Glossary · Word parts and vocabulary
What is an affix?
Definition
An affix is any word part attached to a base or root; prefixes and suffixes are both affixes.
Affix is the umbrella word. Un- in unkind is an affix, and so is -ness in kindness. Unkindness has two affixes around one base.
Teachers use affix when the position doesn't matter, such as in a routine that asks students to circle every affix before reading the base. Peeling off affixes is the fastest way into a long word: find the prefixes, find the suffixes, read what's left, then put it back together.
Some words stack several affixes: un-break-able, dis-agree-ment, re-organ-iz-ation. Students who can peel them one at a time can read and understand words they've never seen, and that's the point of the whole exercise.
In a lesson
Hand the student unbreakable. They circle un and able, read break, then build it back: un, break, able. “Not able to be broken.”
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- unbreakableu·n·b·r·ea·k·a·b·le
- disagreementd·i·s·a·g·r·ee·m·e·n·t
- unhappyu·n·h·a·pp·y
- unwantedu·n·w·a·n·t·e·d
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Record whether a student peels affixes unprompted when reading a long word. It is the habit that matters, more than knowing the term.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.