4th Grade Decoding/ Word Attack
Structural Analysis:
Suffixes: -tion, -sion, -al, -ial
Look at this word and listen to me read it out
loud. As I read, decide how many syllables you
hear and where the word should be divided.
Turn and tell your partner what the suffix is and
what the root word is.
concentration
Give a thumbs up if you said that the
word has 4 syllables, (con/cen/tra/tion)
the suffix is tion and the root word is
concentrate.
Look at this word and listen to me read it out
loud. As I read, decide how many syllables you
hear and where the word should be divided.
Turn and tell your partner what the suffix is and
what the root word is.
division
Give a thumbs up if you said that the
word has 3 syllables, (di/vi/sion) the suffix
is sion and the root word is divide.
Look at this word and listen to me read it out
loud. As I read, decide how many syllables you
hear and where the word should be divided.
Turn and tell your partner what the suffix is and
what the root word is.
tropical
Give a thumbs up if you said that the
word has 3 syllables, (trop/ic/al) the suffix
is al and the root word is tropic.
Look at this word and listen to me read it out
loud. As I read, decide how many syllables you
hear and where the word should be divided.
Turn and tell your partner what the suffix is and
what the root word is.
facial
Give a thumbs up if you said that the
word has 2 syllables, (fa/cial) the suffix is
ial and the root word is face.
A suffix such as –tion, -sion, -al, or –ial is usually
the last syllable in a word. The suffix –ial is
usually pronounced with 2 syllables (although it
wasn’t in facial). When you come across a
longer word, you should try breaking the word
into syllables and word parts such as prefixes,
suffixes and root words. Decoding each syllable
will help you pronounce the word.
Look at the words below. With your partner,
identify the suffix in each word. Then break the
rest of the word into syllables and use these
syllables to read the word
Word
janitorial
jan
i
tor
i
occasional
oc
ca
sion
illogical
il
lo
gic
al
conversation
con ver
sa
tion
al
al
Partner Practice
Choral read these
words with your
partner.
concentration
division
tropical
facial
occasion
janitorial
illogical
conversation
explosion
tutorial