- watch
- whistle
- wasp
What is the word?
Hints

What other sounds can you hear?

Here we can see the words with pictures. Use this to help you find the matching pairs above.

Solution
The words are:
1. win
2. wig
3. worm
4. wag
Help Kala find the objects that begin with w.

Hints

Listen to the sound. Which words begin with this sound?

Say all of the items out loud. In which ones do you hear the /w/ sound at the beginning?

There are two correct choices.

Solution

Wall and web start with /w/.
Can you put the words in the correct group?

Hints

Listen carefully to this word. Do you hear w at the beginning?

Think carefully about the first sound that you hear, is it w or a different sound?

There are 3 words that start with w and 3 words that do not start with w.

Solution

Wolf, wizard and windmill have w at the beginning.
Rainbow, yellow and arrow do not start with w.