Choose exam board for KS4 Computer Science (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 English
Choose exam board for KS4 French
Choose exam board for KS4 Geography
Choose exam board for KS4 German
Choose exam board for KS4 History
Choose tier for KS4 Maths
Choose exam board for KS4 Music
Choose exam board for KS4 Physical education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Religious education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Spanish

      Other sounds represented by the letter string ‘ie’

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

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

      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 ‘ie’ can represent a range of different sounds.
      4. Some spellings with ‘ie’ are formed from root words ending in ‘y’ and a vowel suffix.
      5. How to spell the curriculum words: ancient, soldier and bargain.

      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

      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

      Loading...

      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match each word to the number of phonemes it contains.

      Correct Answer:valley,4

      4

      Correct Answer:relief,5

      5

      Correct Answer:he,2

      2

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

      Correct Answer:lie,2

      2

      Correct Answer:belief,5

      5

      Correct Answer:seize,3

      3

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

      Correct Answer:e-e,athlete

      athlete

      Correct Answer:ei,ceiling

      ceiling

      Correct Answer:ie,relief

      relief

      Correct Answer:ea,teams

      teams

      Correct Answer:y,funny

      funny

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

      Correct answer: hungrily
      eight
      Correct answer: Easter
      sky
      Correct answer: compete

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

      Correct answer: crime
      thief
      Correct answer: lie
      in
      fir

      Q6.
      Select the words which contain the long vowel ay sound.

      Correct answer: weight
      receive
      boat
      Correct answer: they
      chair

      6 Questions

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

      Correct Answer:niece,'i before e' words

      'i before e' words

      Correct Answer:deceiving,'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.

      hygeen
      Correct answer: hygiene
      hygeine

      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. It was an aynchunt monument.

      Correct Answer: ancient

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