Middle school students are still at an age where learning by playing games is effective. Grab some index cards, markers and a dictionary and challenge the students with a fun index card game. First, make up a list of the most commonly used prefixes such as: --un,-con,-pre-,-post,-re, etc., and ask the students to repeat the prefixes a few times before beginning the game. Then, ask the students to make index cards using each prefix with examples of the prefixes used in words on the reverse side of the card. If you have a group of students, you can make one set of index cards and then challenge the students to see who can come up first with a word that has the prefix in it. The student who collects the most cards wins.
Ask the students to bring their favorite song lyrics or poem to class with the prefixes circled. Middle school students are at the age where they are beginning to strike out on their own when it comes to choices of music and entertainment. The student reading his poem or song aloud to the class will know ahead of time how many prefixes it contains. Once he reads it aloud, the other students will be responsible for writing down how many times they hear a word with a prefix in it. The student who gets the correct number wins.
Students often worry when they are reading if they cannot understand what some of the words mean. This can be a very challenging situation for many students in the early stages of middle school as they are being introduced to new types of literature. However, by teaching students how to use prefixes to understand the context of what they are reading, they will feel more confident and knowledgeable. For example, if a student sees the word "monotony" but does not know what it means, he can use the context of the sentence and his knowledge that "mono" means "one" to figure out what the word means. Students must have their confidence built up in order to trust their ability to decipher prefixes that might be challenging to them at first glance.
Since many prefixes in the English language have Greek or Latin roots, you can have a fun Greek and Latin Day. Ask the students to bring sheets or towels to make their own togas that they can wear over their clothes. Then, they can divide up into teams for each prefix word such as: -con, -ultra, -tri, etc., and give a presentation about what each prefix means and give examples of words that use that prefix. The students will be sure to remember the fun they had while learning about prefixes.