English word parts

Unit Overview
Incorrect, correctly, correctness. What happens when we add suffixes and prefixes?

Focus: Suffixes and prefixes

Aim: To raise awareness of affixes in English and to explore similarities and differences with French affixes.

Example:

English: The electrician was unable to fix the TV.

French: L'électricien a été incapable de réparer le télé.

Exploring word parts is a useful strategy. For example, knowing that un- and in- mean ‘not’ is useful in understanding the meanings of unable and incapable. It is also useful to know that in both English and French, the ending –able usually signals an adjective.
Sometimes word parts in English and French match each other closely as in the endings on electrician and électricien above.


Major word part activities to be completed in one 60-minute lesson:

  1. “I hate Mondays” activity with plan, student sheet , teacher sheet, about 30 minutes.
  2. Word building with cut-out word parts, about 30 minutes.

Mini-lessons for word parts, 15-20 minutes each, to be completed in class or for homework:

  1. “The colours of –ish” poem-based activity with plan
  2. “Goodness!” poem-based activity with plan
  3. Job-related suffixes activities with plan, student sheet 1, student sheet 2, teacher sheet (add link)
  4. “Jabberwocky” poem-based activity and affix race with plan (add link), student sheet

Lesson plan (pdf)

Mini-lesson 1: activity with plan (pdf)

Mini-lesson 2: activity with plan (pdf)

Mini-lesson 3: activities with plan, student sheet 1, student sheet 2, teacher sheet (pdf)

Mini-lesson 4: activity plan, student sheet (pdf)