Making Spelling Easier for Kids - i before e | Kids First Children's Services

Making Spelling Easier for Kids – i before e

Here’s a good way to teach your kids the ‘i before e except after c’ spelling rule.

In words that include a ‘c’, ‘e’ and an ‘i’, the ‘e’ usually goes first if they make the ‘ee’ sound when they are put together.

For example, these words follow this rule:

Receive
Deceive
Ceiling
Receipt

They make the same ‘ee’ sound as other words that use an ‘ie’ combination, such as:

Achieve
Believe
Chief
Piece

It is the ‘c’ that makes the ‘i’ and the ‘e’ say ‘see’….

Some children remember this rule by learning that, when a ‘c’ comes before an ‘i’ and ‘e’, it ‘makes the letters swap spots’.

Of course, as is always the case with the English language, there are a few exceptions!

Sometimes words that make the ‘ay’ sound also fit the ‘i’ before ‘e’ rule.

Beige
Neighbour
Vein
Weight

And let’s not go there with words like weird, seize, foreign and caffeine that kids just have to learn as well!

When supporting your children with spelling rules, little tips like these act as problem-solvers. Your child can ask ‘does the word make the ‘ee’ sound?’ and if it does, there’s a good chance the ‘e’ comes before the ‘i’ if a ‘c’ is in the mix.

English! What a crazy language!

Sonja Walker
Teacher & Founder
2014 Kids First Children’s Services

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The Kids First Blog

Making Spelling Easier for Kids – i before e

How to get spelling help for your child

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