How To Teach Suffixes
Once your students know how to read words with prefixes, you can move on to suffixes Suffixes are letters that come after a word that change its meaning. While there are more, I typically cover the suffixes er, est, ly, ful, less, ness, ment, able, ible, tion, and sion, which are the most common.
As a special education teacher, I find that introducing one or two suffixes a week works well. If you’re teaching general education, you may find you’re able to progress more quickly. I follow the same general lesson plan for phonics each week, which is easier for both you and your students. In this post, I’ll use the suffix ful for examples and explain how I would teach words with ful over the course of one week. You can follow the same structure when teaching other suffixes.
Day 1
Explain to students that suffixes are letters that are added to the end of a word that change its meaning. We call the original word a base word. Different suffixes mean different things. Using a poster, explain that the suffix ful means “full of a certain quality or causing that quality.” Write the word “helpful” or show a word card with the word. Model noticing the suffix ful and the base word help. Note that this means the word means “full of help.” A helpful person is someone who helps a lot. Find the matching definition card or write the definition.
Explain or review the three rules for adding suffixes, which are as follows:
For base words ending in a short vowel and a consonant, double the consonant when the suffix begins with a vowel.
For two syllable base words ending in y, change the y to i.
For base words ending in the letter e, drop the e when the suffix begins with a vowel.
These rules should be familiar to students if they have learned how to add affixes such as -ed and -ing. Note that because the suffix -ful does not begin with a vowel, the first and third rules do not apply when adding -ful. Download a suffixes rules posters below for FREE by signing up for The Designer Teacher mailing list below:
Lead students in guided practice of reading and defining more words with the suffix ful. Then, practice reading fluency sentences together that contain words with ful. You can find the needed word cards, definition cards, and fluency sentences in my Phonics by Design Suffixes Unit.
Day 2
Briefly review what you taught yesterday, and then tell students they’ll be practicing writing words with the suffix ful today. Show or write the base word “beauty.” Model how to spell “beautiful”, noting that you must change the y to i because beauty is a two syllable word ending in y. Continue with other base words, having students spell the -ful form of each word as you record on the board or chart paper. Finally, have students practice on their own by telling them base words or definitions and having them write down word with suffix ful. For example, you could say, “what word mean full of power?” and students would write “powerful.”
Day 3
Today students will independently practice reading, writing, and defining words with the suffix ful. I use the activity sheets included in my Phonics by Design Suffixes Unit and in my No Prep Pack.
Day 4
Review the meaning of ful before introducing a simple suffix matching game they can play in pairs. Spread out the cards in a grid face down. When it’s their turn, the student will turn over two cards and read the words and/or definitions. If it’s a match, they keep the pair. If not, they put the cards back, face down. Students alternate turns until all pairs have been matched. The student with the most pairs wins. You can find suffix matching games in my Phonics by Design Suffixes Unit.
Day 5
Assess students by dictating ten words with the suffix ful and having them record the words. You can make this more challenging by telling them only the base word or the definition. If you have time and a small enough group, you may also wish to have individual students read a few words with ful for you as well.
This lesson plan schedule for teaching suffixes is simple but effective!
Save yourself time by snagging everything you need to teach suffixes in one place with my Phonics by Design Suffixes Unit Bundle. You’ll get all the materials mentioned in this post for each suffix (word cards, definition cards, fluency sentences, activity sheets, matching game), plus posters, flap books, and more! Snag it here.
Don’t forget to grab the suffix rules poster for FREE by signing up for The Designer Teacher mailing list below!
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