English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 30 minutes
Make verbs with -ify, -ise/-ize, -ate and -en
Vocabulary
CCSS L.5.4.BEngland: Y5 GPS (converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using suffixes)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Make verbs with -ify, -ise/-ize, -ate and -en.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Prefixes sub-, inter-, super-, anti- and auto-; Word families and word classes
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Prefixes sub-, inter-, super-, anti- and auto-; Word families and word classes). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What does "automatic" mean? (working by itself / working between machines / working under water / working against itself) → working by itselfPrompt: Find the prefix and think about what it means.
- Choose the form of the word that fits the sentence. The ___ was cold and grey. (dark) (darkly / darkness / darken / dark) → darknessPrompt: What job does the gap do: a thing (noun), describing (adjective), action (verb) or how (adverb)?
- Which prefix completes the word? ___act (act with each other) (sub / inter / anti / auto) → interPrompt: Read the clue in brackets.
Hook · 3 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Make verbs with -ify, -ise/-ize, -ate and -en. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Which suffix turns "length" into a verb?
- Step 1: The suffixes -ify, -ise/-ize, -ate and -en turn nouns and adjectives into verbs. (-ise is common in the UK; -ize in the US.)
- Step 2: So the answer is: -en
- Answer: -en
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Which suffix turns "solid" into a verb? (-ify / -ise/-ize / -ate / -en) → -ifyPrompt: Try each suffix on the word. Which makes a verb you have heard?
- Join the word and the suffix to make a verb. Type it. (Either -ise or -ize is accepted.) dark + en → darkenPrompt: Does the word end in e or y? Usually drop the e; drop or change the y.
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which suffix turns "beauty" into a verb? (-ify / -ise/-ize / -ate / -en) → -ifyPrompt: Try each suffix on the word. Which makes a verb you have heard?
- Join the word and the suffix to make a verb. Type it. (Either -ise or -ize is accepted.) summary + ise/ize → summarisePrompt: Does the word end in e or y? Usually drop the e; drop or change the y.
Watch out for
- Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
- Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Prefixes sub-, inter-, super-, anti- and auto-.
- Use concrete materials: word cards.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-5.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder