It is difficult to separate Spelling from Pronunciation, because in most languages one depends on the other.  The letters with which a word is spelled determine how that word is pronounced, OR  the way a word is pronounced determines which letters are used to spell that word.  This is true in the languages we are familiar with - French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic and others.   English often does not follow this pattern.

Rule 1: There is a Rule that says if a one-syllable word  has a single vowel followed by a single consonant followed by a silent e, the first vowel is pronounced with a long vowel sound (the sound of the name of the letter).

For example, HAT with a short A sound becomes HATE with a Long A sound;  FAR with a Soft A sound becomes FARE with a  Long A sound; BIT with a Short I sound becomes BITE with a Long I sound; NOT with a Short O sound becomes NOTE with a Long O sound.  Here are several more words that follow this pattern of being pronounced with a long vowel sound with a silent E at the end:  

Rule 2: This is a Rule English shares, at least in part,  with several other languages.  The Rule says:

• The letters  C and G are pronounced with a Soft sound (like S and J) if they are followed by an E or an I:

• C and G are pronounced with a Hard sound (like K and G) if they are followed by A, O or U:

• In order to indicate the K sound before E or I, the letter K is used: keg, ken, kill, kiss, kind.

• In order to make the hard G sound before E or I, English is forced to use the letter G because no other letter stands for the same sound, which is inconsistent with the rule:  Sometimes, in order to maintain the hard G sound before E or I and still be consistent with the Rule, English will insert a silent U: guess, guide, guild.

• The letter J is used to indicate the Soft G sound before A, O or U:   jar, jab, jolly, join, jump, just.

• The S sound before E or I is many times spelled with the letter S: seem, send, sick, simple, etc.

• The Soft G sound (J) is often spelled with the letter J: jest, jitter, jerk, jet, jingle.

A good example of the unpredictable nature of this rule is guilt (the fact of having broken a legal or moral law), pronounced with a Hard G because of the silent U after the G,  gilt  (gold-covered), pronounced the same way, with a Hard G, and in violation of the rule, and jilt , (to break off a romantic relationship when the other person doesn't want to), with a J which is pronounced with the Soft G sound and follows the rule.

CONCLUSION: Although there are some exceptions to this rule, you can rely on it most of the time.

Rule 3:SHORT VOWEL SOUND BEFORE TWO CONSONANTS

In nearly all one-syllable words  that have a single vowel followed by two consonants, the single vowel will have a Short Vowel sound.  To relate this to spelling, if you hear a one-syllable word with a Short Vowel sound in it followed by a K sound, there is a good chance that the K sound will be spelled by CK.  In other cases, you should be able to hear the two final consonants:  -sh, -lk, -rk, -sk, -th, -ch, -nd.  The only way this may possibly help your spelling is,  if you hear a one-syllable word with a short vowel sound followed by  two consonants, you can be almost positive that the vowel sound is made by a single vowel.   

• This rule can help you figure out how to spell some words: bake vs. back ; Long A sound = silent E at end, Short A sound = two consonants at end, but which consonants? Since the word ends with a K sound, odds are it will be a CK combination.  The same would be true with like vs. lick, lake vs. lack, take vs. tack, smoke vs. smock, etc.