New
New
Year 5

Spelling words with the prefixes meaning not

I can spell a range of words with the prefixes un-, non-, dis-, mis-, in-, il-, im- and ir-.

New
New
Year 5

Spelling words with the prefixes meaning not

I can spell a range of words with the prefixes un-, non-, dis-, mis-, in-, il-, im- and ir-.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A prefix is a letter or group of letters at the start of a word which changes its meaning.
  2. Adding a prefix does not alter the spelling of the root word.
  3. There are many prefixes that can mean ‘not’, including un-, dis-, in-, il-, im- and ir-.
  4. The prefix in- can also mean ‘in’ or ‘into’ and the prefix mis- usually means 'wrongly'.
  5. How to spell the curriculum words: immediate, immediately and disappear.

Keywords

  • Prefix - a letter or group of letters added to the start of a root word to change its meaning

  • Root word - the base word from which other words are formed often by adding prefixes or suffixes

  • Antonym - a word that has the opposite meaning to another word

Common misconception

Children may think all words with the letters strings have prefixes.

Discuss words using the letter sequence but not as a prefix, e.g. disturb, imp and uncle. Reinforce the definition of 'root word' and 'prefix'.

Make sets of prefixes and words, hand them out and get children to find a ‘partner’. Break the pairs and ask them to find new partners. Each child keeps a note of words created until they have done as many as they can. Compare lists.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words to its synonym or meaning.
Correct Answer:friendly,kind

kind

Correct Answer:usual,normal

normal

Correct Answer:appear,visible

visible

Q2.
Which words contain the prefix un-?
Correct answer: unkind
funny
Correct answer: unzip
sun
Q3.
Match the words that have the same root word.
Correct Answer:unhealthy,healthiest

healthiest

Correct Answer:untie,ties

ties

Correct Answer:unfair,fairer

fairer

Q4.
What do the prefixes un-, non- and dis- usually mean?
wrongly
before
Correct answer: not
under
Q5.
Match the words to their meanings.
Correct Answer:misbehave,behave wrongly

behave wrongly

Correct Answer:miscalculate,work out the wrong answer mathematically

work out the wrong answer mathematically

Correct Answer:dishonest,not trustworthy

not trustworthy

Correct Answer:disgusting,not tasty

not tasty

Q6.
Select the correct spelling of the word.
unhapee
unhapy
Correct answer: unhappy

6 Questions

Q1.
Select the prefixes which can mean 'not'.
Correct answer: un-
pre-
Correct answer: in-
super-
Correct answer: il-
Q2.
Match the root word to the correct prefix.
Correct Answer:behave,mis-

mis-

Correct Answer:appear,dis-

dis-

Correct Answer:usual,un-

un-

Correct Answer:sense,non-

non-

Q3.
Select the correct spelling of the word.
dissappear
dissapear
Correct answer: disappear
disapear
Q4.
Select the correct spelling of the word.
ilegal
Correct answer: illegal
illegle
Q5.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence: She was quite imachure.
Correct Answer: immature
Q6.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold in the sentence: He was quite irisponsibel that day.
Correct Answer: irresponsible

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