STAGE 23

INTRODUCING PREFIXES
highlighting regularity hints and tips

Teaching children to analysis language in

terms of morphemes, word roots and mean-
Do not be surprised if a child has less difficulty
ings is a great way for them to start under-
building complex words, but still struggles with
standing the connections between how differ-
spelling simple base words. Use this opportunity
ent words are spelled. This can reduce the
to practice spelling common base words as you
number of separate units the child has to
combine them with affixes.
learn. It massively reduces the number of ir-
regular units that need to be learned. Often base words are what cause the most diffi-
culty for children with dyslexia. This is because
For example- ‘recycle’, ‘bicycle’, ‘motorcycle’,
they are the most unpredictable parts of the lan-
‘tricycle’ are all spelled consistently if you
guage. In contrast, many prefixes and suffixes
know the word ‘cycle’.
have stable spellings.

Once again some children with dyslexia will be less likely to make these links without having them
explicitly pointed out. I think that for many children this is simply because the process of decoding
each word is so taxing that there is little brain power left for noticing interesting connections.
However, once given the opportunity many children with dyslexia become skilled at noticing these
links and quickly use this knowledge to strengthen their spelling and reading comprehension. As
this programme progresses we will be looking at the morphological structure of English in more
depth.

ETYMOLOGY AS A TEACHING TOOL

Etymology is the study of how words originate and how their meanings change over time. One of
the most fascinating aspects of English is how it has evolved. Sometimes the meaning or sound of
a words shift over time. Traces of these shifts can be seen in how the base words are used with
their affixes.

transport to move between ports (‘port’ was another word for gate in old English)

mislead to give inaccurate guidance (‘lead’ was another word for guide in old English)

subway something below the way (‘way’ another word for road or path in old English)

Many children with dyslexia have very good skills in the areas of lateral thinking, pattern finding
and imagination. This means that etymological explorations appeal to many of them. It also allows
them to access literacy in a way that is certainly not ‘babyish’, something that is likely to appeal to
older children.

hints and tips

Comprehension of longer passages of text often

plummets when we introduce complex words.
This is just because of the extra processing
required to partition and decode words. This will
improve again later as the child grows familiar
with the common affixes.

For now, focus on developing strategies for

reading longer more complex words. Reassure
the child that they are not getting ‘worse’ at
reading. They are just so good at reading now
we are giving them harder text.

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 MEANING OF PREFIXES
When working with prefixes it is important to recognise their role in changing the meaning of the
base word. Ask the child to consider groups of words and see if they can figure out the meaning of
the prefix for themselves. Be clear that prefixes do not affect base words. Just like with compound
words we just ‘glue’ the bits together to make the new word. Exploring prefixes and meanings can
be entirely oral - just talking about words and what they mean. It is not expected that children will
write or remember all these prefixes.

re- en– em- super- over- semi-

It means It means It means It means It means
‘again’ ‘causes’ ‘better’ ‘too much’ ‘half’
or or or ‘
‘back’ ‘bigger’ ‘above’

subway enjoy superman overload semicircle

subtitle entrap superstar overflow semisolid
subsoil enclose superglue overgrow semicolon

pre- fore- mid- in- im- inter- trans-

It means It means It means It means It means It means
‘before’ ‘before’ ‘in the ‘in’ or ‘between’ ‘across’
or ‘in front’ middle of’ ‘into’

prejudge forehead midnight inside intercity transplant

preschool forearm midweek include international transfusion
preview forewarn midwinter interpersonal transport
implant

sub- under- de-

It means It means It means
‘below’ ‘under’ or ‘down’ or
‘not ‘opposite
enough’ of’

subway underline decode

subtitle underground deform
subsoil underpay
degrade

mis- anti- in– im- dis- un- non-

It means It means
il– ir-
It means It means It means
‘wrongly’ ‘against’ ‘not’ ‘not’ ‘not’
It means or or
‘not’ ‘opposite’ ‘opposite’

misuse antisocial impossible dislike unlucky nonslip

mislead antibiotics indirect disagree unhappy nonsense
misplace antiaging impolite disorder unable nonstick

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 PREFIX ACTIVITIES

teaching prefixes example teaching activities

I use a ’word sum’ format, where the parts Find a Friend – Provide the child with prefixes and
of words are introduced as blocks and a base words that can be paired. Make the game more
plus sign is used to indicate the process of challenging by including bases that can be paired
combining parts to make a new word. with more than one prefix, but only one solution in
which all bases are paired.
dis + like = dislike Recombination – Provide the child with words
made of a prefix and base word. Ask them to cut the
word to separate the prefix from the base word. They
Taking this ‘word builder’ approach also then have to make new words using the word parts,
allows children to see the reverse is true, e.g. ‘repack’ to ‘unpack’, ‘preview’ to ‘review’.
and they can deconstruct words to find the
base. Word Blasts – Take an individual prefix and scribe
all the words the child can think of beginning with
that prefix
overgrown - over = grown
What Does it Mean? – Take familiar and unfamiliar
words and ask the child to provide a definition based
Both reading and spelling can be vastly on knowing the meaning of the prefix and base word,
improved when children learn to break e.g. ‘preschool’, ‘return’, ‘prewar’, ‘rewind’ etc.
down words into more manageable chunks
in this way.

teaching compound vs complex example compound vs complex activities

words
Sorting Circles – Sort words into complex and com-
These activities help the child to get used pound words, reading each word aloud as the deci-
to chunking words into manageable parts sion is made.
for spelling. The distinction between com-
pound and complex words will become Complex vs Compound Word Spotter – Highlight
critical for spelling decisions later. We in- prefixes in texts in one colour and compound words
troduce it at this stage so that it is already in another colour.
a practiced familiar skill before they need
to think about spelling. Buzzer – Have one buzzer marked for prefixes, one
for base words. Provide words orally or as flashcards
and the child responds with the correct buzzer presses.

resources and unit size

Until this point there has been a fixed association between single spelling units and using
resources where letters have been fixed together, for example teaching the ‘igh’ spelling using a
single magnetic ‘igh’ unit rather than three separate letters. Affix units are quite different in that
the reason the letters are grouped is because they form a stable morphological unit. Most of the
units follow regular spelling patterns and can be sounded out. Make this difference explicit and use
fixed affix units when introducing prefixes

For less confident children – choose just two or three of the most common prefixes. I would
suggest ‘un’, ‘re’ and ‘in/im’. Use games and activities where these are presented as fixed units
rather than individual letters. Focus on the way the prefix changes the meaning of the base word.

For more confident children with larger vocabularies – include a broad range of prefixes and
include activities where they are generating words from their spoken vocabulary. This will help
them begin identifying stable morphemes without the stress of having to spell the more advanced
words.

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