Spelling help, please

[domestic_engineer]

Is there a rule to know when to use “ce” vs “se“ when trying to spell the /s/ sound?  Or is it just by visual memory?  For example ... expense, except, sense, percent ....

 

Thanks in advance. 

[Little Green Leaves]

7 hours ago, domestic_engineer said:

Is there a rule to know when to use “ce” vs “se“ when trying to spell the /s/ sound?  Or is it just by visual memory?  For example ... expense, except, sense, percent ....

 

Thanks in advance. 

I was hoping a spelling expert would answer this. I always go by memory but now I'm curious.

I was a good speller until I spent time in the UK, where suddenly all the rules were different and I looked foolish, especially when it came to SE vs CE. Lots of times they use "ce" where I, an American, would use "se." They have a department of defence, for example. We have a defense department.

Someone explained to me that in many cases, the British use "ce" for the noun form of the word and "se" for the verb. For example, the team PRACTISED all morning vs the team had their PRACTICE session in the morning. We Americans do that for advice (the noun) vs advise (the verb) but otherwise it's mostly dropped out of our language. 

Anyhow, all of this makes me suspect that the rules have all gotten really mixed up over the years and we're probably best off just going by memory.

[Arctic Bunny]

Well, yes, the noun/verb difference, for example, having a driver’s licence, and being licensed to drive. But does it really matter? I have no idea!

 

 

[domestic_engineer]

1 hour ago, Little Green Leaves said:

I was hoping a spelling expert would answer this. I always go by memory but now I'm curious.

I was a good speller until I spent time in the UK, where suddenly all the rules were different and I looked foolish, especially when it came to SE vs CE. Lots of times they use "ce" where I, an American, would use "se." They have a department of defence, for example. We have a defense department.

Someone explained to me that in many cases, the British use "ce" for the noun form of the word and "se" for the verb. For example, the team PRACTISED all morning vs the team had their PRACTICE session in the morning. We Americans do that for advice (the noun) vs advise (the verb) but otherwise it's mostly dropped out of our language. 

Anyhow, all of this makes me suspect that the rules have all gotten really mixed up over the years and we're probably best off just going by memory.

ha!  I was just trying to get through an AAS lesson with my 2nd child who doesn't have great visual memory.  I can't remember if/where AAS discussed this.    We hadn't even thought about the British variants .... although we got ourselves in a pickle when wondering why "expense" isn't related to the monetary unit "pence".  🙄

@MerryAtHope, @ElizabethB do you know how to teach "se" vs "ce"?

[PeterPan]

8 hours ago, domestic_engineer said:

with my 2nd child who doesn't have great visual memory.

Have you checked her developmental vision? My dd was in that boat and turns out she had convergence issues that were affecting the rest of her visual processing. Her visual memory at age 11 was the level of a 2 year old! No wonder she had trouble remembering spellings, lol. Vision therapy took care of it and at that point we went back through all the spelling using AAS after years of SWR. It was like she was seeing the spelling again with her new eyes.

[domestic_engineer]

Great thinking!  Developmental vision has been checked, and vision therapy completed!  

[PeterPan]

53 minutes ago, domestic_engineer said:

Great thinking!  Developmental vision has been checked, and vision therapy completed!  

Did they update the visual processing testing so you have scores? Has dyslexia been on the table?

I continued working on spelling (AAS1-6 and then dictation) through about 7th with my dd. Then we just gave up. That visual input with the spell check got her the rest of the way.

Edited September 3, 2020 by PeterPan

[domestic_engineer]

I do suspect stealth dyslexia. 

Earlier,  I didn’t mean that the visual memory is in the needs-remediation range but rather lower-than-average. That was imprecise wording on my part. 

As someone without dyslexia, I rely greatly on my visual memory for “se” vs “ce”, but I can see this child struggling to determine what version looks right. Hence, I was hoping there was a rule that we could turn to.   The noun/verb idea is a start but I wonder if it  has too many exceptions and end up being frustrating instead.