Other sounds represented by the letter string ‘ie’ | English

Starter quiz

Match each word to the number of phonemes it contains.
- valley
  
  ⇔
  
  4 ✓
- relief
  
  ⇔
  
  5 ✓
- he
  
  ⇔
  
  2 ✓
Match each word to the number of phonemes it contains.
- lie
  
  ⇔
  
  2 ✓
- belief
  
  ⇔
  
  5 ✓
- seize
  
  ⇔
  
  3 ✓
Match the word to the representation of the 'ee' sound it contains.
- e-e
  
  ⇔
  
  athlete ✓
- ei
  
  ⇔
  
  ceiling ✓
- ie
  
  ⇔
  
  relief ✓
- ea
  
  ⇔
  
  teams ✓
- y
  
  ⇔
  
  funny ✓
Select the words which contain the long vowel ee sound.
- hungrily ✓
- eight
- Easter ✓
- sky
- compete ✓
Select the words which contain the long vowel igh sound.
- crime ✓
- thief
- lie ✓
- in
- fir
Select the words which contain the long vowel ay sound.
- weight ✓
- receive
- boat
- they ✓
- chair

Exit quiz

Match the words linked to the rule 'i before e, except after c'.
- niece
  
  ⇔
  
  'i before e' words ✓
- deceiving
  
  ⇔
  
  'except after c' words ✓
- protein
  
  ⇔
  
  exception to the rule words ✓
Select the correct spelling of the word.
- hygeen
- hygiene ✓
- hygeine
Select the correct spelling of the word.
- recievd
- recieved
- received ✓
- receivd
Match the words to show the sound the letters 'ie' are making in it.
- applies
  
  ⇔
  
  ‘ie’ makes the sound ‘igh’ ✓
- parties
  
  ⇔
  
  ‘ie’ makes the sound ‘ee’ ✓
- friend
  
  ⇔
  
  ‘ie’ makes a different sound ✓
Select the correct spelling of the word.
- happyer
- happyier
- happier ✓
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence. It was an aynchunt monument.
- 'ancient' ✓

Worksheet

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

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!

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