Affixation, Base Words, Root Words and Affixes for SS 1

Class: SS 1
Term: Third Term
Week: 1
Age: 15 years
Duration: 60 minutes
Subject: English Language Studies
Curriculum Theme: Vocabulary Development
Focal competence: Appropriately forming and using words with prefixes and suffixes
Key competencies/values: Communication; Collaboration; ICT and Digital Competencies; Digital Competencies; Information Literacy
Skills:

• define affixation

Previous Lesson: Concept of Stress in Three-Syllable Words
Topic: Affixation
Subject Matter: meaning of affixation, base and root words, affixes and word formation

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils/students should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• define affixation.
• identify base words and root words.
• identify different types of affixes (prefixes and suffixes).
• explain how affixes change the meaning or grammatical form of words.

Affective Domain

• appreciate the importance of affixes in expanding vocabulary.
• show interest in exploring new words formed through affixation.

Psychomotor Domain

• form new words by adding appropriate prefixes and suffixes to base or root words.

Social Domain

• collaborate effectively in word-building games and activities.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 2025 New Revised Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC)
• Relevant State Unified Scheme of Work
• Standard English Language textbook for SS 1
• The HeadTeacher Scheme of work For The New Revised Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC)

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Flash cards with base words, root words, prefixes, and suffixes
• Whiteboard and markers
• Standard English dictionary
• Online dictionary (if available)
• Course books

Rationale for the Lesson

Understanding affixation is fundamental to developing a rich vocabulary and improving comprehension skills in English. This lesson enables students to break down complex words into their core components, making it easier to deduce meanings and use words correctly. It also equips them with a powerful tool for forming new words, thereby enhancing their communication abilities.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Students should have a basic understanding of word meanings and simple sentence structures.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Affixation

Meaning of Affixation

Affixation is the process of forming new words or modifying existing ones by adding meaningful elements called affixes to a base word or a root word. These added elements change the meaning, grammatical function, or both, of the original word.

Base Words

A base word is a complete word that can stand alone and has its own meaning. It is the main part of a word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added without changing its fundamental meaning significantly.

Examples of base words:

1. happy
2. agree
3. kind
4. read
5. comfort

Root Words

A root word is the core part of a word that carries the primary meaning. Unlike a base word, a root word often cannot stand alone as a complete word in English, but it forms the foundation for many related words. Root words are often derived from Latin or Greek.

Examples of root words:

1. -ject- (from Latin jacere, meaning “to throw”): project, interject, reject, subject
2. -port- (from Latin portare, meaning “to carry”): transport, portable, export, import
3. -vis- (from Latin videre, meaning “to see”): vision, visible, revise, supervise
4. -aud- (from Latin audire, meaning “to hear”): audio, audience, audible

Affixes

Affixes are linguistic elements that are attached to a base word or root word to form a new word or to change its grammatical function. There are two main types of affixes: prefixes and suffixes.

Prefixes

A prefix is an affix placed at the beginning of a base word or root word. Prefixes usually change the meaning of the word.

Examples of prefixes and their meanings:

1. un- (not, opposite of): happy → unhappy, kind → unkind
2. re- (again, back): write → rewrite, build → rebuild
3. dis- (not, opposite of): agree → disagree, honest → dishonest
4. pre- (before): view → preview, pay → prepay
5. mis- (wrongly): understand → misunderstand, spell → misspell

Suffixes

A suffix is an affix placed at the end of a base word or root word. Suffixes often change the grammatical category (e.g., from verb to noun, or adjective to adverb) or the tense of a word.

Examples of suffixes and their functions:

1. -ing (present participle, forms nouns): read → reading, run → running
2. -ed (past tense, past participle): walk → walked, finish → finished
3. -ly (forms adverbs from adjectives): quick → quickly, happy → happily
4. -ness (forms nouns from adjectives, state or quality): kind → kindness, happy → happiness
5. -able/-ible (forms adjectives, capable of being): comfort → comfortable, access → accessible
6. -tion/-sion (forms nouns, action or state): educate → education, confuse → confusion

Word Formation using Affixes

Affixes play a crucial role in expanding vocabulary by allowing us to create many new words from a single base or root word. This process is called word formation.

Examples of word formation:

1. Base word: happy
   • Prefix: un- + happy = unhappy (opposite meaning)
   • Suffix: happy + -ness = happiness (noun form)
   • Suffix: happy + -ly = happily (adverb form)
2. Base word: agree
   • Prefix: dis- + agree = disagree (opposite meaning)
   • Suffix: agree + -ment = agreement (noun form)
   • Prefix and Suffix: dis- + agree + -able = disagreeable (adjective form)
3. Root word: port
   • Prefix: trans- + port = transport (carry across)
   • Suffix: port + -able = portable (capable of being carried)
   • Prefix and Suffix: ex- + port + -ation = exportation (act of carrying out)

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Explanation, Question and Answer, Guided Practice, Word-building Games, Individual Practice

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Activating Prior Knowledge

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the students and asks them to identify the main parts of some simple words like “unhappy” or “rebuild”. The teacher then introduces the topic of affixation as a way words are built or changed.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to the teacher’s questions and listen attentively to the introduction.

Learning Point: Prior word knowledge activation

Step 2: Meaning of Affixation

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Definition

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains the meaning of affixation using the definition from the board summary. The teacher uses flashcards to show how adding elements changes words, e.g., “read” becomes “reading” or “reread”.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, ask questions for clarification, and observe the examples on the flashcards.

Learning Point: Affixation definition

Step 3: Base Words

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Identification

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains what a base word is, providing clear examples from the board summary. The teacher writes several words on the board and asks students to identify the base words.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, identify base words in given examples, and ask questions.

Learning Point: Base words identification

Step 4: Root Words

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Differentiation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains what a root word is, differentiating it from a base word with examples like ‘-ject-‘ or ‘-port-‘. The teacher provides examples of words formed from these roots and discusses their meanings.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, understand the distinction between base and root words, and provide additional examples.

Learning Point: Root words understanding

Step 5: Affixes (Prefixes and Suffixes)

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Classification/Examples

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher defines affixes and then explains prefixes and suffixes separately, providing examples for each from the board summary. The teacher uses flashcards to show common prefixes (un-, re-, dis-) and suffixes (-ing, -ed, -ly, -ness) and discusses how they change meaning or grammatical form.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils identify prefixes and suffixes in various words and explain their effects on meaning or form.

Learning Point: Affixes identification

Step 6: Word Formation Practice

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Application

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides students in a word-building game. The teacher gives base or root words (e.g., ‘agree’, ‘happy’, ‘port’) and asks students to form new words by adding suitable prefixes and suffixes, explaining the change in meaning. Students can work in pairs or small groups.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils actively participate in the word-building game, forming new words and explaining their meanings.

Learning Point: Word formation practice

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. What is affixation?
2. Give two examples of base words.
3. Differentiate between a base word and a root word.
4. Identify the prefix and suffix in the word “unhappiness”.
5. Form a new word from “read” using a prefix and another using a suffix.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Affixation concepts assessed

Step 8: Note-Taking

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Writing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils/students to copy the essential Board Summary notes on affixation, base words, root words, and affixes into their notebooks.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils/students copy the notes carefully into their notebooks.

Learning Point: Board notes copying

Step 9: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Consolidation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher briefly summarizes the lesson, reiterating that understanding affixes is a powerful tool for expanding vocabulary and improving language skills. The teacher encourages students to pay attention to prefixes and suffixes in their daily reading.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and ask any final questions.

Learning Point: Lesson summary reinforcement

Continuous Assessment/Further Study

Type: Homework

Instruction: Complete the following tasks in your English Language notebook.

1. Identify the base word and affix(es) in each of the following words:
   1. uncomfortable
   2. rejoice
   3. carefully
   4. misunderstand
   5. friendship
2. Choose three root words (e.g., ‘aud’, ‘vis’, ‘dict’) and form at least two new words from each, using appropriate affixes.
3. Write a short paragraph (5-7 sentences) about the importance of understanding affixes in learning English.

Lesson Keywords

• Affixation – The process of adding affixes to words.
• Base Word – A complete word that can stand alone and has its own meaning.
• Root Word – The core part of a word that carries the primary meaning, often unable to stand alone.
• Affix – A linguistic element added to a base or root word.
• Prefix – An affix placed at the beginning of a word.
• Suffix – An affix placed at the end of a word.
• Word Formation – The process of creating new words.

Differentiation

For students who grasp the concept quickly, encourage them to find more complex words with multiple affixes or to research the origins of common root words. Provide additional flashcards with challenging words for them to break down. For students who need more support, focus on a smaller set of common prefixes and suffixes and provide more guided practice with simpler base words, using visual aids and repetition.

Suggested Lesson Videos

For further understanding, students can search on YouTube for: affixes base root words SS1 English