This Real Grammar resources pack provides everything that you need to explore the range of suffixes taught in Year 2 and listed in English Appendix 2: vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. Suffixes included in the resource pack are -er, -est, -ness, -less, -ful, -ly and -ment. Teaching slides, worksheets, games and an opportunity to apply the new learning in a writing task are all included to create a complete KS1 resource to teach adding various suffixes to words and exploring how they change the word and its use.
It is recommended that this resource pack is used once pupils have been introduced to each suffix individually; using the activities in this pack to revisit pupils’ understanding of suffixes taught in Year 2. Real Grammar resource packs are available for each of the suffixes individually. Pupils will also need to be familiar with nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
What is a suffix?
A suffix is a group of letters that can be added to the end of a word. The suffix can change the word’s meaning. Examples of suffixes include -ing, -ed, -er, -est, -ness, -less, -ful, -ly and -ment.
When are the suffixes -er and -est added to words?
The suffixes -er and -est are added to words to create adjectives that can compare things. When comparing two things, the suffix -er is used to form a comparative. If more than two things are compared, we add the suffix -est to create a superlative.
- My sister is taller than me but my brother is the tallest.
The suffix -er can also be used to create nouns.
- Mary will be your helper today.
When is the suffix -ness added to words?
The suffix -ness can be added to words to form nouns.
- kind – kindness
- happy – happiness
When is the suffix -less added to words?
The suffix -less can be added to words to form adjectives. The suffix means ‘to not have’ or ‘without’.
pain – painless
hope – hopeless
When is the suffix -ful added to words?
The suffix -ful can be added to words to form adjectives. This suffix means ‘to be full of’.
- pain – painful
- forget – forgetful
The suffix -ful is also used in some words that are nouns. The noun that these are formed from are usually containers.
- spoon – spoonful
- cup – cupful
When is the suffix -ly added to words?
The suffix -ly is added to words to form adverbs. They can give the answers to the following questions within a sentence: How ...? When ...?, Where…?, How often…? or How much ...?
- gentle – gently
- loud – loudly
When is the suffix -ment added to words?
The suffix -ment can be added to words to form nouns. This suffix is most commonly added to verbs. Nouns ending in this suffix name an action or the result of an action. Knowledge of the meaning of the root word will help pupils to understand the meaning of the new word created when adding the suffix.
- enjoyment – the act of enjoying something
- amusement – the result of something being amusing
What are the spelling rules when adding suffixes to words?
Many words can just have the suffixes added to the end of the words but there are some spelling rules which pupils will need to learn and apply (detailed in English Appendix 1: Spelling).
Doubling the consonant
When the word has a single vowel making the short vowel sound /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ and ends in a single consonant, we double the last letter. These words usually have only one syllable.
big - bigger - biggest
Words ending in ‘e’
When a word ends in an ‘e’, we remove the ‘e’ before adding the suffix.
large - larger - largest
Words ending in ‘y’
For words ending in a consonant followed by a ‘y’, the ‘y’ is changed to an ‘i’ before adding the suffix .
tidy - tidier - tidiest.
What is included in this resource pack?
This pack is divided into five parts:
TEACH
This section includes PowerPoint teaching slides and teaching notes with an optional script to introduce adding mixed suffixes. It can also be used to revisit this aspect of grammar with pupils.
PRACTISE
An independent activity for pupils to practise using what they have been taught, allowing teachers to assess understanding.
REVISIT
A series of short, 10-minute activities that can be used following the TEACH session to revisit and rehearse what has been taught. These may be short writing tasks, grammar games or editing/proofreading activities.
APPLY
A short writing task where pupils can use the grammar skills taught in context to produce independent writing.
REVISE
Five SATs style test questions, including cloze activities and multiple choice quiz questions, based on the grammar that has been taught.
Teachers can choose which section of the resource pack to use according to their pupils’ needs and could use the activities over a series of lessons or weeks
Teacher notes are provided to show how these quality resources could be used with pupils.
How is this resource pack differentiated?
The PRACTISE and REVISE sections include three activities differentiated for three levels of ability:
- Worksheet 1 for pupils who may need support. Questions will have a lower cognitive domain (what is being asked of pupils) and/or vocabulary used may be simplified where possible.
- Worksheet 2 for pupils working at age related expectations.
- Worksheet 3 for pupils who may need an additional challenge and may be working at a greater depth in this area. Questions will have a higher cognitive domain with more challenging vocabulary.
SUPPORT and CHALLENGE ideas are also included in the teacher notes of each section where relevant, with ideas of how to support pupils working towards the expected standard or at greater depth in this area.
What pupil-facing resources are included?
PPT slides; model text ‘Lost toy’; suffixes word mat
Practise 1, Practise 2 and Practise 3 worksheets
Game 1 and game 2
Planning sheet, PDF images
PPT slides; Revise 1, Revise 2 and Revise 3 worksheets
Answer sheets for all worksheets are provided, where appropriate.