Prefixes and Suffixes Teaching Resources
Are you teaching prefixes and suffixes this school year? Printable worksheets, digital activities, and more options for ELA teachers have been created just for you by the Teach Starter teacher team!
Explore our curriculum-aligned collection of options for your writing or reading centers with editable options to help differentiate instruction and ensure your students have everything they need to meet Common Core and state-level standards.
Has it been a while since you were teaching this part of the ELA curriculum? Our teacher team knows what it’s like to teach a new grade level after some time away, so we’ve put together a quick refresher on the basics of prefixes and suffixes! Take a look at our quick guide on the definitions of prefixes and suffixes, how to use them and some common examples.
What Is a Prefix?
The obvious place to start teaching this topic is with a definition, right? Your students will need to know the meaning of a prefix and how it differs from a suffix.
Simply put, a prefix is a sequence of sounds that carry meaning (otherwise known as a morpheme) that is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. For a set of letters to act as a prefix, there also must be a base word or a root word.
Prefix Examples
There are a wide variety of prefixes that students will come across during their years in elementary school. Prefixes that are generally introduced first include un- and re-.
- The prefix "un-" translates to "not." Examples with this prefix include unable, unusual and unkind.
- "Re-" when used as a prefix means "again." Words with this prefix may be those such as redo, rewrite and reuse.
It is important to remind your students that sometimes there are words that have these same letters and appear to be a prefix, but there are times when they are just part of the word.
So, for example, you can present students with the word "real." While the letters "re" appear at the beginning of the word, "al" is not a base word with meaning. In this case, the "re" is not acting like a prefix.
Common Prefixes Taught in Elementary School
If you are looking for a list of prefixes to teach in your ELA class, check out our list below!
- un- (not or opposite of)
- re- (again)
- dis- (not or opposite of)
- in- (not)
- under- (below or too little)
- over- (above or too much)
- non- (not)
- pre- (before)
- bi- (two)
- tri- (three)
- quad- (four)
- oct- (oct)
What Is a Suffix?
Much like a prefix, a suffix acts in the same what that it is a group of letters that carry meaning to change a base or root word. The only difference is that these letters appear at the end of the word.
Suffix Examples
As early as first grade, students begin to recognize that word meaning changes when you add letters to the end of a word. The most basic example of this is changing a singular noun to a plural noun by adding -s or -es to the end of a word.
Other common suffixes that are taught early on include -ed and -ing.
Common Suffixes Taught in Elementary School
Looking for a list of suffixes that need to be covered in the elementary years? Read on for a list of word endings that your students should learn!
- -s (plural, more than one)
- -es (plural, more than one)
- -ing (action)
- -ed (past tense)
- -er (comparative)
- -est (superlative)
- -ful (full of)
- -less (without)
- -y (characterized by)
- -ly (characteristic of)
- -ness (condition or state of)
Decoding with Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes and suffixes come in handy when it comes to decoding words because they provide important clues about meaning.
Let's say a student encounters an unfamiliar word. They can use their knowledge of common prefixes and suffixes to decipher the word's meaning based on its parts.
For example, if students encounter the word "dislike," they may not know its exact meaning. However, if they are familiar with the prefix "dis-," which means not or opposite, and the suffix "-like," which means having the same characteristics or qualities as, they can use this knowledge to determine that "dislike" means not having the same characteristics or qualities as something else.
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Derivational Suffix Worksheet Pack
Support vocabulary instruction with this derivational suffix worksheet set that helps students understand how adding suffixes can change word forms and meanings.
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Detective Base Word Game Cards
Explore vocabulary and word-building skills with this engaging base word game resource using Detective Base Word Game Cards.
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Find the Base Word - Highlight and Read Sheets
Strengthen your students’ vocabulary with this Find the Base Word Worksheet Set.
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Interactive Vocabulary Notebook - Upper Grades
Use an Interactive Vocabulary Notebook to help your students demonstrate and review a variety of vocabulary concepts.
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Prefix Crossword Puzzle
Review vocabulary skills and boost your students’ knowledge of prefixes with a printable crossword puzzle for kids
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Affixes Word Building Puzzle Activity
Build words with affixes with a pack of printable word-building puzzles.
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Affix Heroes Interactive Activity
Help the Affix Heroes define words with prefixes and suffixes with a self-checking interactive game!
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Double Consonant Rule - Word Building Cards
Practice spelling and building words that need double consonants when adding suffixes with a word-building center.
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Affixes Worksheet - Color By Code
Practice identifying words with affixes with a fun color by code worksheet.
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Suffix Stars - Making Plurals Interactive
Practice reading and spelling plural nouns with an engaging Google Slides digital learning activity.
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Find The Imposter! Interactive Suffix Game
Practice using the suffixes -s and -es to pluralize words with an exciting FInd the Imposter Interactive activity.
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Gum Ball Affixes Interactive Resource
Learn new words and their prefixes, suffixes, and base words with an engaging Google Slides digital learning activity.
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Spelling Words with -s, -es, and -ies Worksheets
Practice using the inflectional endings -s, -es, and -ies with a pack of English worksheets.
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Suffixes - Color By Code Worksheet
Reveal the hidden picture and practice using the inflectional endings -s, -es, -ies, and -ves with a color-by-code worksheet.
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Suffix Stories - Morphology Passages
Practice reading, defining, and using words suffixes with a pack of suffix-focused reading passage worksheets.
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Suffix Worksheet: -ment
Improve students' understanding of the suffix -ment with a printable suffix worksheet.
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Re- Prefix Crossword Puzzle
Review vocabulary skills and boost your students’ knowledge of the “Re-” prefix with a crossword puzzle worksheet.
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Word Building Bricks - Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots Activity
Build, read and write multi-syllable words using prefixes, suffixes, and base words with a fun word-building literacy activity.
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Sort the Suffixes - Inflectional Endings Worksheets
Practice using the suffixes -s, -es, -ies and -ves with a pack of printable add-a-suffix worksheets.
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Prefix Puzzles - Printable Reading Center
Grow your students’ vocabularies with an engaging prefix puzzle activity.
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Suffix Bingo - Vocabulary Game
Match words with suffixes to their meaning in this BINGO game.
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Prefix Puzzles - Printable Reading Centers
Practice building, reading, and understanding the meaning of words with prefixes with fun literacy centers!
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Greek or Latin Root Word Window - Graphic Organizer
Display learning about Greek and Latin roots and their origins with a crafty graphic organizer.
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Suffix Mini Anchor Charts
Give your students a visual reminder of the meanings of 28 suffixes with a printable set of miniature anchor charts.
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Re- Prefix Worksheet - Morphology Passage
Practice reading, defining, and using words with the Re- prefix with a morphology reading passage worksheet.
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Greek and Latin Roots – Word Tree Anchor Charts
Encourage vocabulary development with 24 Greek and Latin root anchor charts.
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Prefix Worksheet: Im- and Non-
Reinforce students' understanding of im- and non- prefixes with a printable prefix worksheet.
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Which Prefix is it? - Task Cards
Practice forming and using prefix words with a set of printable prefix practice task cards.
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Morphological Knowledge - Matching Activity
Review concepts learned in your prefix and suffix lessons by ensuring students understand word parts with a matching activity.
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Four In A Row Vocabulary Game - Suffixes
Practice matching words to their common suffixes and build vocabulary with a suffix vocabulary game.
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Prefixes Vocab Game
Play a Prefixes Vocab Game to help your students discover the important and meaning behind the prefixes un-, re-, mis-, and de-
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Suffix Dominoes - Vocabulary Game
Identify new words that include common suffixes with 28 suffix and root word dominoes.