i-e, ie, igh, ir: Year 6 Spelling Patterns

Year 6 KS2 SATs spelling list: 30 words with the i-e, ie, igh and ir graphemes, each with a dictation sentence. Printable PDF for tests and homework.

2-page A4 PDF from the Tiger Shark Education spelling bank. Each numbered word is followed by a sentence using it in context, with the word in bold. Words such as surprise, achieve, variety, lightning and firstly, sorted by the sound each grapheme makes. Numbering restarts under each heading.

Which graphemes are covered here? i-e (surprise), ie (achieve, variety), igh (lightning) and ir (firstly), sorted by the sound each grapheme makes. ie is especially tricky because it can say ‘ee’ (achieve), ‘igh’ (pie) or be split across two syllables (variety).

Common mistakes and tips: Common mistakes are ‘suprise’, ‘acheive’ and ‘varity’. Saying variety slowly (va-ri-e-ty) shows why both letters are needed. For ie and ei, check which sound the word makes before applying the ‘i before e’ rule.

The SATs spelling paper asks pupils to spell 20 words dictated in context, and patterns such as these come up regularly. Because the words sit within the Year 5 and 6 programme of study and the statutory word lists, the practice also feeds directly into teacher assessment of writing.

How teachers use it: as a ready-made bank for weekly spelling tests, for dictation practice, or as targeted homework. Children can sort the words into groups, find more examples in their reading or write their own sentences. For SATs revision, mix in words from earlier lists so pupils practise choosing between patterns, not just repeating one.

Why a word bank rather than a fixed list? Every class is different, so this sheet gives you all the words for the pattern rather than a ready-made set of ten. You can choose words to match your pupils’ needs, build in revision from earlier weeks and differentiate easily: fewer, more common words for some children and the full list, including the less familiar words, for others. Each word comes with a sentence showing it in context, which matters because the SATs read every word within a sentence, and because many children can spell a word in a list but not in their own writing.

Read the word, the sentence, then the word again, as in the KS2 SATs spelling paper. Use it as a word bank: pick 10 to 20 words for a weekly test, dictation, an intervention group or homework. Also suits Year 5.

Part of a set of 40 grapheme-organised sheets covering all 1,164 words in the spelling bank.