Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can spell words using -ious and -eous.
Key learning points
- The suffix -ous often turns nouns into adjectives and often means 'full of'.
- There are four key rules when adding the suffix -ous to a root word.
- When you hear the ‘ee’ sound before -ous, the most likely spelling is an ‘i’, but it is sometimes an ‘e’.
- How to spell the curriculum words: learn, group and earth.
Keywords
Root word - the base word from which other words are formed often by adding prefixes or suffixes
Suffix - a letter or group of letters added to the end of a root word
Pronunciation - the way a word is spoken
Adjective - describes a noun
Common misconception
You can hear the 'ee' in all words ending in -ious and -eous.
You cannot hear the 'ee' in words ending -geous, like 'courageous' (the 'e' is making the 'soft g' sound) or words with 'xi' or 'ti'.
Teacher tip
There are many words ending in -ous. Focus on those most commonly used and applicable to writing tasks. Words ending in -tious and -cious are introducted in upper KS2.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.When the word 'joy' becomes 'joyous' what rule is applied?
Q2.When the word 'vigour' becomes 'vigorous' what rule is applied?
Q3.Match the words to the rules that apply when the suffix -ous is added.
Just add -ous.
Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.
Remove the ‘y’, add -ious.
Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.
Q4.Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence. I felt jelus because it was my brother's birthday.
Q5.Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence. My fayvrit animal is the seal.
Q6.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence. The knight was very coraygeus.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the word to its root word.
joy
no obvious root word
fame
Q2.Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence. I felt envyus that day and I didn't like it.
Q3.Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence. My teacher looked very seerys.
Q4.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence. Are you curyus about what is behind this door?
Q5.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence. Please lern to spell my name correctly.
Q6.Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence. Which groop of children shall we play with?
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the Verb and adjective suffixes unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.