Lesson 42: Suffix -ion

Discover How the Suffix -ion Changes Action Words into Naming Words

As children become stronger readers, they begin to notice that many words are made up of meaningful parts called morphemes. In this lesson, we introduce the suffix -ion, a common ending added to verbs to create nouns. The suffix -ion changes an action word into a naming word that refers to an action, event, process, or result.

Learning common suffixes helps children understand grammar, build vocabulary, and improve both reading and writing. Whether you're a parent, teacher, tutor, or homeschool educator, this free lesson provides engaging resources to support children's growing understanding of word structure.

Before You Get Started

All of the resources in this lesson—including the interactive presentation, worksheets, and classroom poster—are completely free to access and edit with Canva Education.

If you're a teacher, school staff member, or eligible homeschool educator, you can apply for a free Canva Education account to unlock these resources.

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Once your Canva Education account is approved, you'll be able to access, customize, and use all of the resources in this lesson at no cost.

What Your Child Will Learn

By the end of this lesson, your child will be able to:

• Recognize the suffix -ion.

• Understand that -ion changes many verbs into nouns.

• Identify the base verb.

• Explain how adding -ion creates a naming word.

• Read, spell, and use words ending in -ion.

• Build vocabulary and word analysis skills.

Morpheme Spotlight: The Suffix -ion

A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. Suffixes can change the meaning or the grammar of a word.

The suffix -ion is often added to verbs to create nouns. These nouns name an action, event, process, or result.

Examples include:

• act → action

• invent → invention

• collect → collection

• celebrate → celebration

For example:

• The children act in the play.

• Their action made everyone smile.

Or:

• People invent new things.

• The invention helped many people.

Notice that adding -ion changes the action word into a noun that names the action or its result.

Learning the suffix -ion helps children understand more complex vocabulary, improve reading comprehension, and recognise how words are related.

Teach the Lesson with the Interactive Presentation

Introduce the suffix -ion using the interactive presentation. It provides explicit instruction, word building, vocabulary practice, and engaging activities that help children understand how suffixes create new nouns. The presentation is suitable for classrooms, small-group instruction, intervention sessions, tutoring, or home learning.

👉 Access the presentation here:

Download the Free Worksheets

Reinforce learning with printable worksheets that provide opportunities to identify, build, read, write, and apply words ending in -ion. These activities encourage repeated practice while strengthening vocabulary and word analysis skills.

👉 Download the worksheets here:

Display the Classroom Poster

Support daily review with a printable classroom poster featuring the suffix -ion, its meaning, and example words. Display it on your literacy wall, vocabulary centre, or reading corner to provide children with a helpful visual reference throughout the lesson.

👉 Download the poster here:

Tips for Educators

• Explain that -ion often changes a verb into a noun.

• Teach children that words ending in -ion often name an action, event, process, or result.

• Encourage children to identify the base verb before adding the suffix.

• Compare the verb and noun forms in complete sentences.

• Point out that some words change their spelling before adding -ion, such as celebrate → celebration and invent → invention.

• Encourage children to use -ion words in speaking and writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is this lesson suitable for?

This lesson is designed for developing readers, typically between 5 and 8 years old, but it can also support older students who are building vocabulary and word analysis skills.

What is a suffix?

A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. It changes the meaning or the grammar of the word.

What does the suffix -ion do?

The suffix -ion often changes a verb into a noun that names an action, event, process, or result.

Do all verbs become nouns by adding -ion?

No. Only some verbs form nouns with -ion, and many change their spelling when the suffix is added. This lesson introduces the most common examples children are likely to encounter.

Can I use these resources in my classroom?

Absolutely! These resources are designed for classroom teachers, reading intervention, tutors, homeschool educators, and families supporting developing readers at home.

Continue Learning

Learning suffixes is an important step in developing strong vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension. Continue to the next lesson in the Developing Readers series as your child explores more prefixes, suffixes, and other meaningful word parts that help unlock the meaning of thousands of English words.

You may also enjoy exploring our growing collection of printable phonics, morphology, vocabulary, and literacy resources designed to make learning to read simple, engaging, and effective.