There are three sections in this resource:

Overview of Affixes with Unchanging Base Words
Video Demonstration
Teaching Tips

The estimated time to complete this resource is 15 minutes.

You may download and print the following documents by clicking the links below.

Lesson Plan
Lesson Materials
Word List
Video Transcript

An affix is a word part added to the beginning or end of a base word to create a new word. Some words have an affix at the beginning, which is called a prefix, and others have an affix at the end, which is called a suffix. Words can also have both a prefix and a suffix.

Some common prefixes include: de-, mis-, pre-, and un-.
Common suffixes include: -ing, -ly, -ness, and -y.

Also keep in mind that sometimes affixes can change the meaning of words. Teaching affixes will help students read larger, more complex words and discover their meanings.

This video demonstrates how to teach students to read words with affixes when the base word does not change.

Click play on the video when you're ready to begin.

When teaching affixes:

• Teach one affix at a time.
• Choose base words that are decodable.
• Scaffold by grouping words with the same combination of affixes. For example, read carelessly, thanklessly, and hopelessly. Then read skillfully, thankfully, and hopefully.
• Model using some of the words in a sentence and ask whether students can determine the words’ meanings by looking at the affixes.
• Initially focus on reading words. Discuss word meaning after students can read the word.

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