Applying the rule ‘i before e except after c’
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can spell words and exceptions using ‘ie’ or ‘ei’ to make the ‘ee’ sound.
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.
Teacher tip
Give children a large range of words containing 'ie' or 'ei' in them. Ask pupils to sort into words containing the 'ee' sound and words that don't.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the word to the representation of the 'ee' sound it contains.
sleep
thief
each
funny
Q2.Select the words which contain the long vowel ee sound.
Q3.Match the words linked to the rule 'i before e, except after c'.
'i before e' words
'except after c' words
exception to the rule words
Q4.Select the words that apply the rule 'i before e, except after c'.
Q5.Select the correct spelling of the word.
Q6.Select the correct spelling of the word.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the words linked to the rule 'i before e, except after c'.
'i before e' words
'except after c' words
exception to the rule words
Q2.Select the correct spelling of the word.
Q3.Select the correct spelling of the word.
Q4.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. My father ritreevd the parcel from the post office.
Q5.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. There is a crack in the seeling!
Q6.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. I love listening to music with interesting rithum!
To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Applying the rule ‘i before e except after c’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Applying the rule ‘i before e except after c’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the Noun suffixes, letter strings and homophones unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.