Unit Plan—Affixes

Number of students- 26
Subject area- ELA Grade 7
Allocated time- 52 minutes
Grouping- Whole class; individuals; pairs.

Unit Abstract:
In this unit, students learn how to derive meaning from affixes: prefixes, root words, and
suffixes. After evaluating prior knowledge through the completion of an affix pretest, students
will receive full lists of affixes that are among the most common and essential to learn. There
will be several days of practice activities in class that allow students to match affixes with their
definition through puzzle solving in groups in addition to “word boggle,” creating their own
combinations of words using provided affixes. Students will also have access to quizlets for the
affixes on Google Classroom to practice when work is complete in class and at home. Students
will also be given review time on Kahoot in class and review before taking the post-test at the
end of the unit.

Materials Needed:
Laptops
Google Classroom
Affix Kahoot
Affix Quizlet
Affix sheet
Affix puzzle
Blank paper
Writing utensil

Overarching Questions:
How can the meaning of affixes be derived from complete words?
How can affixes be combined and used to create new words and meanings?

Enduring Understandings:
Linguists interpret individual word meaning by breaking words into their affixes—root words,
prefixes, and suffixes—to further understand how the combination of word associations
combine to create the definition of a complete word. Students will apply base level
understanding of word parts to the process of forming new words with different meanings
based upon their understanding of the affix meanings.

Essential/ Focus Questions:

1. How are the meanings of affixes derived?
2. What are commonly used affixes?
3. Which prefixes also serve as root words?
4. Does the meaning of affixes change when connected to different root words? How?
5. What is the purpose of learning and recognizing the meaning of each affix?
 6. When is identifying affix meaning applicable and beneficial in reading or writing?

Key Concepts:
Affixes
Prefixes
Suffixes
Latin root words
Greek root words
Affix definitions
Connecting affixes to create a combination of different words and meanings

Content Standards:
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based
on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.A
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function
in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.B
Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a
word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.C
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses),
both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise
meaning or its part of speech.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.D
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the
inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.5.C
Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations
(definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, condescending).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.6
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or expression.

Assessment Tasks:
Pre-Unit Assessment Task
Provide students with an affix pre-test comprised of several prefixes, root words, and suffixes.
The list of affixes on the left side of the page can be matched with the appropriate definition on
the right side of the page. This will gauge the number out of the thirty most crucial terms to be
identified that students understand and know before learning more throughout the unit.

Mid-Unit Formative Assessment Task

Students will complete puzzles that need pieces with different affixes and their definition to be
matched in order to complete the task. Once all pieces match the term with the appropriate
definition, the puzzle will be complete and the assessment of understanding measured.

Post-Unit Summative Assessment Task

In order to measure the growth of knowledge and understanding of affixes, students will
complete a post-test covering prefixes, root words, and suffixes. The format will be more varied
than a general matching of column one to column two with the affixes and definitions to
accommodate the varying learning styles and needs. There will also be multiple choice, true
and false, and fill in the blank. This post-test can be retaken by those who struggled greatly on
the first post-test to ensure that they take the time needed to study and further grasp the
language concepts.

Unit Lesson:

Date Resource/Materials Lesson Etc.

March 5 Affix pre-test. Continue discussing Assign affix pre-test
Greek values and for homework.
myths. Transition Students will have
into the importance some time to
of Greek language complete in class;
and root words. what is left will be
done for homework.
March 6 Affix pre-test. Apply the importance Pre-tests are turned
of Greek myths and in for record
language to the purposes and
“Trojan War” play entered into the
read in class. Reflect grade book.
in journal. Discuss
correct responses for
pre-test.
March 7 Blank paper, writing Complete discussion
utensils, and affix of affixes and their
puzzles. Greek or Latin
influence. Practice
deriving meaning
from affixes from
“Word Boggle”
activity. Students will
create as many
words with a given
 affix as possible.
After, students will
work together to
complete a puzzle of
affixes and their
definitions in groups.
March 8 Affix pre-test, affix Students will review
puzzles, computer, their pre-tests after
google classroom, having them
and quizlet. returned. Next
students will
continue to solve the
affix puzzles—one for
prefixes and one for
suffixes. After solving
and studying the
puzzles, students will
get their chrome
book out and access
the affix quizlets
through google
classroom and begin
practicing the
quizzes.
March 9 Chrome book, Half day of school— Practice test given to
Kahoot access code, only one of four complete at the end
quizlets, google classes attends of class or to be
classroom, and today. Have Kahoot completed outside of
practice test review time as a class.
assignment. class. Continue
practicing quizlets Affix quiz on March
individually. 13.
March 12 Affix practice test, Affix quiz review on Quiz March 13.
computer, google quizlet and
classroom, quizlet, discussion of practice
and “Word Creation” quiz. Students will
sheet. create words from a
combination of
options on a “Words
Creation” sheet.
March 13 Computer, google Kahoot review
classroom, Kahoot, followed by the
and affix post-test. completion of the
affix post-test.
Reflection:

After reviewing the difficulty that students had with completing the affix pre-test, it was
clear that the post-test would need to be formatted differently to accommodate students who
struggle with matching and find it easier to connect the pieces of information in varying
formats. Students were able to grasp the concept of affixes and their purpose through
discussion at the beginning of the unit and through the various practice activities that we had.
One of the activities that worked extremely well was the “word boggle” activity that provided
students with select affixes—prefixes, root words, and suffixes. The students would be given a
certain amount of time to come up with as many words as possible with that affix in the sense
of the word’s meaning. For example, if the prefix provided was mis-, they might write
mismatch, misinterpret, misunderstand, etc. The trial and error of identifying correct examples
like those versus words containing “mis,” such as mistletoe, demonstrated the purpose of the
affix and its meaning in the words that they came up with, meaning wrong. The quizlets were
also essential tools because it showed the simplified version of the definitions and matching
activities. It also allowed students to choose to study the terms in a variety of formats: games,
flashcards, listed, etc. Students were able to study in the way that best matched their own
learning style and read samples for the type of affixes that we were going to be using for the
post-test information. These activities eliminated a lot of confusion and demonstrated immense
growth for several students by the end of the unit.