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      Spelling words with the 'ee' sound spelt 'ie'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can spell words with the 'ee' sound spelt 'ie'.

      Key learning points

      1. There are many ways to spell the ‘ee’ sound. ‘ee’, ‘ea’ and ‘e-e’ are the most common.
      2. Most words follow the rule: 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' where the sound is 'ee'.
      3. The 'ie' spelling can also break other learnt rules or be used when the sound is not 'ee'.
      4. The letter string ‘ie’ can represent a range of different sounds.
      5. How to spell the curriculum words: sufficient, variety and achieve.

      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)

      • Letter string - a group of letters that are written together in a word

      Common misconception

      Some children may think a letter string can only represent one sound.

      Remind pupils of the key phonics principles: a sound can be represented by more than one letter, one sound can be represented by more than one spelling and one spelling can represent more than one sound. It is why the English language is so hard!

      Teacher tip

      Sound buttoning can be useful to identify some sound letter correspondences within the lesson, however, it can often become difficult or problematic in longer words, phonetically irregular words or those with certain suffixes. Identify any words to focus on in advance.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Choose the correct 'ee' spelling that goes in these words.

      Correct Answer:week,ee

      ee

      Correct Answer:athlete,e-e

      e-e

      Correct Answer:heat,ea

      ea

      Q2.
      Match the grapheme representing the phoneme 'ee' to where they commonly appear in a word.

      Correct Answer:ea,anywhere in a word

      anywhere in a word

      Correct Answer:ee,in the middle or at the end of a word

      in the middle or at the end of a word

      Correct Answer:e-e,'last but one'

      'last but one'

      Q3.
      Select the words which contain the long vowel ee sound.

      they
      Correct answer: sunny
      Correct answer: thief
      stay
      Correct answer: money

      Q4.
      Match the grapheme representing the phoneme 'ee' sound to where it commonly appears in a word.

      Correct Answer:e,often at the beginning or the end of a word

      often at the beginning or the end of a word

      Correct Answer:ey,often at the end of a word

      often at the end of a word

      Correct Answer:ie,often in the middle of a word

      often in the middle of a word

      Q5.
      Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: She smiled happiley during the performance.

      Correct Answer: happily

      Q6.
      Choose the spellings that can represent the phoneme 'ee'.

      Correct answer: ee
      Correct answer: ea
      a-e
      oa
      Correct answer: ie

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the words linked to the rule 'i before e, except after c'.

      Correct Answer:thief,'i before e' words

      'i before e' words

      Correct Answer:receive,'except after c' words

      'except after c' words

      Correct Answer:protein,exception to the rule words

      exception to the rule words

      Q2.
      Select the correct spelling of the word.

      feeld
      feild
      Correct answer: field

      Q3.
      Select the correct spelling of the word.

      recievd
      recieved
      Correct answer: received
      receivd

      Q4.
      Match the words to show the sound the letters 'ie' are making in it.

      Correct Answer:applies,‘ie’ makes the sound ‘igh’

      ‘ie’ makes the sound ‘igh’

      Correct Answer:parties,‘ie’ makes the sound ‘ee’

      ‘ie’ makes the sound ‘ee’

      Correct Answer:friend,‘ie’ makes a different sound

      ‘ie’ makes a different sound

      Q5.
      Select the correct spelling of the word.

      happyer
      happyier
      Correct answer: happier

      Q6.
      Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. The team's shared beleef in hard work led them to victory.

      Correct Answer: belief

      To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Spelling words with the 'ee' sound spelt 'ie', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...