Glossary · Spelling rules and patterns
When do you use ck?
Definition
Spell /k/ as ck when it comes straight after a short vowel and ends a one-syllable word (duck, pick); use k after a consonant or long vowel (milk, cake).
Ck is a digraph for one sound, /k/. It is used in the same position the floss rule covers: directly after a short vowel. Rock, deck, stick and quack all follow it.
After a consonant, use k alone: desk, tank, milk. After a long vowel or vowel team, use k too: bike, cake, soak, week. At the start of a word, choose between c and k by the next letter. C goes before a, o, u and consonants; k goes before e, i and y.
In words of two or more syllables, a final /k/ after a short vowel is usually spelled c: picnic, music, plastic. The ck spelling returns before suffixes, as in picnicking.
In a lesson
Dictate stack, tank and soak. The student checks what comes right before /k/ in each: short vowel, consonant, vowel team. Three words, three reasons, ck then k then k.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- stacks·t·a·ck
- tankt·a·n·k
- soaks·oa·k
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Record c, k and ck choices together; students confuse all three. A note like “uses ck after consonants” pinpoints the fix.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.