New
New
Year 6
Using and applying the suffixes -cial and -tial
I can spell words with the suffixes -cial and -tial using spelling rules and exceptions.
New
New
Year 6
Using and applying the suffixes -cial and -tial
I can spell words with the suffixes -cial and -tial using spelling rules and exceptions.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The suffix -cial is common after a vowel letter.
- The suffix -tial is common after a consonant letter.
- Words ending in the suffix -cial or -tial are generally adjectives.
- Exceptions include: financial, commercial, provincial.
- How to spell the curriculum words: occur, occupy and communicate.
Keywords
Suffix - a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning
Vowel - a speech sound produced with an open mouth
Consonant - a sound that is made by blocking air in the mouth with the teeth, tongue, lips or palate
Root word - the base word from which other words are formed often by adding prefixes or suffixes
Common misconception
Often the root of the word is hard to spell so this leads to incorrect spellings.
Discuss words that children find hard and look for root words that you recognise, or parts of the word that are difficult.
Explore the exception words within the lesson in more detail and see if children can make any links. For example, the spelling of 'financial', 'commercial' and 'provincial' are clearly related to 'finance', 'commerce' and 'province'. These words all end in 'e'.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Match each word to the representation of the 'sh' sound it contains.
sh
ti
ci
Q2.
The -cial spelling of /shul/ is usually used if the letter before the /shul/ ending is a ...
consonant.
double letter.
Q3.
The -tial spelling of /shul/ is usually used if the letter before the /shul/ ending is a ...
vowel.
double letter.
Q4.
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: My birthday is a speshul day.
spetial
speshul
Q5.
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: This letter is conffidenshul because nobody else can read it.
confidenshul
confidensial
confidencial
Q6.
Write the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: During the exam, it is crushal to show your working out.
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
If the letter before the /shul/ ending is a vowel, -cial is usually used, like in 'social'. Which word is an exception to this rule?
social
crucial
essential
Q2.
If the letter before the /shul/ ending is a consonant, -tial is usually used, like in 'confidential'. Which word is an exception to this rule?
essential
social
torrential
Q3.
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: It was an ofishul document from the bank.
offitial
oficial
Q4.
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: There was a parrshul closure of the park.
parshal
parcial
Q5.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: The biographies occuppy the top shelf in the library.
Q6.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence. You can comunikate with your friends using your phone.
Additional material
Download additional material