The Prefix UN-: A FREE Morphology Lesson
Cate O'Donnell
3 min read
Nov 30, 2023
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Morphology is a powerful tool for teaching older students both decoding longer words and understanding new vocabulary words. We use the prefix un- to change the meaning of a word. The prefix -un makes a word mean the opposite of the base word. We only use the prefix un- with verbs and adjectives.
Luckily, we can add prefixes to base words without changing the spelling of the base word.
In this lesson, you will teach students many things.
prefixes come at the beginning of words
prefixes change the meaning of a word
prefixes are not words, but they are units of meaning
we use the prefix un- to mean the opposite of the base word
we only use the prefix un- with verbs and adjectives
It is helpful for students to know the parts of speech as they work on morphology. If your students need to work on parts of speech, I highly recommend this writing program. It teaches writing complete sentences based on parts of speech. If you need to, you can even use these two programs at the same time.
Teaching the Prefix UN-
To teach your students about the prefix un-, display the presentation below. You can access the presentation from this website for free. You can also purchase the slideshow for use at school.
Since prefixes do not change the spelling of the base words, I recommend focusing on the meaning of the words by having students write or say sentences.
You display a base word from the presentation.
Students write the word with the un- prefix in their writing notebooks or on a whiteboard.
You display the words with the prefix un- from the presentation (the next slide).
Students say or write a sentence using the base word. Then, say or write a different sentence using the word with the prefix.
This is a spiral review lesson. On day one, your students will learn how to add the prefix un- to verbs. On day two, your students will learn how to add the prefix un- to adjectives and review verbs. The next three days are review practice. You also get 25 mixed review practice slides to use later in the year.
Check out this list of words with the prefix. You can use this list to build your own activities for your classroom. You can also get a printable .pdf!
More Morphology Practice
Do you love this lesson? You can access all of the morphology lessons for FREE on this website! You can also purchase the presentations!
Base Words
The Suffixes -S and -ES
The Suffix -ING
The Suffix -ER for Comparative Adjectives
The Suffix -EST for Superlative Adjectives
The Suffix -ER for Someone Who
The Suffix -ED for Past Tense Verbs
The Prefix UN- MEANING OPPOSITE OR NOT
The Prefix RE- MEANING AGAIN
The Prefix DIS-
THE Suffixes -ER and -OR MEANING A PERSON WHO
The Prefix IN- Meaning Not
The Suffix -FUL Meaning Full Of
The Suffix -LESS Meaning Without
The Suffix -Y Meaning What Something is Like
The Suffix -LY Meaning How an Action is Done
The Prefix UNDER
The Prefix OVER
The Prefix NON
The Prefix PRE
The Prefixes BI/DI
The Prefix TRI
The Prefix QUAD
The Prefix OCT
THE SUFFIX ION
THE SUFFIX NESS
The Prefix SEMI
The Prefix SUPER
The Prefix MULTI
The Prefix POLY
The Prefix TELE
The Prefix MID
The Prefix MIS
The Prefix INTER
The Prefix DECA/DECI
The Prefix KILO
The Prefix SUB
