Each word part on this 4-page 3rd grade sheet gets its own organizer with four boxes: meaning, word examples, trick words, and a drawing. A worked example for un- shows untie, unkind, and the trick words uncle and under. Students then complete organizers for re-, dis-, -less, and -ful, using hints such as homeless and bless. It practices L.3.4.b. The answer key gives meanings, examples like fearless and joyful, and trick words like dish and lesson.
L.3.4.b
“Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat).”
The Meaning and Word Examples boxes for each affix, where students work out that re- means again and -less means without.
A filled-in model: un- means "not" or "the opposite of," with untie and unkind as examples and uncle and under as words that only look like they have the prefix.
Students write the meaning with "redo" and "rewind" as hints, list examples, find a trick word like "real," and draw a picture.
The hint asks what "disagree" means. For the trick word, students find a word like "dish" where removing dis- leaves nonsense.
Students work out the meaning from a stray puppy being "homeless" and find trick words where less belongs to the word, like "bless."
The last organizer has no hints, so students fill in the meaning, examples, and trick words on their own.
One affix a day
Do the un- example together on Monday and one new organizer each day after that. Each takes about 10 minutes with the drawing.
Heads-up on the key
The key lists awful as a -ful trick word and calls discover tricky for dis-. Both are shaky, since awe and cover are real base words, so accept a good argument.
Anchor chart
Turn the finished organizers into a class chart. Students add a new word to the Word Examples box whenever they meet one in their reading.
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