Some prep is needed, but very
easy. You will need sentence strips or index cards to write the base words and
affixes on. I would separate the prefixes, base words, and suffixes by color.
For example: write the prefixes: un,
re, dis, non, mis, pre on a
set of "blue cards" Write: ness,
less, ed, ly, ing, s, ful, able, er, and est on a set of "red cards".
Write the base words on "white cards". Here is a list of 30 base
words used for this lesson: agree, appear, believe, build, care, clean,
color, comfort, connect, cover, forgive, happy, harm, help, hope, like, love,
move, open, organize, pack, place, play, power, read, stop, test, turn, use,
write, and view.
Before you begin the activity,
you should pair beginning students up with a partner. Students can help each other
make words and verify with each other if the new words they are making are real
words and not nonsense words. More advanced students can work independently.
To start the activity, choose a
base word. Students use the prefixes and suffixes cards to move around the base
word to make new words. For example: If using the base word, CARE, students can
make new words like caring, careful, uncaring, and so on. They can also see how
two suffixes can be added to the base word like, carelessness and carefully. Students
need to be careful when adding affixes to base words. Some affixes will not
make sense when added to the base word. For example; discare or carely. This
is a good time to talk about nonsense words. If students are unsure of a word,
encourage them to look them up in a dictionary to see which affixes can be
added to the base word. I love "dictionary.com".
When student begin adding affixes to the base word, they will need
to know some spelling rules as they write their new words down. This is a great
time to discuss how the base word can change its spelling pattern when suffixes
are added. Sometimes you have to drop the "e" and add "ing"
or "ed," and sometimes you have to double the consonant to keep the
short vowel sound. Either way, students will be learning or reviewing those
tricky spelling rules!
Another thing this lesson helps with is how the meaning of the base word will
change when adding affixes to them. For example; by adding "ing" to
care this would mean you care for something at that moment. But when adding the
suffix "less" to care, this would mean you are without care. This is
a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary words!
Just click the picture on the left to download it right here on the blog.
As students move the prefix and suffix cards
around to make new words, they should be writing their words down on a white
board or in their writing journal. This would be a good time to check students
understanding. Are they spelling the new words correctly? Are they making real
words? Can they understand the new meaning when an affix is added? Can they
recognize base words? Students will surly understand base words after this
lesson.
Here's to Base Words and students understanding them!
See you soon,
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