Explain to your students that many people, not only students, have difficulty spelling. That's one of the reasons spelling rules were created. Remind students of the spelling rule: i before e except after c. Call on them to think of words that illustrate this rule and write them on the chalkboard. For example: received, receipt, ceiled. Point out that, while this rule is true in general, there are some exceptions. Write the following words on the chalkboard:

ancient
deficient
glacier
hacienda
juicier
proficient
agencies
scientific
fanciest
concierge
laciest
democracies

Have students look at the list and find words that contain similarities. Students should note the following:

• Adjectives, such as juicy and fancy drop the y and add -ier or -iest
• Words that end in -cient
• Some foreign words, such as hacienda and concierge do not follow the rule.
• Words that end in -cy (democracy, lunacy, agency) drop the y and add -ies to form the plural.

Remind students that, as they write and come across a word that appears to have the i before e after c rule, to stop and think if it follows the rule or if it is an exception.

Create a bulletin board display entitled Spelling Rules. Have students list one or two rules and some examples of each. Beneath each rule have students also list words that are exceptions to the rule. Encourage students to add words to bulletin board as they come across them in their reading. Remind students to remember these rules and their exceptions when the play the SCRABBLE^® game.