stripe Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8110573.stm The spelling mantra "i before e except after c" is no longer worth teaching, according to the government. Advice sent to teachers says there are too few words which follow the rule and recommends using more modern methods to teach spelling to schoolchildren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Stan Schmidt has a *lot* of fun with this rule in his Life of Fred books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theresatwist Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8110573.stm The spelling mantra "i before e except after c" is no longer worth teaching, according to the government. Advice sent to teachers says there are too few words which follow the rule and recommends using more modern methods to teach spelling to schoolchildren. I totally agree! I haven't listened to the report. But I see words spelled incorrectly all the time thanks, I think, to the way we drill that rule into kids heads in this country. The two biggest culprits are foreign and weird. I almost never see either of those two words spelled correctly. People always put the "i" first. Honestly, I feel like the best way to learn to spell is to read a lot and to read a wide variety genres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 I didn't even know that the rest of the rule was "when it makes an EE sound." I think people see any word (weird, veil) and get confused. My biggest pet peeve is the new trend of making a plural with an apostrophe, but that is another matter.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenS Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I've seen it as "I before E except after C, or when pronounced like an A, as in neighbor and weigh." The whole rhyme makes a lot more phonics sense than just the short version usually taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I've seen it as "I before E except after C, or when pronounced like an A, as in neighbor and weigh." The whole rhyme makes a lot more phonics sense than just the short version usually taught. Spalding teaches the whole rule. And it *IS* useful, no matter what any government says.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 That is what I learned. It seems to work just fine for U.S. usage. I've seen it as "I before E except after C, or when pronounced like an A, as in neighbor and weigh." The whole rhyme makes a lot more phonics sense than just the short version usually taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8110573.stm The spelling mantra "i before e except after c" is no longer worth teaching, according to the government. Advice sent to teachers says there are too few words which follow the rule and recommends using more modern methods to teach spelling to schoolchildren. Mmmhmm... and am I supposed to care what a public school teacher has to recommend? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in NE Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Spalding teaches the whole rule. And it *IS* useful, no matter what any government says.:tongue_smilie: I agree. It IS useful! Just curious.... what are the "more modern methods"? Do they follow general texting guidelines?????:lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Just curious.... what are the "more modern methods"? Do they follow general texting guidelines?????:lol::lol: It's mentioned in the article I linked to. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8110573.stm Part of the answer: "There are so few words where the ei spelling for the ee sounds follows the letter c that it is easier to learn the specific words." These include receive, ceiling, perceive and deceit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Here's an interesting article that concludes It would appear that the 'i before e' rule, when taught properly, is very useful and works approximately 90% of the time. The research was limited, but it tends to support the rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 It's mentioned in the article I linked to. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8110573.stm Part of the answer: "There are so few words where the ei spelling for the ee sounds follows the letter c that it is easier to learn the specific words." These include receive, ceiling, perceive and deceit. But that isn't the ie or ei confusion. The "rule" is about what order, not if you use ei or ee! :confused: I like the funny sentences in SWR about the exceptions to "i before e". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 The problem with the i before e rule is that if you use it you'll never be able to spell the word weird. And weird is a very important word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 The problem with the i before e rule is that if you use it you'll never be able to spell the word weird. And weird is a very important word. yeah.... weird is foreign to the i/e rule ;) i like the poem in SWR too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Have you read the comments at the end of the article? People wrote the spelling rules they remember from childhood. There are some great rules there! I don't take the educational recommendations from the British government too seriously, and I think I'll ignore this one too. I keep finding myself shaking my head when I read articles like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I've seen it as "I before E except after C, or when pronounced like an A, as in neighbor and weigh." The whole rhyme makes a lot more phonics sense than just the short version usually taught.Here's AVKO's version, with explanations. Use i before eExcept after c Or when sounded as "EYE" or "AY" as in Einstein and weigh. Neither, weird, foreign, leisure, Seize, forfeit, and height Are Exceptions spelled right But don't let the C-I-E-N words get you uptight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I don't take the educational recommendations from the British government too seriously, and I think I'll ignore this one too. I keep finding myself shaking my head when I read articles like this. :iagree: And as for the comment at the end of the article He added that it would be helpful if spelling was allowed to evolve. :001_huh::blink::ohmy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 In the words of the mighty Brian Regan: It's i before e except after c and when sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh, and on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, and you'll always be wrong no matter what you say!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfatherslily Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Katilac, you beat me to it! :D ROFL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 a national government feels like it needs to make "policy" on children's spelling rules. Don't they have an economy to save or a war to fight somewhere? I think we should also look to the British government to tell how to wipe our bottoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Seeing as governments normally have educational standards or even curricula, I don't see anything wrong with suggestions about what should be taught. It wasn't as if the same government officials decided not to worry about national security, but instead spend the whole day worried about spelling rules, so that's a bit extreme. I have no problem with ie/ei words, myself, so I don't want to start writing "wierd" or "nieghbor" (it was hard for me to even type them!), but I don't understand abject horror about the evolution of spelling -- languages do change....Do you write "olde"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 *ahem* That would be neighboUr. :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 This spelling advice from the country that purged cheetah, corgi, holly and ivy from a recent children's dictionary as irrelavant words. (An editing decision made by a publisher, not the government, but still indicitive of a pervasive attitude.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 (edited) I didn't even know that the rest of the rule was "when it makes an EE sound." I think people see any word (weird, veil) and get confused. My biggest pet peeve is the new trend of making a plural with an apostrophe, but that is another matter.... :iagree: Spalding teaches the whole rule. And it *IS* useful, no matter what any government says.:tongue_smilie: How to Teach Spelling teaches it all too... but from what I can tell wierd would be considered an exception. Odd spellings due to different language influences will come up in later grades, maybe it is in there. Edit: ROFLOL! I spelled it wrong in this post. I couldn't correct it, that's just too good. Here's AVKO's version, with explanations. Awesome Moira! Edited June 22, 2009 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 The problem with the i before e rule is that if you use it you'll never be able to spell the word weird. And weird is a very important word. I use the i before e rule all the time both for myself and with my kids, but I have no problems remembering how to spell weird or foreign. If a rule generally holds true, I think it's easier to memorize the rulebreakers than forego learning the rule. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I use the i before e rule all the time both for myself and with my kids, but I have no problems remembering how to spell weird or foreign. If a rule generally holds true, I think it's easier to memorize the rulebreakers than forego learning the rule. JMO. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 And as for the comment at the end of the article Quote: He added that it would be helpful if spelling was allowed to evolve. :001_huh::blink::ohmy: Hopefully he said "if spelling were allowed to evolve." ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 *ahem* That would be neighboUr.:leaving: :lol: If only people would spell correctly, we'd have a lot more colour and flavour in the English language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 :lol: If only people would spell correctly, we'd have a lot more colour and flavour in the English language.I had an interesting discussion the other day about why "central" and "centric" are not spelled "centeral" and "centeric" in the US. We do both British and US spelling for most common words because she reads so much British children's lit that it was bubbling up spontaneously in her spelling. I'm Canadian, but haven't brought up Canadian spelling except to say it's a bit of both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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