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English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 30 minutes

Prefixes and suffixes

Vocabulary

CCSS L.3.4.BCCSS L.4.4.BEngland: Y3/4 GPS (prefixes)England: Y5/6 GPS (suffixes)England: KS2 SATs GPS

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Prefixes and suffixes.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Synonyms

Leads to: Word families and word classes; Greek and Latin roots; What prefixes mean: pre-, sub-, inter-, trans- and more

Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Synonyms). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which word means the SAME as "fast"? (heavy / rapid / narrow / sluggish) → rapidPrompt: A synonym has the same or nearly the same meaning.
  2. Which word is closest in meaning to "vast"? (ancient / cramped / sturdy / immense) → immensePrompt: One of the choices means the opposite. Don't be tricked!
  3. Choose the word that best fits the clue in brackets. The baby gave a ___ smile. (small and gentle) (wide / angry / loud / faint) → faintPrompt: Read the clue in brackets carefully.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
  • Share the objective: Prefixes and suffixes. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which prefix makes a real word from "spell", meaning "not" or "wrongly"?
  • Step 1: A prefix is added to the start of a word to change its meaning.
  • Step 2: 'mis-' means 'wrongly'.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: misspell
  • Answer: misspell
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which prefix makes a real word from "visible", meaning "not" or "wrongly"? (imvisible / disvisible / unvisible / invisible) → invisiblePrompt: un-, dis-, mis-, in-, im-, il- and ir- can all mean 'not'.
  2. What does this prefix mean? bi- (as in bicycle, biplane) (many / one / two / three) → twoPrompt: Look at the example words. What do they have in common?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. What does this suffix mean? -er / -or (as in teacher, actor) (not / more than / a person who / the state of) → a person whoPrompt: Look at the example words.
  2. What does this prefix mean? inter- (as in international, interact) (after / inside / against / between) → betweenPrompt: Look at the example words. What do they have in common?

Watch out for

  • Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
  • Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Synonyms.
  • Use concrete materials: word cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Word families and word classes; Greek and Latin roots; What prefixes mean: pre-, sub-, inter-, trans- and more.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Prefixes and suffixes

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Which prefix makes a real word from "responsible", meaning "not" or "wrongly"?

    • A. irresponsible
    • B. unresponsible
    • C. inresponsible
    • D. disresponsible

  2. Question 2

    What does this prefix mean? over- (as in overcook, overflow)

    • A. again
    • B. too much
    • C. not enough
    • D. under

  3. Question 3

    What does this suffix mean? -able (as in washable, readable)

    • A. before
    • B. without
    • C. able to be
    • D. a person who

  4. Question 4

    Which prefix makes a real word from "legal", meaning "not" or "wrongly"?

    • A. illegal
    • B. unlegal
    • C. dislegal
    • D. inlegal

  5. Question 5

    What does this prefix mean? bi- (as in bicycle, biplane)

    • A. many
    • B. three
    • C. two
    • D. one

  6. Question 6

    What does this suffix mean? -ly (as in quickly, slowly)

    • A. in a way that is
    • B. not
    • C. full of
    • D. without

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Answer key: Prefixes and suffixes

  1. 1. A. irresponsible

  2. 2. B. too much

  3. 3. C. able to be

  4. 4. A. illegal

  5. 5. C. two

  6. 6. A. in a way that is