Pokémon Learning League - Root Words (Full Lesson)

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]We're finally here.

[00:00:02]>> Where's Misty? I'm excited to see her.

[00:00:05]>> I don't know. She said she'd be here.

[00:00:08]Wait, what's that? Over there.

[00:00:11]>> Uh, it's a note from Misty.

[00:00:14]>> What does it say, Max?

[00:00:16]>> It says, "Hi Ash, can you come and meet me?"

[00:00:20]>> WOW, LOOK AT THAT HORSEY.

[00:00:23]>> AWESOME.

[00:00:24]>> RIGHT, that's Misty's horsey, BUT STILL NO MISTY.

[00:00:29]>> LOOK OUT!

[00:00:30]>> OH NO, THE NOTE GOT ALL WET.

[00:00:33]>> It's all smudged.

[00:00:35]>> Maybe we can still read it. It says something about how Misty's excited to tell us about a series of battles.

[00:00:43]>> Excited to tell us? Don't you mean excited?

[00:00:47]>> Well, I can only see the word up until what looks like excite.

[00:00:51]>> Let me see that.

[00:00:53]Hmm. It looks like some of these words were part of a bigger word.

[00:00:58]>> Yeah, but part of the bigger word is smudged.

[00:01:00]>> Misty's not here, and the series is probably starting soon. Pikachu and I really want to go.

[00:01:06]>> Pikachu!

[00:01:08]>> I know. Let's call Lex and see if he can help decode this note.

[00:01:12]>> Hi guys, what's up?

[00:01:14]>> Misty left us a note asking us to meet her.

[00:01:17]>> But it got all smudged from some water splashes.

[00:01:20]>> There are words in here that sort of make sense, but we're missing something.

[00:01:24]>> The words seem to make up a bigger word, like it says she's excited to tell us about a series of battles. And we think that's supposed to be excited.

[00:01:34]>> Is there any way to figure out what the note means?

[00:01:37]>> Pika.

[00:01:38]>> You're on the right track. Those mysterious words you're talking about are called root words.

[00:01:43]>> Like roots for a tree or something.

[00:01:46]>> That's a good way to think about it.

[00:01:48]Root words are the basic part of a word that can grow into a new word. "Excite" is the root word for "exciting", or "excited", or even "excitement".

[00:01:56]>> Oh, so maybe Misty did mean she was excited. That certainly makes more sense.

[00:02:01]>> That's right. The ED part of excited grew from a root word. So, the root word is excite.

[00:02:07]ING part of exciting grew from a root word. So, the root word is excite.

[00:02:12]>> And MENT is added to the root word excite to make excitement.

[00:02:17]>> You got it. Those endings like ING, ED, and MENT are suffixes. Suffixes are added to the end of a root word to make a new word.

[00:02:27]>> THAT'S AWESOME.

[00:02:28]SO, BATTLE IS THE root word. And if I added the suffix ing, it makes the word battling.

[00:02:36]>> Exactly.

[00:02:38]>> Wait, you said exactly. Exact is the root word and LY is the suffix.

[00:02:44]>> You all are getting the hang of this.

[00:02:46]>> What about a word like unclear? Isn't clear a root word?

[00:02:51]>> But you're adding un at the beginning instead of something at the end.

[00:02:55]>> That's okay. You can add lots of things like un, dis, tele, centi, and a lot more at the beginning of a root word to make a new word. Unclear, displease, telephone, centimeter are all examples of root words with an addition at the beginning. They all have what's called a prefix at the beginning to create a NEW WORD.

[00:03:15]>> WOW, THAT'S AWESOME. SO, it can change the word?

[00:03:19]>> It sure can. The prefix and suffix can also change the meaning of a word. Like adding un to clear makes the word unclear. They have opposite meanings.

[00:03:28]>> Or happy and unhappy?

[00:03:32]>> That's right. You change the meaning of the word with the prefix.

[00:03:35]>> So, I can figure out the meaning if I understand the root word?

[00:03:39]>> Right. If you understand the root word, you can probably figure out what the new word means. Like meaning and meaningful.

[00:03:46]>> What about suffixes and prefixes? If If know what they mean, that could help figure out the new word, right?

[00:03:54]>> You sure can. Let's take a prefix like pre. Can you figure out what prejudge means based on other words you know that start with pre?

[00:04:02]>> Hmm.

[00:04:03]How about the word preview?

[00:04:05]It's when you get a sampling of something before the full show.

[00:04:09]>> So, if pre means before and judge means to make a decision, that would be making a decision before you should?

[00:04:17]>> Yep, you figured out that pre means before. So, prejudge is when a judgment is made before all the evidence or facts.

[00:04:24]>> Cool. It's like piecing together a puzzle.

[00:04:28]What about suffixes? Like e r?

[00:04:31]>> Well, leader uses lead and e r.

[00:04:35]>> Maybe it means person.

[00:04:37]>> That's close. E r means one who takes part in. So, leader >> is someone who leads.

[00:04:43]>> That's right, Brock.

[00:04:45]>> Awesome. So, trainer is someone who trains.

[00:04:48]>> You got it. And just like you all started to do when reading the note, think about what makes sense given the rest of the sentence.

[00:04:55]>> Cool. Now that I understand all about root words, will you help us figure out Misty's note?

[00:05:01]>> Put each root word in the envelope. When the root word goes in the envelope, you'll see new words form, but not all of them are real words. Pick all the words that can be made from the root word. Remember, the spelling may need to change when you add a suffix.

[00:05:15]>> Ready? Go for it.

[00:05:18]I need a root word to talk about practicing with my Pokémon to improve their skills. Which one will work best?

[00:05:31]>> Great job. Train is the root word. Can you pick the new words train can form?

[00:05:44]That's right. Training is made from the root word train and the suffix ing.

[00:05:55]Great job. Trained is made from the root word train and the suffix ed.

[00:06:05]That's right. Trainer is made from the root word train and the suffix er.

[00:06:11]>> Now I need a root word that has to do with looking at something.

[00:06:20]>> Great job. View is the root word we need. Can you pick the new words view can form?

[00:06:32]Great job. Viewer is made from the root word view and the suffix er.

[00:06:43]You got it. Review is made from the root word view and the prefix re.

[00:06:54]That's right. Overview is made from the root word view and the prefix over.

[00:06:59]>> What's the root word for being cautious or thoughtful at the Pokémon battle?

[00:07:09]>> That's right. Care is a root word. Can you pick the new words care can form?

[00:07:22]You got it. Careless is made from the root word care and the suffix l e s s.

[00:07:28]That's one where the suffix changes the root word's meaning.

[00:07:37]That's right. Cared is made from the root word care and the suffix e d.

[00:07:49]Great job. Careful is made from the root word care and the suffix f u l.

[00:07:54]>> I need a root word for when I battle someone else.

[00:08:03]>> That's right. Compete is the root word.

[00:08:06]Can you pick the new words compete can make?

[00:08:17]Yeah. Competing is made from the root word compete and the suffix i n g.

[00:08:28]You got it. That was a tough one.

[00:08:30]Competition is made from the root word compete.

[00:08:39]>> Awesome.

[00:08:40]>> Awesome. Let's complete Misty's note.

[00:08:43]Can you drag the right suffixes or prefixes onto the root words?

[00:08:48]>> Look for all the incomplete words in Misty's note. Drag and drop the right prefix or suffix on the underlined root words to complete the hidden word.

[00:08:56]>> Go for it.

[00:09:07]>> Perfect.

[00:09:16]Perfect.

[00:09:24]Perfect.

[00:09:31]Awesome.

[00:09:41]>> Awesome.

[00:09:52]Awesome.

[00:10:02]Great job.

[00:10:10]Perfect.

[00:10:13]>> Awesome. Now that we can read Misty's note, we can get going.

[00:10:17]>> Right. If we want to get there in time for sign-ups, we can't make any more stops.

[00:10:23]>> Yeah, there's no stopping us now.

[00:10:29]>> Pikachu.

[00:10:41]>> Try again. Remember to choose root words based on the meaning Ash gives you.

[00:10:52]Say each word to yourself. Does it sound familiar? Try again.

[00:11:01]Try again. Remember to choose root words based on the meaning Ash gives you.

[00:11:10]Look is a synonym for view, but we're looking for words made from the root word view. Try again.

[00:11:21]Try again. A root word is the word that makes other words by adding prefixes and suffixes.

[00:11:34]Completed sounds like the root word compete, but its root is actually complete. Try again.

[00:11:44]Battle can be another word for compete, but we're looking for words made from the root word compete. Try again.

[00:11:56]Try again.

[00:12:04]Try again.

[00:12:27]Try again.