The suffixes - ant, - ance and - ancy Learning objective We are learning to spell words which use the suffixes -ant, -ance and -ancy.
What pupils already know Pupils will have encountered a variety of suffixes and understand that they change the meaning of the root word. They should be able to give a number of examples.
Key vocabulary root word, suffix
Teaching notes • The suffixes -ant, -ance or -ancy can often be added to the same root. • Ask pupils to explain what a suffix is. Examples: Show pupils the words hesitant, hesitance and hesitancy. Ask the pupils to think about the root word (hesitate) and the suffix for each word, separating the two, and writing them down on a whiteboard or paper. Explain that each of these suffixes can require modification of the root word. The -ate from hesitate is removed and then any of the suffixes can be added. Show this for tolerate when adding the suffixes to make tolerant and tolerance. Ask pupils to decide what happens when observe becomes observant or observance (the e is dropped before adding the suffix), and what happens to expect when it becomes expectant, expectancy (the suffix is added without any modification of the root word). Pupils should write down the words with the suffixes. For pupils: Steps to success: 1. Will using a word with a suffix improve your writing? 2. Does the new word make sense? 3. Spell the root word correctly and add the suffix, modifying the root word as necessary.
Independent activity Refer pupils to the Year 6 Spelling Pupil Book, pages 32–33.
28