WordBits Unit 8: Y5 Spring Morphology - Tricky Suffix Spelling Boundaries (10-Week Sequenced Unit)

A complete 10-week Year 5 Spring term morphology unit, teaching five tricky suffix spelling boundaries (–able, –ible, –ance/–ence, –ant/–ent, –tion/–sion/–ssion) – pick it up, read through it, and teach it with confidence.

This is Unit 8 of WordBits: The KS2 Morphology Programme, a 12-unit spiral curriculum built term by term across Y3–Y6, three units per year group, one per term, each building on the last, with the same care going into every one. It follows on directly from Unit 7's prefix work, moving from word beginnings back to word endings while staying in Y5, and builds on the suffix foundations laid in Y4's Unit 5.

What's included:

• 37-slide presentation (PDF and PowerPoint/PPTX): cover slide plus 30 teaching slides across five two-week blocks
• 6 Rewind retrieval slides for low-stakes recap
• Full presenter notes on every slide: linguistic background, common misconceptions, and ready-to-use pupil-facing language, included as a printed document as well as built into the slides, so you're never tied to reading off a screen
• A full Teacher's Guide explaining the programme structure, terminology, and how to use it across the term
• A full Programme Map showing how all 12 units sequence across Y3–Y6
• Not editable: locked, polished slides, so nothing shifts or breaks on any device
• Genuine curriculum exceptions flagged and explained where they occur

This unit covers five suffix spellings that often sound identical but attach differently depending on the word underneath: –able/–ible, –ance/–ence, –ant/–ent and –tion/–sion/–ssion (think acceptable, possible, distance, confident, discussion). The deciding factor is whether the suffix attaches to a whole word pupils already know (a base, like accept) or a word part that can't stand alone (a root, like poss–). Aligned to the National Curriculum spelling and vocabulary objectives for Years 5 and 6, and to the explicit morphology teaching recommended in the DfE's July 2025 Writing Framework. Morphology teaching doesn't just support spelling and vocabulary: it gives pupils a way to read unfamiliar words by breaking them into recognisable parts, which matters well beyond English lessons.

Some of this unit's words break the general pattern outright: responsible and sensible take –ible despite response and sense being complete words in their own right. We flag these genuine exceptions clearly in the presenter notes rather than skating past them.

Structure: Monday, Wednesday, Friday for teaching input. Tuesday and Thursday for Rewind retrieval activities. Ten teaching weeks, with two weeks built in for consolidation and assessment at your discretion.

Built for whole-class teaching, with you in the driving seat. You know your class best, so pacing, grouping, and any additional scaffolding for pupils with SEND is left in your hands, where that judgement belongs.

Everything you need to teach the whole term is in this one download. No extra printables, manipulatives, or planning documents required.

Further units are being released in term order – Summer units coming shortly.

This unit builds directly on the Advanced Prefixes taught in Unit 7 (Y5 Autumn). Free sample available.