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      Other sounds represented by the letter string ‘ei’

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can spell a range of words using the letter string ‘ei’.

      Key learning points

      1. There are many ways to spell the ‘ee’ sound, including ‘ee’, ‘ea’, ‘e-e’, ‘e’, ‘y’, ‘ey’, ‘ie’ and ‘ei’.
      2. The rule ‘i before e except after c’ can help choose between ‘ie’ and ‘ei’ when spelling ‘ee’.
      3. The letter string ‘ei’ can represent a range of different sounds, including ‘ay’.
      4. How to spell the curriculum words: height, eighth and foreign.

      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

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

      Common misconception

      Pupils may think that the 'ei' spelling only represents the 'ee' phoneme.

      Show a range of words with 'ei' representing different sounds. You can stretch and sound button to show the direct phoneme - grapheme correspondence.

      Teacher tip

      It will help to quickly gloss all unfamiliar vocabulary explored in the lesson, as many words with the 'ei' spelling may be less familiar to pupils, such a 'rein', 'beige' or 'forfeit'.

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

      Correct Answer:retrieval,'i before e' words
      Correct Answer:perceived,'except after c' words
      Correct Answer:seized,exception to the rule words

      Q2.
      Match each word to the number of phonemes it contains.

      Correct Answer:reins,4
      Correct Answer:hay,2
      Correct Answer:seismic,6

      Q3.
      Match the word to the representation of the 'ee' sound it contains.

      Correct Answer:meet,ee
      Correct Answer:meat,ea
      Correct Answer:even,e-e
      Correct Answer:she,e
      Correct Answer:protein,ei
      Correct Answer:relief,ie

      Q4.
      Select the words which contain the long vowel ee sound.

      Correct answer: caffeine
      diet
      Correct answer: happily
      eight
      Correct answer: cheat

      Q5.
      Select the words which contain the long vowel ay sound.

      Correct answer: eighty
      park
      Correct answer: veins
      chief
      please

      Q6.
      Select the homophones.

      Correct answer: eight
      eat
      Correct answer: ate
      tea

      6 Questions

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

      Correct Answer:thieves,'i before e' words
      Correct Answer:receipt,'except after c' words
      Correct Answer:caffeine,exception to the rule words

      Q2.
      Select the correct spelling of the word.

      purcieve
      purceive
      percieve
      Correct answer: perceive

      Q3.
      Select the correct spelling of the word.

      riseept
      reciept
      Correct answer: receipt
      riceipt

      Q4.
      Select the correct spelling of the word.

      proteen
      protien
      Correct answer: protein

      Q5.
      Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. Can you see the vayn in my arm?

      Correct Answer: vein

      Q6.
      Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. A ‘dayitty’ is a god or goddess.

      Correct Answer: deity

      To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Other sounds represented by the letter string ‘ei’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...