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Vocabulary - suffixes '-ful' and '-less'

suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’

LESSON OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students learn some vocabulary related to document management, talk about going paperless, watch a video, and work on word building learning suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’.

B1 / Intermediate
B2 / Upper Intermediate
60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

WARM-UP & VIDEO

The lesson starts with a warm-up activity. Students look at the pictures and say what they all have in common. The pictures feature wrapping paper, a paper contract, wallpaper, and paper bills. After that, students discuss questions about how they use paper in their lives. Then, students work with vocabulary. They complete the definitions with words from the word cloud (e.g. invoice, digitalize, convert, restore, etc.). After working with vocabulary, students move on to a video. First, they choose the correct definition of ‘document management’. Then, they watch the video and check their answer. Students also complete the summary of the video with the vocabulary they learned before. They watch the video again and tick the words they hear. After that, students move on to a grammar part and learn how to use the suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’.

SUFFIXES ‘-FUL’ AND ‘-LESS’

In this part of the lesson, students work on some word building and have a discussion. First, they look at the summary again and find the words ending with ‘-ful’ or ‘-less’. Students explain their meaning and also say what the differences between the suffixes are. Then, they look at more words (e.g. paper, care, use, point) and decide to which of them they can add the suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’. After that, students complete the statements with the words they formed. They also read the statements again and agree or disagree with them. To wrap up the lesson, students think about their workplace or industry and discuss the questions. They talk about going paperless, storing documents, and making their workplace more efficient. 

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students brainstorm ideas and create arguments for and against going paperless. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

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  1. lizzyd

    Wow, I’ve never head off “pointful”. Maybe it’s time I retired !!

    1. lizzyd

      I meant ” heard of ” Also need new eyes !!

    2. Paula

      Hi lizzyd! I know it may sound weird, but that’s a real word. 🙂 I think the beauty of teaching is that we learn something new every day. Don’t you think?

      1. lizzyd

        Hi , I totally agree ! Language is changing all the time and I love that !! cheers

      2. Beatrice DELRAT

        Like Lizzyd, I’ve never used or heard the word “pointful” and had to check in the dictionary. Interestingly, the Online Cambridge Dictionnary doesn’t mention it https://dictionary.cambridge.org/spellcheck/english/?q=pointful but I found it in the Oxford dictionary and Merriam Webster

    3. AP

      Neither had I. Had to check it exists.

      Good lesson for the ‘office’ business students.

  2. Cindy Naidoo

    Hi
    I think this is an interesting topic, I’m going to use it with my group today. My lesson is online with Russian and German students, my only concern is the background music in the video, makes it difficult to hear the words.
    Pointful is new for me too but as you say, we learn something new everyday!

    Thank you for the lesson

    1. Paula

      Hi Cindy!
      So glad to know you’re using our lesson today! Let me know how it goes, and whether the background music was an issue.
      “Pointful” is definitely a buzzword in this comment thread! Maybe it’s because it’s not used so often.

      Thank you for your nice comment!

      1. Cindy Naidoo

        Hi Paula

        I am happy to report that my students enjoyed the lesson and the background music was not an issue at all for them 👏👏 thank you for an enjoyable lesson!

        The only reason I mentioned the background music is because they complained about it in another lesson.

        Thanks again

        1. Paula

          Hi Cindy!

          Great news! I really appreciate you coming back to tell us how it went.

          I’m really pleased to hear your students enjoyed the lesson.

          Have a great week!

  3. olyashipsha

    <3

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