Ten scrambled words, each with ie or ei, open this four-page Year 5 spelling sheet. A clue sits beside each one, from 'How heavy something is' to 'To take away pain or worry'. Pupils then use three answers in sentences and pull out letters to find a word that breaks the 'i before e, except after c' rule. The words link to the England National Curriculum Year 5 spelling objectives. The answer key lists every word.
Spelling
“Use knowledge of morphology and etymology in spelling and understand that the spelling of some words needs to be learnt specifically, as listed in English Appendix 1”
Ceiling, receipt and deceit follow the after-c pattern, while weird is an exception pupils have to learn on its own.
Pupils unscramble ten words such as C E P I E and V E E R C I E, using the clue next to each.
Three sentences need receive, achieve and thief, taken from the unscrambled answers.
Pupils take set letters from words 1, 5, 3, 10 and 9, then unscramble them to reveal WEIRD, a well-known exception.
Rule introduction
Teach the rhyme first. Once the table is done, ask pupils to sort the ten answers into ie and ei lists.
Early finishers
The Mystery Phrase keeps quick workers busy, and it only works if the earlier answers are right.
Spelling test list
Use the ten answers as the week's spellings, with the table as the first practice.
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