Tools for Instruction
Suffixes -hood, -dom, -ous, -eous, -ious
Content-area texts often contain many unfamiliar words, and students in later grades are expected to read
with increasing levels of autonomy. Because of this, it is essential to help students develop active strategies for
approaching these words in a way that does not halt reading or comprehension. Guide students to understand
how affixes, such as the suffixes -hood, -dom, and -ous/-eous/-ious, can be added to base words or word roots to
form new words with predictable meanings. To further aid comprehension, teach related suffixes in groups.
Three Ways to Teach
Teach Suffix Functions 10–15 minutes
•Explain that a suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word or a word root. A suffix changes the
word’s meaning and sometimes it can change the word’s part of speech.
• Then, using a chart like the one below, work with students to demonstrate how particular suffixes change a
word’s part of speech.
Suffix
-ous
Meaning
having or being full of
Base Word
danger (noun)
New Word
dangerous (adjective)
-eous
mountain (noun)
mountainous (adjective)
-ious
beauty (noun)
beauteous (adjective)
error (noun)
erroneous (adjective)
grace (noun)
gracious (adjective)
harmony (noun)
harmonious (adjective)
• Display the chart without the parts of speech, and point to the base word danger.
• Say, When you have a map, there is no danger of getting lost. Ask students to name the part of speech for
danger. (noun) Record it on the chart.
• Then say, My journey through the storm was dangerous. Have students name the part of speech of dangerous.
(adjective) Discuss how the suffix formed an adjective from a noun, and the new adjective describes
something that has or is full of the noun.
• Guide students to repeat the exercise with the remaining suffixes and words. Explain that the suffixes -eous
and -ious have the same meaning as the suffix -ous, but often change the spelling of a base word slightly.
• When the chart is complete, ask students if they can name a rule for how these suffixes change the function
of the base words. (They turn nouns into adjectives.)
• Invite students to list other words with the target suffixes and use them orally.
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Vocabulary I Level 7 I Suffixes -hood, -dom, -ous, -eous, -ious I Page 1 of 2
i-Ready Tools for Instruction
Experiment with Suffixes 10–15 minutes
When students add affixes to base words and word roots, they expand their vocabularies and increase their
awareness of word relationships. Encourage students to experiment with making words containing the target
suffixes, even if the words they create are not real words.
• Display a chart such as the following, showing the target suffixes, their meanings, and examples.
Suffix
-hood
-dom
Meaning
state or quality of
a condition, a rank, a territory, or a
class of people
Examples
falsehood, womanhood, childhood
boredom, freedom, kingdom
• Model breaking apart the examples to show how the suffixes and base words are related. For example,
say, False means “not true.” When we add the suffix -hood, meaning “state or quality of,” we get falsehood. A
falsehood is something that has the quality of being untrue.
• Provide a list of base words students are likely to recognize, such as brother, music, neighbor, church, cook,
bachelor, chief, and whale.
• Have pairs of students form new words with the base words and suffixes. Explain that some words they
create will not be real words, but ask them to think as they play about how words are built and how the
suffixes affect each word’s meaning.
• Invite students to share their words and define them. For example: Childhood is the state of being a child. A
cookdom is a territory ruled by a cook. Keep a list of real words and nonwords to avoid confusion.
Write with Suffixes 20–30 minutes
Connect to Writing  To help students integrate words containing the target suffixes into their vocabularies,
have them write short poems using the words in ways that demonstrate their meanings. Students can
brainstorm words, or you can provide the following list for additional support.
adventurous
mischievous
mountainous
kingdom
courageous
freedom
joyous
childhood
outrageous
falsehood
hilarious
neighborhood
Challenge students to use as many of the words as possible, and remind them that they can be as creative and
as silly as they like. Display the following example.
I didn’t think I was adventurous / Until my habitat turned mountainous. / I’d feared all heights since my
childhood, / But now hills are my neighborhood!
Check for Understanding
If you observe...
Then try...
confusion about a word with a suffix that has more
than one meaning
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guiding students to understand the word in context.
For example, say, Boredom made me sleepy. Does
boredom mean “a territory ruled by a bore,” or “the
condition of being bored”?
Vocabulary I Level 7 I Suffixes -hood, -dom, -ous, -eous, -ious I Page 2 of 2