Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Spelling sequence

Tricky Endings

Suffixes that cannot be told apart by ear

Lesson 16 of 17
Year 5 45 min

Objective

Spell words ending -cious/-tious, -cial/-tial, -ant/-ent and -able/-ible, using the root word and the preceding letter, and recognise where no reliable rule exists.

Board title: Endings that sound alike  ·  Say it: “Today we're spelling endings that sound exactly the same, like -cial and -tial, using the root word and the letter before to choose between them.”

Curriculum

  • Y5/6: words ending in -cious and -tious
  • Y5/6: words ending in -cial and -tial; -ant/-ance/-ancy and -ent/-ence/-ency
  • Y5/6: words ending in -able and -ible
  • Terminology: root word · suffix · vowel · consonant

Success criteria

  • hear that two endings sound exactly the same
  • find the root word hiding inside a long word
  • look at the letter just before the ending
  • choose an ending and say why I chose it

Key vocabulary

root word · suffix · ending · vowel · consonant · related word

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter: say official and essential aloud and let the class agree the two endings cannot be told apart by ear. Ask which ending each takes, let them fail at it, and say 'hold that thought'.
10 min
Model the two clues in order. Clue one, the root word: stretch it out loud, ob-ser-VA-tion, the a they hear is the a they write, then confidence → -ent and hesitation → -ant together. Clue two, the letter before: cover the ending, offi- ends in a vowel so -cial, essen- in a consonant so -tial. Then be honest: financial breaks clue two. It is a good bet, not a law, and children trust a teacher who admits it. Then the 'Put them together' slide: the -able/-ible lean (comfort → comfortable, poss- → possible), and say plainly that -cious and -tious are learnt by heart.
8 min
Stir the Pot on the whiteboard, Spicy band, where the long words live: look, cover, write, check, every time, and stop on anything ending -ant or -ent to ask for the root before you tap.
5 min
The four vote pairs: a child names the clue they used before each reveal (answers: a-left, b-right, c-right, d-left). responsible is the -able/-ible lean: a complete word before it usually takes -able, an incomplete stem like poss- usually takes -ible.
14 min
Worksheet, independent. Circulate on Task 3, where each word must come with the clue that chose it. The cruellest line is Spicy Task 2: one mistake, finantial, obeys the letter-before clue and is still wrong, so your strongest rule-followers walk into it, ask them whether the clue is a bet or a law.
3 min
Plenary: two children read a Task 3 word aloud and name which clue decided it. Then the class quiz: Polpetta's advert says Wanted: an assistant who is observent, say observation out loud, which vowel do you hear?
On screenSPAGhetti → Stir the Pot → Spicy. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. The Spicy levels carry the long words, stop on anything ending -ant or -ent and ask for the root before you tap.
SPAGhetti · Spelling sequence · Lesson 16 of 17  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils Tricky Endings · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the four pairs aloud and vote with thumbs. The lesson still works.
If they're on devicesLesson code TRKYE (on the worksheet footer) opens the right game, locks the café until 10 items are done, then unlocks it as the reward.

Misconceptions to watch for

Spelling by ear. speshal, ambishus, delitious. These endings are acoustically identical. Nothing in the sound will ever separate them; say so before they waste effort trying.

-able and -ible chosen at random. possable, comfortible. Rough guide: a complete word before it usually takes -able (comfort, enjoy); an incomplete stem usually takes -ible (poss-, terr-). It is a lean, not a rule.

Believing the clue is a law. finantial, initional. The letter-before clue is a good bet, not a guarantee. Teach it as a bet and name the exceptions on the same slide.

Hearing the wrong vowel in the root. observent, hesitent. They must stretch the longer relative deliberately, ob-ser-VA-tion, or the a never surfaces. Model the exaggeration.

The three sheets

Same four tasks on every sheet, in the same order, with the same look. Only the demand changes. Print the one each child needs; nobody does two.

Mild

Same four tasks as every other sheet, same order, same look, the demand is lower, not the dignity. Shorter passage in Task 2, and in Task 3 a word bank or words to tick, with printed sentence starters. Give it to anyone who needs a way in, and expect them to move up.

Medium

The core sheet. Give this to most of the class. No word bank; in Task 3 pupils choose from a few close options, then use one in a sentence of their own.

Spicy

Same four tasks, more demand, a longer passage with a subtler error, and Task 3 asks for two things at once. Not extra work; harder work. Nobody should be doing Spicy and the Medium sheet.

Adaptive teaching

  • Support: one ending pair only. Do -ant/-ent, since the root-word clue is the most reliable.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; read Task 2 aloud before they edit.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, find a word where both clues fail, and say how they would learn it.
  • EAL: Latin and Romance first languages help here, essenziale, speciale. Ask them; the cognates do real work.

Play it

Lesson code TRKYE at playspaghetti.com. The code is printed on the bottom of every pupil sheet with a QR, and Class Quiz in your dashboard opens the plenary quiz for this lesson pre-picked.

SPAGhetti · Spelling sequence · Lesson 16 of 17  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora