Step 2: Teach Lesson
un- dis- -ful
1. Read the definition of each affix to the student and give sample words and sentences to build meaning.
- This prefix means “not.” If a camper is not afraid of the dark, he is unafraid.
- This prefix means “not.” If a chef is not pleased with the taste of a dish, she is displeased with it.
This suffix means “full of” or “with a lot of.” If an insect bite causes a lot of pain, it is a painful bite.
2. Have the student create words by adding affixes to the base words tie, like, and fear. Ask s/he to check a dictionary to make sure
that the combinations they create are all real words. Then have the student write sentences using the words they make.
Sometimes when reading, you might come across a word that looks long and difficult. It can be tempting to pass right over
it. But it might be an important word. It might relate to an important idea.
To figure out what the word means, think of it as a puzzle. Many longer words have built-in clues. These clues are special
parts that have their own special meanings.
Give the student a copy of “Word Parts,” Student Page 1(Step 3)
. Direct the student’s attention to the word in the top box. This word
looks long and complicated. But we can break it down into parts. Doing so will help us figure out what the word means.
The first part of the word is un-. Have the student point to the box containing un-. Un- is a prefix meaning “not.” A prefix is
added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. Have the student point to the box containing success. What is the
second part? (success) Success is the base word. What does success mean? (Possible response: victory) Have the student
write this word in the box under success. The last part of this word is -ful. A suffix is added to the end of a word. The suffix -ful
means “full of.” When we put the meaning of un- and the meaning of -ful together with the meaning of success, we have a