English lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 60 minutes

Making opposites with un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis- and non-

Vocabulary

CCSS L.6.4.BCCSS L.6.2.BEngland: KS3 English (vocabulary and spelling)England: Y5/6 Spelling (prefixes)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Making opposites with un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis- and non-.

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: What prefixes mean: pre-, sub-, inter-, trans- and more

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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 · 6 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (What prefixes mean: pre-, sub-, inter-, trans- and more). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

What does the prefix "ex" mean? (as in exhale, exclude, exit) (against / above, beyond / wrongly / out) → outPrompt: What do the example words have in common?
Which word contains a prefix that means "again"? (misspell / decode / reheat / exit) → reheatPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "again"?
These words share a prefix that means "together". Type it. coexist, coauthor, cooperate → coPrompt: Look for the letters that appear in every word.

Hook · 6 min

Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
Share the objective: Making opposites with un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis- and non-. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Which word means "not obey" (or the opposite of "obey")?
Step 1: dis- often reverses an action or quality: agree → disagree.
Step 2: So the answer is: disobey
Answer: disobey
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Which word means "not fair" (or the opposite of "fair")? (irfair / unfair / disfair / infair) → unfairPrompt: Look at the first letter of the word. Does it begin with l, m, p or r?
Add a prefix to make the opposite of "reversible". Type the new word. → irreversiblePrompt: Look at the first letter of the word. Does it begin with l, m, p or r?

You do: independent practice · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Which word means "not correct" (or the opposite of "correct")? (discorrect / imcorrect / uncorrect / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Look at the first letter of the word. Does it begin with l, m, p or r?
Add a prefix to make the opposite of "fiction". Type the new word. → nonfictionPrompt: Look at the first letter of the word. Does it begin with l, m, p or r?

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: What prefixes mean: pre-, sub-, inter-, trans- and more.
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

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-6.

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