About this activity
Sixteen words split by the rule: cat, cup, cold and candy have a hard c; city, cent, circle and cycle have a soft one; goat, game, gum and garden have a hard g; giant, gym, gentle and giraffe have a soft one. The rule that decides it is genuinely reliable and rarely taught explicitly — the letter that follows determines the sound.
How to use it in a session
State the rule and let the words prove it. C and g are soft before e, i and y, and hard before everything else — sort the sixteen and let the student check it against every one. Cycle and gym are the y examples and are worth doing last, since y as a vowel is a separate complication. Ten minutes covers the sixteen with the sorting.
What to listen for
Watch whether the student uses the rule on an unfamiliar word. Recognising that cat has a hard c is recognition; predicting that a new word beginning with ce will be soft is the rule working. Notice giraffe, which follows the rule with an i, and get, which is a genuine exception — worth mentioning so the student is not thrown when they meet it.
Carrying it home
Point out the letter after the c or g in words while reading. Circle and cat on the same page make the rule visible in about five seconds, and once a child has seen it hold twice they start checking it themselves on every new word.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second and third, as part of structured phonics work on spelling rules.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all sixteen words play free.
- Are there exceptions?
- A few, mostly with g — get, give and girl have a hard g before e or i. C is more reliable. The rule is worth teaching as strong rather than absolute.