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Calls for Help: Word Parts at the Dispatch Center worksheet preview

Worksheet

Calls for Help: Word Parts at the Dispatch Center

Read a story about a visit to an emergency dispatch center, then use syllables, roots and affixes to read and understand long words.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRF.5.3.a

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 10 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 5
Subject
ELA
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students divide unfamiliar multisyllable words into syllables to read them.
  • Students use prefixes, suffixes and roots to read and find the meaning of long words.

How to use

Have students read the story once for meaning, then complete the word-part questions on their own. Review the sort and the match together to talk about what each word part means.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RF.5.3.a

Use letter-sound knowledge, syllable patterns, and word parts such as roots and affixes to read unfamiliar multisyllable words, in and out of context.

Preview

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Name Date

Calls for Help: Word Parts at the Dispatch Center

Use syllables, prefixes, suffixes and roots to read long words.

Read the story

Read the story. Pay attention to the long words.

The Quiet Room

1On the first Saturday of spring break, Imani Brooks visited the county's emergency dispatch center, where her uncle Teo worked as a dispatcher. The building was much quieter than she expected. Rows of glowing screens lined the walls, and each dispatcher wore a headset with a tiny microphone.

2"Our job is communication," Uncle Teo explained. "When someone calls for help, we gather information and send the right responders." He pointed to a large map on the wall. It showed where every available ambulance and fire engine was parked or driving. Some dispatchers answered calls, while others talked by radio with crews who were already out on the road.

3Imani sat in a comfortable chair beside his desk and listened carefully. The first call came from a man whose kitchen smelled like smoke. Uncle Teo spoke in a calm, reassuring voice. He asked short questions, typed the address, and sent a fire engine within seconds. "Please stay outside and wait for the crew," he told the caller.

4Later in the afternoon, a screen in the corner went dark unexpectedly. Imani held her breath. A technician named Ms. Varga found a cable that had come loose and disconnected the screen. She quickly rearranged a few wires, and the screen blinked back on. "Every system needs a backup plan," she said. "Preparation is a big part of this job."

5Before Imani left, Uncle Teo handed her a laminated card. It listed the first questions a dispatcher asks: Where are you? What happened? Is anyone hurt? "Those questions sound simple," he said, "but a frightened caller may feel uncomfortable or confused. Our responsibility is to stay patient, because every call is unpredictable."

6On the ride home, Imani studied the card again. She had always thought that the most exciting jobs happened at the scene of an emergency. Now she understood that some important work happened in a quiet room, one careful question at a time. She tucked the card into her pocket and decided to keep it on her desk at home.

Break apart long words

Use syllables and word parts to answer each question.

1.
Which shows the word dispatcher divided into syllables correctly?
  • A. di · spat · cher
  • B. disp · at · cher
  • C. dis · patch · er
  • D. dis · pa · tcher
2.
Which word from the story has four syllables?
  • A. technician
  • B. reassuring
  • C. microphone
  • D. ambulance
3.
Use the suffix of each word to sort it. Does the word name a person who does something, or an action or its result?
communicationdispatchertechnicianinformationpreparationresponder
A person who does somethingAn action or its result
4.
Match each word part to its meaning.
  1. un- (as in uncomfortable)
  2. re- (as in rearranged)
  3. -ful (as in careful)
  4. -able (as in washable)
  1. A. full of
  2. B. able to be
  3. C. not
  4. D. again
5.
Circle each word in which un- is a prefix that means "not."

uncleuncomfortableunderunexpectedlyuntilunpredictable

Read long words in the story

Go back to the story to answer these questions.

6.
The word unpredictable in paragraph 5 has a prefix, a base word and a suffix. Write the base word.

un +   + able

7.
Use the word parts to figure out what unpredictable means in paragraph 5.
  • A. able to be known ahead of time
  • B. known again and again each day
  • C. said out loud in a calm way
  • D. not able to be known ahead of time
8.
In paragraph 4, Ms. Varga rearranged a few wires. Take off the prefix re- and the ending -d. Write the base word that is left.

Base word:  

9.
In paragraph 3, Uncle Teo speaks in a reassuring voice. What does this tell you about his voice?
  • A. It helps the caller feel calm and safe.
  • B. It makes the caller feel rushed and worried.
  • C. It is too soft for the caller to hear.
  • D. It repeats each question to the caller.
10.
Choose one of these words from the story: disconnected or responsibility. Break it into syllables or word parts. Then explain how the parts help you read it and understand what it means.

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