Word families, synonyms and antonyms
I can spot a word family, and choose a synonym or an antonym that fits a sentence.
For grown-ups: this lesson in words
Years 3 to 6 · English
Word families, synonyms and antonyms: I can spot a word family, and choose a synonym or an antonym that fits a sentence.
Help is a root word. It is a word all on its own.
Add the ending ful to the root.
We make helpful, which means full of help. Helpful is built from help.
Picture: The root word "help" and the suffix "ful" join to make "helpful". It means "Full of help".
Listen to this story. Lots of the words are built from help.
Help, helper, helpful and helpless all have help inside them.
They are a word family. They look alike, and their meanings are linked: they are all about helping.
Picture: A short text called "The help family" with a picture of a hand: "Mei likes to help. She is a kind helper. Her helpful brother carries the bags. Without his glasses, Grandad feels helpless." "help", "helper", "helpful" and "helpless" are underlined.
Here is a harder family. Listen for solve.
Solve, solver, solution and dissolve are all built from solve.
A solver solves. A solution is the answer you find.
Even dissolve comes from solve. The root's spelling can change a little, as in solution, but the family link stays.
Picture: A short text called "The solve family" with a picture of a jigsaw piece: "Can you solve this puzzle? Mei is a quick solver. The solution is on the back. Stir the sugar and watch it dissolve." "solve", "solver", "solution" and "dissolve" are underlined.
Your turn: Which word belongs to the help word family?
Choose one:
- helpful
- hello
- hill
Answer
The answer: helpful
Helpful has help inside it and means full of help. It belongs to the help family.
Picture: The root word "help" and the suffix "ful" join to make "helpful". It means "Full of help".
Words to know
- root word:
- A word on its own that other words are built from.
- word family:
- Words built from the same root. They look alike and their meanings are linked.
- synonym:
- A word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.
- antonym:
- A word with the opposite meaning to another word.
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