Advanced Roots and Affixes Game

Roots, prefixes and suffixes unlock the meaning of big words, and the Advanced Roots and Affixes Game turns this fifth grade vocabulary skill into a bright underwater bubble party. Kids read a clue on the submarine screen, like “a ship that goes under the sea” or “to pull something toward you,” and pop the bubble carrying the word that matches. Playing the advanced roots and affixes game again and again helps children spot word parts like struct, vis, aud, ject, tract, cycle, naut, hydro, sub, semi, non, re, less and ful inside long words and use them to figure out what new words mean.

In this roots and affixes vocabulary game, Lexy hosts a sunny coral reef where see-through bubbles rise out of the sand, each one carrying a word such as construct, invisible, audience, astronaut, megaphone, pentagon, submarine, nonfiction or fearless. Lexy reads every clue out loud, and kids break the words into their parts to find the one that fits before the bubble floats away. After each right answer the bubble bursts into droplets and Lexy explains the word parts, like “Sub means under, and marine means sea,” so children learn the meaning right after they use it. A wrong tap just gets a jiggle and a gentle “try again.” Play it in your browser on a phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer.

What’s Included

• Online game that plays in any browser on desktop, tablet and phone
• Included with every Have Fun Teaching membership
• 4 rounds of clues: Latin roots, Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes, then a bonus round with every word mixed together
• Voice directions that read every clue and explain each word’s parts, bubbly sound effects and a star score at the end

Here are three reasons this advanced roots and affixes game helps kids learn. First, every clue gives a meaning, not a word, and the other bubbles carry real words from the same round, so children have to think about each word part instead of guessing. Second, Lexy teaches the root, prefix or suffix right after every correct pop, which ties each part to a real word kids just used. Third, the popping bubbles, the pearl bonus clue, the sea turtle that swims by, a surprise visit from Doodles, the round-end bubble party and the stars keep kids excited to play again and get even more vocabulary practice.

Teachers and parents can carry the learning off the screen. Build a word wall with one column for roots, one for prefixes and one for suffixes, and add a new word under each part every day. Play “build a word” with index cards: mix root cards like struct, port and vis with prefix and suffix cards, and see how many real words your class can make. At home, pick one word part at dinner, like sub or less, and take turns naming words that have it and what they mean.

Related Resources

• Word Meanings with Affixes Worksheet
• Root Words Worksheet
• Root Word Treasure Hunt Using Latin Suffixes Activity
• Greek and Latin Roots Game video on the Have Fun Teaching YouTube channel