Teaching Prefixes And Suffixes

Get ready. Get set. This blog will show you everything you need to know about how to teach prefixes and suffixes.

From my 16+ years of teaching, I can tell you there are some topics that make teaching as easy as 1 – 2 – 3.

• Your lesson plans are smooth as silk — and research-based
• You have baseline, formative, and summative tests ready to go
• You have resources for centers and tools to differentiate
• You have whole-class games, digital learning opportunities
• You have material for morning work, early finishers, and homework

— all before you ever speak the first word of the lesson.

And there are other topics for which the phrase, “blood, sweat, and tears” doesn’t begin to describe how hard it was to pull a good lesson together.

Either way, your goal is to teach in a way that helps students learn on their own.

You also want more for yourself than pulling lessons together at the last minute. But, sometimes . . . the demands of being a teacher leave too little time for good planning.

So, let me show you how to teach prefixes and suffixes . . . in a way that empowers students to learn on their own.

A bundle of digital games and printable worksheets for prefixes and suffixes is the # 1 hack teachers use to empower students to learn new vocabulary . . . on their own.

Teachers who have a variety of resources are more likely to see their students engaged in learning.

As encouraging as this graph is — and as much as you want to empower your students to build their vocabulary — you are likely struggling in 4 areas:

• Knowing the right definition for “prefix”
• Finding research-based lesson plans and resources
• Figuring out which prefixes and suffixes to teach
• Locating the most engaging resources

So where do you find answers to these four problems?

In this blog, of course!

Worksheets on Prefixes and Suffixes

I’ve created some awesome research-based games and worksheets for prefixes and suffixes. My bundle even has video games!

I love doing research. That’s why I read a dozen research articles before I ever started creating these prefix and suffix resources.

Solving problems in my own classroom feels good, and I want to share that joy with you!

In short, you want to have research-based resources that will keep students engaged and empower them to build their vocabulary. You already know that students with strong vocabulary are more independent in the classroom. Here are the 4 easy steps to teaching prefixes and suffixes.

1. Teacher Hack #1 – Be a prefix goddess
2. Teacher Hack #2 – Wave your wand over the five-step lesson plan
3. Teacher Hack #3 – Use the magic of word families
4. A quick Q&A about teaching prefixes and suffixes

Be sure to grab a free copy of my baseline prefix and suffix test to get you started!

Teacher Hack #1 – Be a prefix goddess

A goddess reigns!

And, I want you to reign over the classroom by using a very precise definition for prefix. This ensures that you will teach prefixes and suffixes like the goddess you are!

It’s important to make sure you are using the right definition for prefix because this empowers your students to learn independently (after your mini-lesson).

You might be thinking, “I know what a prefix is!” or, “How hard can it be?”

But, the truth is that when you went to college, you were probably taught a different definition of prefix than the teacher in the classroom next to you.

Why is that? Research shows that college textbook authors don’t present the same definitions for what a prefix is (Stotsky, 1977).

No wonder we have butterflies in our stomach when it comes to teaching prefixes and suffixes.

Even The Best Teachers Break Out In A Cold Sweat When It Comes To Teaching Prefixes And Suffixes.

But, a goddess uses the right tool at the right time. Sharing the “right” definition of a prefix is like waving a magic wand that enables students to quickly see what a prefix is.

Moreover, teaching prefixes and suffixes from the beginning of the school year empowers students to grow their vocabulary throughout the year.

So, exactly what is a prefix?

I use the research-based definition of prefix (White, Sowell, & Yanagahira) which is:

Prefixes are letters that go in front of a word. When a prefix is added, it changes the meaning of the word. When the “prefix” is removed, a real word must be left.

Now that you are reigning over this mini-lesson with the right prefix definition, let’s look at how to teach it.

Teacher Hack #2 – Wave your wand over the five-step lesson plan

Using a five-step lesson plan makes teaching prefixes as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

By the way . . . all goddesses should have a copy of my research-based, five-step lesson plan (for free)!

Here are the five steps.

First, Introduce An “I Can” Statement.

I like to tell students what they will be able to do when the lesson is over. That’s why I have an “I Can” statement for almost every lesson.

So, I base my “I Can” statements on the Common Core State Standards. For this lesson, I use two “I Can” statements:

• I can identify the most common prefixes and suffixes
• I can identify the meaning of the most common prefixes and suffixes

Second, Use Our Definition Of A Prefix To Explain What A Prefix Is.

Prefixes are letters that go in front of a word.

• When a prefix is added, the meaning of the word changes.
• When the prefix is removed, a real word must be left.

Third, Warn Students Of “False Friends”.

The definition of a prefix is very specific: When you peel the prefix off a word, a real word should be left.

To help students grasp the concept of “false friends”, I pose this question:

Which of these two words does not have a prefix?
“Reader” or “Repay”

You can help students see that “reader” is not a prefixed word by doing these three things:

1. Ask students to remove the letters they think might be a prefix.
2. Ask them, “What word is left?”
3. Help them see that since “ader” is not a word, “reader” can not be a prefixed word.

Fourth, teach students that some prefixes have two different meanings.

For example, “re” means both “back” and “again”. If you review a document you are viewing it again, not viewing it back. Likewise, if you repay someone you are paying back, not paying again.

Give students a few examples of words with prefixes that have more than one definition. Allow students to practice thinking through “false friends”.

Fifth, Introduce Definitions For The Prefixes And Suffixes You Want To Teach.

Here are the charts I use to introduce prefixes, suffixes, and their definitions.

Prefix	Definition	Example	Meaning
Re	Again, back	Replay	Play again
Un	Not, opposite	Unable	Not able
Dis	Not, opposite	Dissatisfied	Not satisfied
Mis	Wrongly, opposite	Misunderstood	Wrongly understood

Suffix	Definition	Example	Meaning
-er	One who	Catcher	One who catches
-est	Most	Cleanest	Most clean
-ed	In the past	Played	Play in the past
-s & -es	(More than one)	Tables	(More than one) table

Worksheets for Prefixes and Suffixes

Now that you’ve taught students what a prefix is, it’s time to give them a variety of practice.

Starting out, a concentration game is a great way for students to build their understanding of each prefix and suffix.

You can grab a copy of a concentration game with the most common prefixes and suffixes in my store.

To summarize:
Step 1: Introduce the “I Can” statement
Step 2: Use a research-based definition to introduce “prefix”
Step 3: Warn students of “false friends”
Step 4: Teach students that some prefixes and suffixes have 2 meanings
Step 5: Introduce common prefixes, suffixes, and their definitions

Finally, empower students with lots of chances to grow their vocabulary by practicing with prefixes and suffixes.

Our exclusive guide on “How to Teach Prefixes and Suffixes in a Fun Way” (i.e., the goddess’ five-step lesson plan) builds on these first five steps. It highlights our independent video games, kid-friendly, fun-filled printables, and digital worksheets that grow students’ vocabulary.

Teacher Hack #3 – Use the magic of word families

The magic behind growing students’ vocabulary comes from word families.

After you’ve shared the right definition for prefix and waved your wand over the five-step lesson plan, it’s time for the magic elixir!

When you combine a variety of prefixes and suffixes with a root word, you can make many new words; it’s called a word family.

Here’s an example of a word family:

As you can see, once your students know a particular base word they will be able to read about 15 more words when they know how to apply prefixes and suffixes. That means, they could also understand much more of what they’re reading.

Knowing and applying word analysis skills — prefixes, suffixes, and root words — is the #1 asset for building students’ vocabulary.

If you teach students 9 basic prefixes and suffixes (i.e., re, un, dis, mis, er, ed, est, ing, s/es), and they also learn 9 base words per week (i.e., calculate, understand, continue) the power of word families means they would know up to 2,916 words (9 words x 36 weeks of school x 9 prefixes/suffixes). This assumes that you could add each of the 9 prefixes and suffixes to each base word, which is not hard to do in most cases.

Worksheets for Prefixes and Suffixes

Ask yourself, “What resources do I need to leverage the power of word families?” I use a resource that allows students to practice two basic skills:

1) build words by adding different prefixes and suffixes to a base word
2) sort words by whether or not they have a prefix, a suffix, or both

In the worksheet above, students are challenged to identify whether a word has a prefix, a suffix, or both.

I love the worksheet below, because it empowers students with great word analysis skills; students take each word apart. Using Google, students move individual parts of a word into the correct column.

Practicing these two skills allows students to build a strong vocabulary. They need a lot of practice in building vocabulary skills. That’s why I added an additional set of prefix-suffix vocabulary worksheets to one of my favorite Google Slides products.

This product also has a printable version. You can grab a free sample in my TPT store.

Frequently Asked Questions

Teaching Prefixes And Suffixes

Q: In What Grade Should I Start Teaching Prefixes And Suffixes?

A: Many teachers start teaching beginning-level (i.e., s/es, ed, ing) prefixes and suffixes in 1st or 2nd grade.

The vocabulary explosion that happens around 4th grade is credited to students’ ability to read and apply prefix and suffix knowledge (Nagy and Anderson, 1984).

To make sure students are ready for that 4th-grade vocabulary explosion, expose them to re, mis, dis, un, er, est, ed in 2nd and 3rd grade.

Continue teaching prefixes and suffixes in 4th through 6th grades.

Q: What Time Of Year Should I Teach Prefixes And Suffixes?

A: I start teaching prefixes and suffixes at the beginning of the year so students have the tools they need to build their vocabulary all year long.

Most teachers I know also teach prefixes and suffixes throughout the year. There typically isn’t a stand-alone unit on prefixes and suffixes because the point is to create an environment where students are picking up new vocabulary words on their own throughout the year.

Q: What Do Students Need To Learn Prefixes And Suffixes?

A: The majority of time students are learning about prefixes and suffixes is during independent learning time i.e., centers. This means four things:

1. You need a solid introductory lesson to ensure students are on track during when working alone
2. Students will a lot of opportunities to practice
3. You need a variety of activities
4. With a variety of resources, you’ll be able to differentiate to meet individual need

Q: How Should I Introduce Prefixes?

A: It is important to have an introductory lesson to clarify exactly what a prefix is and how to recognize prefixes and suffixes. So you’ll want to make sure to grab our exclusive Teacher’s Guide for how to teach prefixes and suffixes in a fun way. The guide includes:

1. Editable Google Slide presentation
2. A step-by-step research-based lesson plan
3. Examples of how to introduce prefixes and suffixes
4. Tactile vocabulary puzzles that require students to engage with the prefixes, suffixes, and root words in a stimulating way.
5. 10 Frayer Models with prefixed and suffixed words in the center
6. Blank Frayer Model templates so you can use your own vocabulary word

Q: Which Prefixes And Suffixes Do I Teach?

A: Did you know that just a handful of prefixes can carry students a long way toward learning those 3,000 word families each year? The prefix “un”, for example, is credited with being in 26% of all prefixed words.

Q: How Can I Make Prefixes And Suffixes Fun?

A: Giving students choice is the first step to keep them engaged. For this, you will need a variety of resources to keep students engaged. I offer students games that are so fun they don’t know how much they are learning.

You’ll want to have these types of resources for your students:

Q: How Should I Teach Prefixes And Suffixes?

A: Learning prefixed and suffixed words is similar to learning other vocabulary words. In their book, Vocabulary for the Common Core, Marzano and Simms say students should be able to:

1. Have multiple opportunities to work with a word
2. Define the word
3. Give an example of the word in context i.e., write or say a sentence
4. Draw a picture or symbol or even act it out i.e., charades
5. Write a synonym
6. Write an antonym
7. Identify the root word, prefix, and suffix

My free guide on how to teach prefixes and suffixes in a fun way is packed full of good things:

• Teacher directions for introducing prefixes
• 10 pre-made Frayer model graphic organizers i.e., words already inside
• 1 blank Frayer model template
• 36 vocabulary puzzles
• 1 Build It worksheet and answer key
• 1 Define It worksheet and answer key
• 1 Sort It worksheet and answer key

You can gain access to this set of free resources here.

Conclusion

Even if there are days you feel overwhelmed about how to teach certain topics . . .

Even if you feel stressed out from coronavirus, remote learning, hybrid learning, and face masks . . .

Even if you didn’t initially know there were “false friends” in the prefix world . . .

You can create a powerhouse experience for your students without consuming hours of your planning time.

There are moments when teaching is grueling . . . but when your students’ vocabulary explodes, your smile will light up for a week . . . and you’ll feel glowing admiration of parents, students, and colleagues . . . for what your students have achieved.

If you are ready to give your students the best prefix-suffix instruction . . . worksheets. . . games . . .word work centers . . . assessments . . . small group games . . . whole group games, click here to take action today and get the prefix-suffix bundle in your teacher toolbox now.

My prefix and suffix bundle has all of this:

• individual and partner games
• word work activities
• literacy center resources
• themed activities i.e., surgery
• digital and printable worksheets
• holiday activities i.e., back-to-school, halloween, winter holidays, valentine’s day, easter
• video games
• whole class games

Know that you are ready to use all these magical tools to teach prefixes and suffixes in a fun way.

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