ie

I REVIEW the ie spelling pattern pronounced with the long-vowel i sound |ī|, as in pie and fries. [Lessons 45 and 46]

II & III LEARN the ie spelling pattern pronounced with the long-vowel e sound, |ē|, as in field and babies. Note: Most words that have ie within the same syllable are pronounced |ē|. This is a departure from the typical long-vowel pronunciation pattern.

Review: ie

IV REVIEW the ie spelling pattern involving either a long vowel i, |ī|, as in pie, or a long-vowel e, |ē|, as in brief. When spelling ie words, which comes first—the i or the e? One way to remember the proper order is to learn the phrase, “I [comes] before e except after c, or in words that say ā, as in neighbor and weigh.”

Two Additional Pronunciations for the ie Spelling Pattern

There are two very similar but unusual pronunciations for the ie spelling pattern that must be mentioned here. These are truly irregular and unusual, and their patterns affect very few words:

• The ie spelling with the long vowel u sound |ū|, as in view; and
• The ie spelling with the |ü| sound, as in lieutenant [see Lesson 89].

Listen Up! Homophones

V & VI REVIEW homophones. Homophones are words that differ in spelling and meaning but sound identical. Keep a dictionary handy and discuss these words with your student. Describing, defining, or providing the word in a sentence will help your student understand homophones. Context makes homophones easy to read. From this point forward, the challenge words will sometimes be homophones. Students are usually intrigued by and enjoy learning about these words.