About this activity
Twelve words built on re- meaning again: redo, rewrite, refill, replay, rebuild, reread, restart, retell, repaint, reuse, rewind, recheck. Every base is a common verb the student already owns, which is what makes re- the best prefix to teach first — the meaning is transparent and the payoff is immediate.
How to use it in a session
Give the base verb and ask for the re- word, rather than the other way round. Producing rewrite from write is generation; recognising rewrite is not. Then ask for a re- word that is not on the list, which is the test of whether the pattern is available. Rewind is the interesting one — the base is not a verb most children use alone, and the meaning is backward rather than simply again. Eight minutes covers the twelve.
What to listen for
Watch for over-application to words that only look prefixed. A student who decides read means to ad again has the strategy running too eagerly, which is a good problem and easily corrected. Notice whether the student uses re- in their own speech afterwards — a child who says can I redo it has generalised.
Carrying it home
Re- words appear whenever something has to be done twice. Naming it — you're going to redo it, we'll refill that — takes no time and supplies the pattern in a real context.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- First through fourth, usually the first prefix taught explicitly.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve words play free.
- Why start morphology with re-?
- Because the meaning is consistent and the base words are already known. A child who knows write can get rewrite without being taught it, which makes the pattern obvious quickly.