Prefix un- Negation
Practice adding un- to adjectives and verbs: unhappy, untie, unlock, unfair.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Sort the twelve into the two meanings and let the difference be the lesson. Unhappy is not happy; unlock is not the opposite state of lock, it is the action of undoing it, and the distinction is real. Notice that the not group are all adjectives and the undoing group are all verbs — that pattern predicts which meaning applies and is worth naming.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintStress the part of the sentence that changes, or point to the word ending.Log as cued
- Sentence starterSay the first half of the sentence and let the student finish it.Log as cued
- ModelSay the correct form in the whole sentence; the student repeats it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a sentence starter every time, and do fewer cards.
Ask for a new sentence of the student's own with the same form, with no card to lean on.
Matching IEP goal
Given sentence cards, Student will produce the target grammatical form in sentences in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve un- words split across two meanings: unhappy, unfair, unkind, unsafe, uneven and unclear mean not; untie, unlock, unpack, undo, unwrap and unzip mean the opposite of, in the sense of undoing something. Most instruction teaches un- as not and leaves the second meaning to be discovered, which produces students who think unlock means not locked.
What to listen for
Listen for the two meanings being conflated. A student who explains unpack as not packed has applied the wrong sense, and the giveaway is that the word is a verb. Watch for over-application to words like uncle and under, which is a common and encouraging error — the strategy is working, just too enthusiastically.
Carrying it home
Un- words come up constantly: unzip your coat, unpack your bag, that's unfair. Asking what the un- is doing takes a moment and the answer differs between them, which is the interesting part.
What's in this activity
- unhappy = not happy
- unfair = not fair
- unkind = not kind
- unsafe = not safe
- untie = the opposite of tie
- undo = the opposite of do
- uneven = not even
- unclear = not clear
- unzip = the opposite of zip
- +3 more
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- First through fourth, as early morphology work.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve words play with no login.
- Does un- always mean not?
- No, and that is the most useful thing on this board. With adjectives it means not — unhappy, unfair. With verbs it means undo — untie, unlock. The word class predicts which.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.