Reading Strategy

Follow these steps to read a word with a prefix or suffix.

• 1 Look for a prefix or a suffix. Cover it. Then read the root word.

  untie

  When I cover the prefix un–, I see a word I know: tie.

• 2 Uncover the prefix or the suffix. Blend the syllables to read the entire word.

  un + tie = untie

  Untie means “the opposite of tie.”

Reading Help

Sometimes the letters re and ly are not prefixes or suffixes. To find out, cover re or ly and see if you are left with a word. For example:

Reading Practice

Use what you learned to read the sentences.

• 1. Insects are killing the healthy plants in Matt’s garden.

• 2. He will not use insect sprays. They are messy and unsafe.

• 3. So he buys ladybugs that eat the harmful insects.

• 4. When he replants each spring, he fills his garden with these wonderful red bugs.

• 5. In a few months, Matt will proudly show you his garden.

• 6. It will be full of vegetables and harmless red bugs!

Spelling Practice

7.–11. Now write the sentences that your teacher reads.

Word Work

12.–16. Read the newspaper article. Find words with the prefix un-. Make a chart like the one shown here. Write each word next to its meaning.

Example

• 12. unpacked