Decades of research have shown that teaching phonics skills systematically and explicitly helps students become stronger readers. This kind of instruction, known as the structured literacy approach, includes introducing sound-letter correspondences and spelling patterns in a planned, sequential way.
Here's what the research says specifically about teaching prefixes:
Teaching affixes (prefixes or suffixes) with base words helps students to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, which also improves word recognition, spelling, and vocabulary. (Ash & Baumann, 2017; Bowers, Kirby, & Deacon, 2010; Carlisle, 2010; Goodwin & Ahn, 2013; Manyak et al., 2018)
To determine what order we teach prefixes in, consider the frequency in English words and how consistent the meanings of the prefixes are. (Manyak et al., 2018; White et al., 1989)
References
Ash, G.E., & Baumann, J.F. (2017). Vocabulary and reading comprehension: The nexus of meaning. In S.E. Israel (Ed.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension (2nd ed., pp. 377–405). Routledge.
Bowers, P.N., Kirby, J.R., & Deacon, S.H. (2010). The effects of morphological instruction on literacy skills: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 144–179. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654309359353 (opens in new window)
Manyak, P. C., Baumann, J. F., & Manyak, A. (2018). Morphological analysis instruction in the elementary grades: Which morphemes to teach and how to teach them. The Reading Teacher, 72(3), 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1713 (opens in new window)
White, T.G., Sowell, J., & Yanagihara, A. (1989). Teaching elementary students to use word-part clues. The Reading Teacher, 42(4), 302–308.
