Spelling Lesson Plans
Use our step-by-step spelling lesson plans for spelling success! You and your students will gain confidence in spelling in tricky words by progressing methodically through key concepts.
Teaching IE/EI Words
The printable lesson includes ten steps for spelling success. Shown here are just a few of the steps in this important lesson. This lesson is suitable for grades 5 and up, including ESL students and adults.
See our list of 285 IE/EI words for more practice.
Pretest
Begin with this short pretest. Decide if
ie
or ei
goes in each blank.
1. My n__ ghbor bel __ves he can ach__ve almost anything.
2. N___ ther the dog nor the cat w____ghs more than our pet
turkey.
3. When my fr__nd drinks too much caff__ne, he starts acting
w___rdly!
4. Clare hopes to rec___ve a job after the interv___w.
5. Our v___ns move blood to and from the heart.
Check your answers at the end of this lesson.
Step One
Memorize this rule. It doesn’t always work, but
it will help
you with many of these tricky words.
Put
i before e
Except
after c
Or
when sounded like a
As in neighbor and weigh.
Now let’s look at each part
of the rule, one piece at a time.
Step Two
Put i before e…
IE words that fit the rule: achieve, belief, believe, brief, chief, die, field, fierce, friend, grief, grieve, niece, pie, piece, relief, retrieve, shield, siege, thief, tie, view, yield
Finish spelling these words:
th __ f br___ f fr___ nd gr___ f n___ce
rel___ f f ___ ld y ____ ld v___w ach ___ ve
Write sentences for these words: shield piece believe
Check your answers at the end of this lesson.
Step Three
Except after c…
EI words that fit the rule: ceiling, conceive, conceited, deceive, perceive, receipt, receive
Finish spelling these words:
rec ___pt conc___ted perc ___ve
Write sentences for these words: receive ceiling deceive
Check your answers at the end of this lesson.Step Four
Now practice both sets of words that you’ve learned so far. Finish the words.
1. The winds blew so f___rcely that no one could bel___ ve
the damage they caused.
2. I will need a
rec___pt for the money you rec____ved from me.
3. My mom was so rel ___ved to have the bathroom c___ling
painted.
4. The th ___ f did not ...
There's much, much more to this lesson! Print the entire spelling lesson plan to see all ten steps needed to master IE/ EI words and to check your answers.
Our list of 285 IE/EI words will give students of all ages plenty of words to practice.
More Spelling Lesson Plans
Here's another step-by-step spelling lesson plan about doubling final consonants when adding suffixes.
Spelling Exercises - Ready-to-use sentences for students to copy from the board. Use ours, then follow this format to make more of your own spelling exercises.
How to Teach Spelling - Teachers, start here! We provide key guidelines for anyone who is trying to teach spelling, regardless the age of the student.
Spelling Homework - The more practice the better! 20 fabulous, flexible ideas for any list of weekly spelling words. Several ideas include input from a family helper
Other Recommended Resources
Home › Spelling Lessons > Step-by-Step Lesson for EI/IE Words
Subscribe or Read the Latest Updates Here
-
Make Phonics for Kindergarten Lots of Fun!
Try these successful, common-sense suggestions for teaching phonics for kindergarten students today. We have lots of fun phonics activities, too!
-
Phonics Flash Cards and Fun Ideas for Using Them Effectively!
Use our free printable phonics flash cards to help your early learners succeed. Cards include upper and lower case letters plus cute images to reinforce the learning!
101 Word Play Puzzlers Discover the FUN of letters & words as you solve each unique puzzle. Great vocabulary & spelling practice!
AnyWord Spelling Practice Series Worksheets, games & prompts that work with almost ANY spelling words!
Fun Spelling Worksheets for Grades 1/2 50 All-new reproducible pages for early learners!
NEW! Spelling Bee Boosters - for parents and students
300 Spelling Bee Words by Grade Level, with definitions, sentences and languages
Spelling Bee Toolboxes for Grades 3/5 and 6/8 All the resources you need for a successful bee!
The Gigantic Spelling Bee Words & Sentences in 3 volumes. Now available with sentences, definitions & language of origin
Mammoth Spelling Bee Word Lists with sentences, definitions, and languages
Monumental Spelling Bee Word Lists with definitions, sentences and languages
Colossal Spelling Bee Word Lists Definitions, parts of speech & sentences
Young Spellers Spelling Bee Word List for Grades 1 & 2
100 Difficult Spelling Bee Words, Definitions & Sentences Our toughest lists, for upper grades and adults!
600 Spelling Bee Words & Sentences for Gr 3/5 & 6/8 Extra words & sentences at two levels