English // Spelling & Word Study
Suffixes (age 9+)
Spell words with Latin and French suffix patterns: endings sounding like /ʃəs/ spelt -cious or -tious (e.g., precious, cautious), /ʃəl/ spelt -cial or -tial (e.g., official, essential), and words ending in -ant/-ance/-ancy vs -ent/-ence/-ency (e.g., observant/observance, confident/confidence)
Quick check
Can the learner spell words with tricky endings like "-cious," "-tious," or "-cial" — for example, "precious," "cautious," or "official" — without making mistakes?
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Topic // Mastery
What mastery looks like
- Apply the pattern that -cious follows a vowel (spacious, gracious) while -tious follows a consonant (cautious, ambitious), noting common exceptions like anxious
- Choose between -cial (usually after a vowel: special, official) and -tial (usually after a consonant: essential, partial) when spelling words with the /ʃəl/ ending
- Select -ant/-ance or -ent/-ence by checking whether the root ends in a hard c or g sound (-ant: significant) or a soft c or g sound (-ent: innocent), and by applying word-family strategies
Topic // Map
Where this fits
- RequiredMust come first
- HelpfulHelps, but not essential
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1 topic- Suffixes (age 7+)Required
Spelling & Word Study // Ages 7 to 9
Latin/French suffix spelling patterns (-cious/-tious, -cial/-tial, -ant/-ance/-ent/-ence) build on Y3-4 suffix programme knowledge
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Suffixes (age 9+)
Ages 9 to 10 // Method
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Topic // Standards
Curriculum standards
- The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
- Eng_App1_Sp_Y56_01Eng_App1_Sp_Y56_02Eng_App1_Sp_Y56_03
English // Spelling & Word Study
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