Year 4 · Spelling patterns
Adding bits to the front and the end
Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them
Key learning points
- • Prefixes never change the root
- • What the common prefixes mean
- • Suffixes sometimes do change the root
- • The -ation and -ous endings
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 18 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- No marked quiz yet
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 18
Watch first
Adding bits to the front and the end
Add a little piece to the front of a word and watch its meaning change.
In a nutshell
Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them
What you already know
Part 2 of 18
Before we start
What you already know
You can spell common words and know that un- turns a word into its opposite.
Key words
Part 3 of 18
Key words
Words you'll need today
- root word
- The word you start with, like happy in unhappy.
- prefix
- A bit added at the front: un-, dis-, in-, re-, sub-, inter-, super-, anti-, auto-.
- suffix
- A bit added at the end: -ly, -ness, -ful, -ation, -ous.
Learning cycle
Part 4 of 18
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 — Prefixes
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 18
Learn
Prefixes never change the root
This is the best news in spelling: when you add a prefix, the root word stays exactly the same. un + happy = unhappy. dis + appear = disappear (one s, two p's — the root already had them). in + correct = incorrect. re + turn = return. mis + spell = misspell (two s's, because mis ends in s and spell starts with s). Never drop a letter to make it look neater.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 18
Learn
What the common prefixes mean
un-, dis- and in- usually mean 'not' or the opposite: unkind, dislike, invisible. re- means again: rebuild, replay. sub- means under: submarine, subheading. inter- means between: international. super- means above: supermarket. anti- means against: anti-clockwise. auto- means self: autograph. Knowing these means you can often guess a new word.
Quick check
Part 7 of 18
Quick check
mis + spell = ?
Reset break
Part 8 of 18
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 18
Quick check
happy + ly = ?
Learning cycle
Part 10 of 18
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 — Suffixes and the rules
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 18
Learn
Suffixes sometimes do change the root
Adding -ly to a word ending in y usually swaps the y for i: happy becomes happily, angry becomes angrily. Words ending in -le swap to -ly: gentle becomes gently, simple becomes simply. Adding -ness works the same way: happy becomes happiness. With -ful and -ness there is only ever one l or one s at the join: careful, kindness.
Explore the idea
Part 12 of 18
Learn
The -ation and -ous endings
-ation turns a verb into a noun: inform becomes information, adore becomes adoration (the e goes), sense becomes sensation. -ous makes an adjective: poison becomes poisonous, danger becomes dangerous, fame becomes famous (again the e goes). If the word ends in a soft -ge sound, keep the e: courage becomes courageous.
Quick check
Part 13 of 18
Quick check
What does the prefix sub- mean?
Quick check
Part 14 of 18
Quick check
danger + ous = ?
Common mix-ups
Part 15 of 18
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- Dropping a letter at the join, writing 'mispell' instead of misspell.
- Keeping the y when adding -ly, so 'happyly' instead of happily.
- Writing 'famouse' or 'dangerus' instead of famous and dangerous.
Challenge round
Part 16 of 18
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Mastery quiz
Part 17 of 18
No quiz for this one
This lesson has no marked quiz attached yet.
Lesson round-up
Part 18 of 18
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
The last bus
The bus shelter smelled of wet coats. Mira pressed her timetable flat against the glass, as though staring at the numbers might make the 9:42 appear. Rain tapped the roof in small, impatient fingers. Somewhere behind her, a shop shutter came down with a sound like a full stop.
She had been brave all day. She had been brave in the corridor, brave at lunch, brave when the register reached her name and nobody looked up. Being brave, she decided, was mostly a matter of keeping your face still.
Headlights swung around the corner and lit the puddles gold. Mira picked up her bag. Tomorrow she would say something. Tonight she would simply go home.
Original extract written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Find two words or phrases that show how Mira is feeling, and explain what each one suggests.
- How does the writer use the weather and the sounds to build the mood? Use a short quotation.
- Write the next paragraph in the same style, keeping the writer's short sentences at the moments that matter.
Reading response
ReadingRead the extract again, then write about how the writer makes you feel that way. Use a short quotation and explain your choice of words.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
WritingWrite your piece in full, then redraft the opening so it hooks the reader.
250–350 words
Reading log
ReadingNote the book, the pages you read and one thing you noticed about the writing.
20 minutes' reading
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 18 · Watch & discover