Prefixes, Roots and Suffixes: Build the Meaning
Eight questions that break academic words into prefix, root and suffix to build their meaning, from unpredictable to fearless.
Break it into parts. un plus predict plus able. What does unpredictable mean?
Session summary (SOAP)
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Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Have the student say each part aloud and its meaning before choosing, then put them back together in a phrase: not able to be predicted. After each item, ask for another word with the same root or suffix, such as biography or telephone. Write the parts in three columns as you go to build a reference sheet.
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
- HintGive a clue about the word's category, what it does, or where you find it.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelGive the answer in a sentence; the student says it back and uses it once more.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer items and start with the ones the student already knows.
Ask for the word in a sentence of the student's own, or a second example from the same group.
Matching IEP goal
Given vocabulary cards, Student will name, sort or define target words 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
Eight questions that build the meaning of academic words from their parts: un plus predict plus able gives unpredictable, bio and logy give biology, auto and graph give autograph, and suffixes such as -ful and -less change hope and fear. It is aimed at high school students meeting dense vocabulary in science and humanities, where breaking a word into parts is often faster and more reliable than a dictionary.
What to listen for
Notice whether the student reads the parts in the right order when building meaning. Unpredictable is read from the root outward, which many students find hard to explain. A student who chooses able to predict is reading the root and suffix but missing the prefix.
Carrying it home
When your teen meets a long word in a textbook, ask them to split it into parts and guess the meaning together before checking. Science vocabulary is especially good for this. Keep a running list of roots on the fridge and add one each week.
What's in this activity
- Break it into parts. un plus predict plus able. What does unpredictable mean?
- not able to be predicted
- able to predict
- predicted again
- Bio means life and logy means study of. What is biology?
- a life story
- the study of living things
- the study of rocks
- Auto means self and graph means write. What is an autograph?
- a drawing of a car
- a self-driving car
- a person's own signature
- Inter means between. What does interact mean?
- act with or between others
- act alone
- act again
- Break it into parts. care plus less plus ness. What does carelessness mean?
- being full of care
- the state of not taking care
- a person who cares
- What does the suffix -ful add to hope in hopeful?
- without
- again
- full of
- What does the suffix -less add to fear in fearless?
- without
- full of
- more
- Tele means far and scope means look. What is a telescope?
- a phone
- a tool for looking at things far away
- a tool for looking at tiny things
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in grades 9 through 12 working on morphology, academic vocabulary and word-learning strategies.
- Do roots always keep the same meaning?
- Usually, but not always. Use the parts as a strong first guess and check the sentence around the word to confirm it.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
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.