10. Resource Hub: Teaching Prefixes

Ashlea Edwards: When we get ready to teach prefixes, we need to talk about how a prefix goes at the beginning of a base word or a base element. So on this card you will see U-N and then a dash, and that dash is to represent that it has to be afixed to a base element. We don't say the sound that the prefix makes because it changes depending on what the word is that comes after the prefix. So for that reason, we are just going to say, prefix U-N ('un-') and then say what it means. When you're teaching these prefixes, it's a lot to remember and you don't have to keep that all in your head. I have it written on the back of my card and I just read from the back of the card if I need to. And I also have words prepared to give examples that are words where it very clearly gives an example. It's not root words or anything like that. So this is how we would drill the prefix deck. So prefix U-N means not. So if you are unlucky, you are not lucky. If you are uninterested, you are not interested. 

Prefix, 're-' means back or again. So if you have to return your library book, you're going to turn it back in. 

Prefix M-I-S ('mis-') means bad or wrong. If you misspell a word, you spelled the word wrong. 

Prefix M-I-D ('mid-') means middle. Midpoint is the point in the middle.

Prefix P-R-E ('pre-') means before. If you take a pretest, that means you are tested before you have learned the content.

Prefix S-U-B ('sub-') means below or beneath. So if you're in a submarine, you are in a boat beneath the water. 

Prefix N-O-N ('non-') means not. If it is non-existent, that means it does not exist. If it is non-essential, that means it is not essential.