Suffixes can do some amazing things. They can turn "power" into "powerful," "big" into "bigger," and "fear" into "fearless." This hands-on lesson allows young writers to build their own words using different root words and suffixes.
Students will be able to identify common suffixes and determine the meanings of words that include those suffixes.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
Write "breakable," "comfortable," and "washable" on the board.
Ask students what they notice about this list of words. Guide them towards the idea that all three words end in "able."
Explain that "-able" is a suffix, or a group of letters that comes at the end of a root word and changes its meaning.
Explain that a root word doesn't have a prefix or suffix. List some examples like the words color, form, and art. Show how adding "-ful" (which means "full of") to "color" changes its meaning.