Teaching suffixes and word endings
Aim: Add common suffixes (-ful, -less, -ness, -ment, -ly) and know when the root word changes.
How to explain it
A suffix is an ending added to a word. Most of the time you simply add it: kind + ness = kindness. Two things to remember: if the word ends in a consonant then y, the y changes to i (happy + ness = happiness), and the ending -ful only ever has one l, even though the word full has two. Some endings sound the same but are spelled differently (-tion, -sion and -cian all say 'shun'), and a clue helps: -cian is for people's jobs, as in musician.
Starter (5 minutes)
Write five word sums on the board: care + ful, hope + less, kind + ness, happy + ness, enjoy + ment. Children say the answers aloud first, then decide which ones changed spelling and why.
Main activity
Sort a set of word cards into two groups: 'just add it' and 'y changes to i'. Then build new words from the same roots (happy, happily, happiness) and check each one against the rule. Finish with pairs that break the pattern: enjoy + ment keeps its y because a vowel comes before it.
Dictation sentences
- The kind nurse was careful with the injured puppy.
- Her happiness was easy to see.
- He was hopeless at hiding in the garden.
Watch out for
- Writing -full with two l's (carefull).
- Keeping the y before a suffix (happyness).
- Changing y to i after a vowel (enjoiment, plaiful).
Quick check
Ask children to spell these without help:
- helpful
- sadness
- merriment
- playful
Example words
- careful
- happiness
- enjoyment
- quickly
- beautiful
- hopeless
- information
- famous
- comfortable
- possible
- television
- musician