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Year 6

Spelling words with the suffixes -tion and -cian

I can spell words with the suffix -tion and -cian.

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New
New
Year 6

Spelling words with the suffixes -tion and -cian

I can spell words with the suffix -tion and -cian.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The /shun/ sound spelt -tion is the most common spelling.
  2. The /shun/ sound spelt -tion is used when the root word ends with 't' or 'te'.
  3. The /shun/ sound spelt -cian is used for jobs, e.g. politician, mathematician.
  4. The /shun/ sound spelt -cian is used when the root words ends in 'c' or 'cs' e.g. politics-politician.
  5. How to spell the curriculum words: competition and bargain.

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 word to change its meaning

  • Verb - a doing, being or having word

  • Noun - a naming word for people, places or things

Common misconception

Children may struggle to know which /shun/ spelling to use.

If needed, refer back to the Year 4 content where the /shun/ spellings are introduced initially. Emphasise that -tion is the 'best bet' and most common spelling and use that as the focus for the lesson.


To help you plan your year 6 english lesson on: Spelling words with the suffixes -tion and -cian, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Allow pupils to investigate the spelling patterns. Give them word cards with a range of /shun/ spellings on them, ask pupils to decide how to group the words and explain the rationale for it. Ask them to say the word in a full sentence and identify the root word to support.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
The words 'grumpiness', 'equality' and 'education' are what type of noun?
common noun
proper noun
Correct answer: abstract noun
Q2.
Match the root word to the noun formed with the suffix -ness.
Correct Answer:sad,sadness

sadness

Correct Answer:happy,happiness

happiness

Correct Answer:awful,awfulness

awfulness

Q3.
Match the word to the suffix it contains.
Correct Answer:education,-tion

-tion

Correct Answer:equality,-ity

-ity

Correct Answer:darkness,-ness

-ness

Correct Answer:musician,-cian

-cian

Q4.
Match the word to the word class. The suffixes will help you.
Correct Answer:luxurious,adjective

adjective

Correct Answer:equality,noun

noun

Correct Answer:summarise,verb

verb

Q5.
What word class is the word in bold in the following sentence? 'Education is extremely important.'
Correct answer: noun
verb
adjective
Q6.
Select all the words with the /shun/ sound at the end.
shop
Correct answer: passion
Correct answer: musician
special
Correct answer: action

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the root word to the related noun ending in -tion.
Correct Answer:educate,education

education

Correct Answer:found,foundation

foundation

Correct Answer:compete,competition

competition

Q2.
Match the root word to the related noun ending in -cian.
Correct Answer:physics,physician

physician

Correct Answer:music,musician

musician

Correct Answer:magic,magician

magician

Correct Answer:politics,politician

politician

Q3.
What rule is used when 'imagine' becomes 'imagination' when the suffix -ation is added?
Just add the suffix.
Correct answer: Remove ‘e’, then add the suffix.
Remove ‘ate’, then add -ation.
Q4.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I would like to become an elektricion when I'm older.'
Correct Answer: electrician
Q5.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'You must jump in without hezitacian!'
Correct Answer: hesitation
Q6.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'What an incredible invenshun!'
Correct Answer: invention

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