English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 45 minutes

Endings: -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian

Spelling

CCSS L.4.2.DEngland: Y3/4 Spelling (-tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Endings: -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian.

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: Suffix rules: doubling, drop the e, y to i

Leads to: ie or ei?; Endings: -cious/-tious, -cial/-tial

Materials: Word cards, Look-say-cover-write-check sheets, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Suffix rules: doubling, drop the e, y to i). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Join the word and the suffix: nice + er. Type the new word. → nicerPrompt: Look at the end of the root word: is it a single consonant after a short vowel, an e, or a y?
Which spelling is correct for happy + er? (happieer / happyer / happier / happyyer) → happierPrompt: Look at the last letters of the root word.
Join the word and the suffix: clap + ed. Type the new word. → clappedPrompt: Look at the end of the root word: is it a single consonant after a short vowel, an e, or a y?

Hook · 5 min

Show a word spelled two ways and ask which looks right, then why.
Share the objective: Endings: -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Which ending completes the word? confu___ (from confuse)
Step 1: The ending depends on the last letters of the root word.
Step 2: The root ends in d, de or se, so we use -sion.
Step 3: The word is "confusion".
Step 4: So the answer is: sion
Answer: sion
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 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 ending completes the word? admi___ (from admit) (ssion / sion / cian / tion) → ssionPrompt: Look at the root word in brackets. How does it end?
Which ending completes the word? direc___ (from direct) (ssion / sion / tion / cian) → tionPrompt: Look at the root word in brackets. How does it end?

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Which ending completes the word? divi___ (from divide) (tion / cian / sion / ssion) → sionPrompt: Look at the root word in brackets. How does it end?
Which ending completes the word? televi___ (from televise) (sion / ssion / cian / tion) → sionPrompt: Look at the root word in brackets. How does it end?

Watch out for

Spelling every word exactly as it sounds.
Learning a list for a test but not using the words in writing.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Suffix rules: doubling, drop the e, y to i.
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

Move on to: ie or ei?; Endings: -cious/-tious, -cial/-tial.
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-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder