Prefixes re- again
by Svetlana Urisman dis- not
im- not
Age: Adults, young adults
il- not
Level: Intermediate
ir- not
Time: 40-60 mins
Aim: To revise word formation (prefixes); to un- not
enrich vocabulary under- not enough
Key skills: Grammar and speaking over- too much
Materials: One copy of the worksheet per student; pre- before
one copy of the board game and post- after
cut-up cards per group of students; non- not
one die per group of students; one multi- many
counter per team (or students can use
coins/rubbers instead) Additional task: You might want to ask students
to think of some words containing the prefixes in
Activity 4. You could turn it into a quick competition
Preparation
Lesson Share TEACHER’S NOTES
with students working in two groups, trying to think
Cut up the cards. of more words than the other team.
Procedure Key (possible answers): misbehaviour,
misunderstood; reapply, reheated, reappeared,
1. Hand out the worksheet. Ask your students to rewritten, rearrangement, re-election, recapture;
complete Activity 1, working alone. dislike, dissimilar, disbelief; impossible,
Key: a. unputdownable; b. precooked; с. illegible; impatient, immature; illogical, illegal; irregularity,
d. undo irreplaceable; unable, unhappy, uncooked, unzip,
unhurriedly; under-exposed, under-nourished;
2. Ask students to complete Activity 2.
overheat, overreaction, overconfident; pre-
Key: unputdownable – adjective – a book that is war, prearranged; post-impressionist, post-
unputdownable is so interesting or exciting that you dated (cheque); non-alcoholic, non-aggression;
do not want to stop reading it; precooked – adjective multilingual, multimillionaire
– precooked food has been cooked or partly cooked
5. Now proceed to the board game. You can
so that it can be heated and eaten at a later time;
either ask individual students to play against
illegible – adjective – difficult or impossible to read;
one another or they can form teams to make it
undo – verb – to open, untie or remove something so
more competitive. All the rules are outlined on
that it no longer closes, fastens or connects another
the worksheet. Players/Teams can use counters
thing; to give a computer an instruction to ignore the
provided by you to play the game or they can use
last change that you made to a document; irrelevant
coins or rubbers as counters. The cut-up cards
– adjective – not important to or not directly connected
should be placed face down on the table.
with what you are discussing or doing
6. The secret word stage is optional. Use it if
3. Ask students to work in pairs to complete Activity 3.
you have enough time and want to recycle
Key: a. undid; b. unputdownable; c. irrelevant; the vocabulary.
d. illegible
Key: (from the top left) misread; impolite;
4. Proceed to Activity 4. Students can still work in pairs. underestimated; irresistible; mistrust/
Key: distrust; indefinite; re-elected; immature;
irreplaceable; illegal; unacceptable; uncertain;
prefix meaning misjudged; unknown/unfamiliar; disapproving;
mis- wrong misunderstanding; improbable; disarm; overslept;
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mislead; inaudible
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Activity 1
Match the words with the pictures. There is one word you won’t need.
irrelevant illegible precooked unputdownable undo
Activity 2
What do the words in Activity 1 mean? Which parts of speech are they?
Activity 3
WORKSHEET 1
Complete the sentences using four words from task 1.
a. He quickly ___________________ the screws that held the bookcase together.
b. ‘Was it a good read?’ – ‘Oh, totally ___________________. I finished it in two days.’
c. Making a large profit is ___________________ to us. The important thing is to make the book
available to the largest possible audience.
d. Doctors’ writing can often be ___________________.
Activity 4
Match each prefix with its meaning.
prefix meaning
Lesson Share
mis- after
re- before
dis- too much
im- not enough
il- again
ir- many
un- wrong
under- not
over- not
pre- not
post- not
non- not
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Rules of the game
• Place your counter on the start square. Take turns to throw the die and move your counter along
the board.
• If you land on a yellow square, change the words in bold according to the meaning/clue given
in brackets.
Then tell the other players who might say the phrase, in what circumstances, and about who/what.
• If you land on a blue square, guess the word.
Then give an example sentence using this word.
• During the game you / your team has three chances to use the words on the clue cards. They
RULES OF THE GAME
contain some of the answers to the questions in the game but they also contain some extra words
you will not need! When you decide to use a card, look through all the cards to try and find the word
that you think answers the question.
• Secret word – When you’ve finished the game, each player / team has to take a word from the
game and explain it to the other players. The other players have to guess the word.
GOOD LUCK!
Lesson Share
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Originally the
builders gave me a
He had (wrong) price of £2,000, but She has a
START
impossible to
_____read a road now they say they deep (wrong,
Rude = refuse / not want /
sign and taken the (not enough) not) _____trust of
or not like =
wrong turning. _____estimated journalists.
and it’s going to be
at least £3,000.
not exact; not clear;
without clear limits
=
I missed the train I’ve just heard
He lowered his
FINISH
this morning to make someone the class
voice still further,
because I believe something leader is going
until it was almost
(too much) that is not true = to be (again)
(not) ____audible.
______slept again. ______elected
BOARD GAME
to take weapons
away from
behaving in not a
someone or to give
very adult way =
up weapons or
armies =
It seemed An (not)
highly (not) _____replaceable
_____probable collection of
he would return jewellery was
to work. stolen yesterday.
Lesson Share
a failure to
understand
someone or against the law =
something correctly
=
He gave her a I thought he This sort of
(not) wasn’t going to not feeling sure behaviour is
_____approving not known or support me but I about what to do; quite (not)
look she familiar = (wrong) whether something _____acceptable
would remember ______judged is true = in a civilized
forever. him. society.
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IMMATURE ILLEGAL INDEFINITE
UNKNOWN /
MISUNDERSTANDING TO DISARM
UNFAMILIAR
#
TO MISLEAD TO DISOBEY UNCERTAIN
IMPOLITE DISORDER IRRESISTIBLE
CUT-UP CARDS
Lesson Share
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