3.2 Explicitly Teach Soft 'c' with '-ace' and '-ice'

You can introduce soft 'c' using this step-by-step lesson.

Say,

Today we are going to learn about another sound that 'c' can spell. 

What sound do we already know that 'c' can spell? [/k/] 

Yes, /k/. 

What vowels does 'c' like to look at when it's spelling the /k/ sound? ['a', 'o', and 'u'] 

Yes. 

Write the following words on the board: cat, cob, and cup.

'C' spells /k/ before 'a', 'o' and 'u', like in the words cat, cob, and cup. When 'c' looks at 'e', 'i', or 'y', 'c' will spell the /s/ sound.

Take out the '-ace' and '-ice' cards. 

Say,

Let's look at this card. I see the letters 'a', 'c', 'e'. I notice the magic 'e', and we know that it can make the 'a' say its long sound. 

I notice that the 'c' is looking at 'e', so 'c' is going to spell /s/. This says /ās/. 

Listen to what we'll say when we see this card: "'a', 'c', 'e', '-ace'."

Say and have students repeat,

'a', 'c', 'e', '-ace'.

Say,

Now let's look at our next card. I see the letters 'i', 'c', 'e'. I notice the magic 'e' and we know that it can make the 'i' say its long sound.

I notice that the 'c' is looking at 'e', so 'c' is going to spell /s/. This says /īs/. Listen to what we will say when we see this card: "'i', 'c', 'e', '-ice'."

Say and have students repeat,

'i', 'c', 'e', '-ice'.

On the board write the following words:

face, space, rice, spice.

Say, 

I am going to underline the patterns I see: '-ace' and '-ice'.

Underline the '-ace' and '-ice' in the words. Then have the students read the words together.

face, space, rice, spice

Now let's talk about spelling. 

Remember when 'c' is looking at 'e', 'i', or 'y', it spells the /s/. Now let's spell a word together! 

The word is lace. 

Let's tap the sounds in lace: /l/, /ā/, /s/. 

We have three sounds so I will write three lines on the board.

Write three lines on the board.

__  __  __

The first sound we hear is /l/, how do we spell /l/? ['l']

Write 'l' on the first line. 

l   __  __

Say, 

The next sounds I hear are /ā/, /s/. How did we learn to spell /ā/, /s/? [-ace] 

Right! Let's write 'a', 'c', 'e'.

Write 'a' on the middle line to sepll the /a/ sound. Then write, 'c' and 'e' on the last line to spell the /s/ sound. (As you know, the 'e' is silent so it goes on the line with 'c'.) 

l a c e

After explicitly modeling spelling words with '-ace' and '-ice', you'll move on to the dictation portion of your lesson. During this you will say words like place and slice. Students will repeat the word and tap the sounds in the word. You will discuss the soft 'c' sound and spelling pattern. 

When it's time to teach, we encourage you to use this research-based lesson plan to teach Lesson Plan for Soft 'c' ('-ace' and '-ice') (opens in new window). It's ready to print and use in your classroom right away!