Applying the rule ‘i before e except after c’
I can spell words and exceptions using ‘ie’ or ‘ei’ to make the ‘ee’ sound.
Applying the rule ‘i before e except after c’
I can spell words and exceptions using ‘ie’ or ‘ei’ to make the ‘ee’ sound.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- There are many ways to spell the ‘ee’ sound, including ‘ee’, ‘ea’, ‘e-e’, ‘e’, ‘y’, ‘ey’, ‘ie’ and ‘ei’.
- The rule ‘i before e except after c’ can help choose between ‘ie’ and ‘ei’ when spelling ‘ee’.
- There are exceptions, including ‘protein’, ‘caffeine’, ‘either’ and ‘seize’.
- It is important to practise to help us learn new spellings.
- How to spell the curriculum words: rhyme, rhythm and remember.
Keywords
Phoneme - the smallest unit of sound that can change a word's meaning
Grapheme - the letter or group of letters that represent a sound (the spelling)
Exception - a case or situation that does not follow the usual or expected rule or pattern
Common misconception
Children may choose the wrong spelling strategy to practise a particular word.
Help pupils to make informed choices about which spelling strategy is best to learn particular types of words. For example, 'naughty letters' is useful to learn those with unusual spelling patterns. Pupils will also develop their own favourites.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
sleep
thief
each
funny
'i before e' words
'except after c' words
exception to the rule words
Exit quiz
6 Questions
'i before e' words
'except after c' words
exception to the rule words