Word Building & Meaning

A compact curriculum for building words with common endings and affixes.

Age range: 6-9

Continue to Practice

Curriculum

Work through each chunk in order. Open a lesson for words and practice.

1. Inflectional Endings

Difficulty 53 lessons

Read familiar base words with the endings -s and -es.
Read familiar base words with the endings -ing and -ed.
Notice the ending, read the whole word, and reread each sentence smoothly.

Read Words with S and ES

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: inflectional s es

Target patterns

s, es

Target words

boats
boxes
buses
cats
dishes
dogs
fixes
foxes
hens
helps
hops
kids
looks
maps
pigs
pushes
rests
runs
rushes
ships
sits
stars
trees
washes

Review words

boy
girl
camp
bench
brush
mud
park
shop

Teacher Note

Have the learner notice the familiar base word before -s or -es. Ask for the whole word and then a smooth sentence reread. Listen for the ending to remain audible without breaking the word into separate parts.

Practice sentences

The cats sit by the boxes.
The dogs run to the buses.
The pigs rest by the trees.
The kids look at the stars.
The foxes sit by the ships.
The dog runs to the park.
The fox hops on the log.
The girl sits by the camp.
The boy rests on the bench.
The bird looks at the boats.
The girl helps the boy.
Dad fixes the maps.
The dog pushes the box.
Dad washes the dishes.
The fox rushes by the hens.

Read Words with ING

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: inflectional ing

Target patterns

ing

Target words

barking
boiling
camping
cleaning
counting
crawling
drawing
eating
floating
helping
jumping
looking
painting
playing
raining
reading
resting
rowing
shouting
sleeping
starting
turning
waiting
walking

Review words

dog
girl
boy
boat
tent
tree
brush
map

Prerequisites

Read Words with S and ES

Reviews

Read Words with S and ES

Teacher Note

Have the learner notice that each familiar base word stays visible before -ing. Ask for the whole word and then a smooth sentence reread. Listen for the learner to keep the ending attached while reading without a pause.

Practice sentences

The dog is barking by the tree.
Dad is cleaning while the pot is boiling.
The girl is camping by the tent.
The boy is counting the boats.
The bug is crawling on the map.
The girl is drawing and painting a star.
The sheep is eating by the tree.
The boat is floating, and Dad is rowing.
The boy is helping Dad at the camp.
The kid is jumping by the tent.
The dog is looking at the bird.
The girl is reading, and the boy is playing.
It is raining while the dog is resting.
The boy is shouting while Dad is starting the campfire.
The girl is turning the page and waiting.
The dog is walking while the sheep is sleeping.

Read Words with ED and Mixed Endings

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: inflectional ed review

Target patterns

ed, mixed inflections

Target words

barked
camped
cleaned
counted
crawled
floated
helped
jumped
loaded
looked
painted
played
pointed
printed
pushed
rained
rested
shouted
sorted
started
turned
waited
walked
washed

Review words

boy
girl
dog
cat
map
tent
boat
tree

Prerequisites

Read Words with ING

Reviews

Read Words with ING, Read Words with S and ES

Teacher Note

Have the learner notice the familiar base word before -ed, then compare it with words ending in -s, -es, and -ing. Ask for the whole word and a smooth reread. Listen for each ending to remain audible without forcing the same sound in every -ed word.

Practice sentences

The dog barked while we camped by the creek.
Dad cleaned the brush and loaded the boat.
The boy counted the boats and pointed at the map.
The bug crawled on the map.
The girl helped Dad.
The kid jumped by the resting dog.
The dog looked at the bird.
The girl painted a star and printed the page.
The kids played by the sleeping cat.
The dog pushed the boxes.
It rained while the boat floated by the tree.
The dog rested by the trees.
The boy shouted while Dad started the campfire.
The girl turned and walked to the boat.
Dad washed the dishes.
The girl sorted the maps while the boy waited.

2. Common Suffixes

Difficulty 53 lessons

Read base words with the endings -er and -est.
Read common words with the endings -ful and -less.
Read common -ly forms and connect each form to a sentence.

Words with ER and EST

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: suffix er est

Target patterns

er, est

Target words

bigger
biggest
smaller
smallest
faster
fastest
slower
slowest
taller
tallest
shorter
shortest
colder
coldest
hotter
hottest
kinder
kindest
softer
softest

Review words

Prerequisites

Read Words with ED and Mixed Endings

Reviews

Read Words with ED and Mixed Endings

Teacher Note

Have the learner notice how -er compares two things and -est names the strongest degree. Ask the learner to read the whole word without dropping the base word.

Practice sentences

The dog is bigger.
The cat is smaller.
The kid is faster.
The pig is slower.
The man is taller.
The boy is shorter.
The fox is colder.
The sun is hotter.
The dog is biggest.
The cat is smallest.
The man is tallest.
The dog is softest.

Words with FUL and LESS

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: suffix ful less

Target patterns

ful, less

Target words

helpful
harmful
careful
careless
hopeful
hopeless
useful
useless
joyful
joyless
playful
thankful
fearful
fearless
colorful
colorless
peaceful
endless
restful
restless

Review words

dog
cat
kid
girl
boy
camp
park
flag

Prerequisites

Words with ER and EST

Reviews

Words with ER and EST, Read Words with ING

Teacher Note

Have the learner read the base word first, then attach -ful or -less. Ask whether the finished word describes something with the base idea or without it.

Practice sentences

The helpful kid is at camp.
The careful girl is at the park.
The careless boy is at camp.
The hopeful dog is by the flag.
The useful map is on the box.
The playful cat is in the box.
The thankful kid is by the flag.
The fearful fox is in the bush.
The colorful flag is on the map.
The peaceful camp is by the park.
The restless dog can run.
The fearless kid can help.

Words with LY

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: suffix ly

Target patterns

Target words

badly
boldly
calmly
clearly
closely
slowly
softly
loudly
quickly
kindly
gladly
sadly
safely
lately
mostly
neatly
simply
firmly
brightly
gently
quietly
bravely
warmly
greatly

Review words

dog
cat
boy
girl
fox
kid
pig
bird

Prerequisites

Words with FUL and LESS

Reviews

Words with FUL and LESS, Read Words with S and ES

Teacher Note

Have the learner notice that -ly often tells how an action happens. Ask for a smooth reread so the ending stays attached to the base word.

Practice sentences

The dog runs quickly.
The cat walks slowly.
The boy rests quietly.
The girl looks closely.
The kid helps kindly.
The pig sits calmly.
The fox rushes loudly.
The dog rests safely.
The bird sings brightly.
The girl smiles warmly.

3. Common Prefixes

Difficulty 53 lessons

Read words with the prefixes un-, re-, and pre-.
Compare a base word with its prefixed form.
Connect prefixed words to meaning in short sentences.

Words with UN

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: prefix un

Target patterns

Target words

unable
unfair
unkind
unsafe
unsure
untidy
unzip
unlock
unpack
unhelpful
unhappy
unwell
unseen
unused
unlit
unroll
unhook
unfasten
unbutton
unwrap

Review words

kid
boy
girl
dog
bag
box
path
camp

Prerequisites

Words with LY

Reviews

Words with LY, Read Words with S and ES

Teacher Note

Have the learner read the base word after un- and then read the whole word. Ask how un- changes the meaning of the base word.

Practice sentences

The unhappy kid is at camp.
The unkind boy is at camp.
The unsure girl is by the path.
The path is unsafe.
The dog is unwell.
I can unlock the box.
I can unzip the bag.
The kid can unpack the bag.
The bag is untidy.
The path is unlit.
The game is unfair.
The dog is unhelpful.

Words with RE

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: prefix re

Target patterns

Target words

repack
reread
rewrite
retell
return
repaint
reload
replay
rebuild
recheck
refill
replant
restart
revisit
reuse
retie
resell
reheat
rescan
redo

Review words

bag
map
camp
game
flag
plant
park
note

Prerequisites

Words with UN

Reviews

Words with UN, Words with FUL and LESS

Teacher Note

Have the learner read the base word after re- and then read the whole word. Ask what action happens again in each sentence.

Practice sentences

I can repack the bag.
I can reread the map.
The kid can rewrite the note.
The dog can return to camp.
The girl can repaint the flag.
I can replay the game.
The boy can rebuild the shed.
I can recheck the map.
The kid can refill the box.
The boy can restart the game.
The girl can revisit the park.
I can reuse the bag.

Words with PRE

Level 5

Select a learner to track progress.

Focus: prefix pre

Target patterns

pre

Target words

preview
preheat
prepack
preschool
prepay
preplan
pretest
prewash
precheck
prefill
preprint
pregame
preorder
prewrite
prebuilt
preloaded
preselect
prefix
preflight
predate

Review words

kid
map
pot
bag
park
dish
box
note

Prerequisites

Words with RE

Reviews

Words with RE, Words with ER and EST

Teacher Note

Have the learner read the base word after pre- and then read the whole word. Ask what happens before the main action in each sentence.

Practice sentences

The kid can preview the map.
Dad can preheat the pot.
I can prepack the bag.
The preschool is by the park.
Dad can prepay.
I can prewash the dish.
The kid can precheck the map.
Dad can prefill the box.
I can preprint the note.
The pregame is at camp.
I can prewrite the note.
The bag is preloaded.