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Lucy Calkins and Colleagues at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project present Watch a Small Group Conversation to See Students Tracing a Theme Across and Within Bud, Not Buddy and Tiger Rising (3-5)

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Guided Reading Tracker & Informal Assessment Tool

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Guided Reading Tracker & Informal Assessment Tool

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15 b&w 2 sided: Guided Reading Anecotal Records/Planner

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Great Explanation and Videos of Morphology Lessons

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Great Explanation and Videos of Morphology Lessons

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Are there any resources that provide a list of morphemes to teach at each K-5 grade level? I have been looking for a definitive list of morphemes that is organized by grade level like the Fry sight word list. I often come across research about how L1 and L2 students acquire morphemes, but I am looking for a list that represents the morphemes that students will most likely see in print at each K-5 grade level. Does anything like that exist? Thank you for your time. Shanahan response:
The short answer to this question is, "No, I don't know of such a list."

But when have I ever been satisfied with the short answer to anything?

Let's make sure we're all in agreement as to what constitutes a morpheme? Basically, a morpheme is the "smallest grammatical unit." It isn't the same thing as a word, and yet many words are morphemes. The distinction turns on whether the unit (the morpheme or word) can stand on its own. Words have to have that kind of independence, while morphemes don't require it.

Thus, bags, trucked, running, and redirect are all words in the English language while bag, s, truck, ed, run, ing, re, and direct are all morphemes. Each morphemic unit carries meaning, but sometimes morphemes can do that independently (bag, truck, run, direct), and sometimes they need to be combined with other morphemes to be considered a word (s, ed, ing, re).

I admitted ignorance on this issue, and I've tried to turn that ignorance to your advantage. I contacted Jeffrey and Peter Bowers. Both are outstanding scholars (Jeff at the University of Bristol in the UK, and Peter at WordWorks Literacy Centre, in Ontario) who are particularly knowledgeable about teaching morphology to improve literacy. They've both published widely on the issue, and both have chided me when they felt I wasn't paying sufficient attention to how words work morphologically. These days I know no one better able to provide you with a thoughtful answer to your question, and boy was I right! I apologize for the poor renditions of the Word Matrix and the Word Sums. I'll be working with my webmaster to get the real graphics in, but in the meantime you can go to the Word Works website to see them in their full glory. http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html
Word Matrix:
A map of a word family Here is Peter Bower's response (with my light editing):
Word Sums: reveal underlying structure of any complex word (a word with more than just a base)

"I have no knowledge of such a list, but I wouldn't recommend one anyway.

"My recommendation based on theory not direct research evidence - is that the main value comes from teaching all or many members of a morphological family at one time with the matrix and word sums (see the attached figure illustrating a matrix and word sum). In the younger grades I start with free bases [those morphemes that stand alone as words], but once that is established, I have no trouble introducing bound bases [the units that can't stand alone]. This relates to the research we cite about the value of studying meaningfully related items at one time rather than disconnected items.

"Instead of a "scope and sequence" of morphemes to teach, what I recommend is starting with words in the children's vocabulary, analyzing such words to find their bases, then looking for other members of that family.

"The point is not that there is a "scope and sequence" of morphemes to teach. Rather there is a kind of a "scope" of orthographic concepts that we want students to learn, and teachers can address those concepts based on whatever words are central to the readings they are introducing to the students.

"A brief list of those concepts that should be taught would include:

Every word is a base or a base with something else (another base or affix)

Bases and affixes (morphemes) are the meaningful building blocks that construct words.

We can analyze complex words into constituent morphemes with word sums and show their interrelationship with a matrix.

English spelling prioritizes consistent spelling of morphemes over consistent pronunciation of morphemes. (This is why we refer to morphemes by their spelling not their pronunciation. The base of the word action is not referred to by the pronunciation of the wordact. Instead it is referred to by its spelling. The base "a - c - t". This is the same as the fact that we don't refer to the <-ed> suffix by one or all of its three pronunciation, we call it by it's spelling "e-d suffix.")

Thus, we need to understand grapheme-phoneme correspondences from within the context of morphological families. (e.g. we learn the phonology of the grapheme by studying morphological families).

There are reliable conventions for the three suffixing conventions.

Studying and understanding the suffixing conventions is not primarily about improving spelling accuracy, it is about being able to analyze hypotheses about connections between words. We can test the hypothesis that "imagine" has a base "image" only if we know vowel suffixes replace final, non-syllabic "e" (image/ + ine -> imagine).

The "structure and meaning test": To determine that two words share a base, we need evidence from both structure (word sum) and meaning (etymology). So with the earlier example of words related to "play" (play, playing, playful, replay, playhouse), we can prove all of those words can be analyzed with word sums with coherent affixes and bases. But we can also show that they all go back to an Old English rootplegan, plegian for "frolic, move rapidly". However, the word "display" which can be analyzed structurally turns outnot to be related. It does not belong in the morphological family with the others because it goes back to a Latin rootplic(ere) for "fold". So to "display" is to "unfold".

"If we are going to teach children how their writing system works, we need to teach them the interrelation of morphology, phonology, and etymology. As we have pointed out, this is why Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is not about "adding" morphological instruction to phonics instruction - its about teaching how the system works. This is why I argue that SWI teaches grapheme-phoneme correspondences more explicitly and accurately than phonics. Phonics instruction (under the definition of associations of pronunciations and letters without reference to morphology or etymology) cannot explain the grapheme-phoneme correspondences in countless words like does or rough or every or homophones, and so on. So many people miss the absolute detail into orthographic phonology that comes with SWI.

"Here are some videos to illustrate my point:

Gr. 2 teacher showing investigations from his class Grade 2 morphology video

Investigating grapheme-phoneme correspondences in a Gr. 1 class - with the context of morphological word sums Grade 1 morphology video

A kindergarten lesson I taught introducing the word sum and matrix that touches on grapheme-phoneme correspondences like the pronunciation of the <-s> suffix for /z/ and /s/ Kindergarten morphology video

"It's as simple as starting with the "known" and then expanding from that. Even if kids know all the words in a morphological family (e.g. play, playing, playful, replay, playhouse) the lesson is not about new vocabulary, but learning how word structure links words. That concept can then be applied anywhere.

"The other thing I keep in mind when choosing morphological families to investigate is the orthographic concepts a family has to offer. If I've established the fact that words that share a base share a spelling and a meaning connection, then I can introduce a base like with words like actor, acting, react, and action as a way to introduce the fact that the pronunciation of morpheme might change but keep the spelling. In that way we learn the phonology of t is not the "t sound", but that the grapheme can write/t/ when that is the appropriate sound. I've attached an example of a lesson I've used for that before.

"I also draw on the <-ed> suffix from early on to highlight this same concept that morphemes do not have pronunciations until they are in a word. The pronunciation of a word like is another useful one to get rid of this idea of a "t sound" since this very common pronunciation of a very common suffix is what is typically thought of the "t sound," but their ain't no /t/!

"And then you also encounter words that give rise to the need to teach all the suffixing changes.
Shanahan again:
"These are concepts teachers need to learn and they can bring into work with their class as they investigate words."

I don't disagree with Peter on any of this, except I'm not as dismissive of the kind of list that you are requesting. I don't see it as mutually exclusive from the curriculum goals that he specified or contradictory of the kind of instruction he described.

Many teachers, when referring to morphology or "structural analysis", actually are talking about affixes alone, and not the bases. If that is the case here, there are some lists like that which present the most common prefixes and suffixes from textbooks in grades 3-9 (White, Sowell, & Yanagihara, 1989). You can easily find those lists on line and you could definitely make use of those lists to make sure that you are hitting all the notes if you do the word sums and matrixes that Peter recommends.

Otherwise, I haven't been able to come up with a graded list of bases for you to use. But I have passed your letter along to my friends at MetaMetrics (the Lexile people) and have asked if they could produce such a list from their language corpus of more than 1 billion words. Stay tuned!

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Morphology Instruction in Reading | Shanahan on Literacy

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This blog explores the newest ways of teaching children to make sense of word meaning through morphological analysis. Unlike past approaches, this one focuses on younger students--and not just older ones.

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Word Study - Planning for Transfer G3-G8

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Morphology Affixes Quick Reference Sheet

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A great resource where you can (or you can teach the kids to) make matrices.

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Morphology Home / Matrix Home

Welcome

Welcome to the main information page for Mini Matrix-Maker.

We aim to provide a simple low-cost web-based tool for creating word matrices, similar to the one below. For the moment, the current version is free.

Visit our Morphology Home page for other useful tools, which can help you improve your matrices.

Run Mini Matrix-Maker (free version)

Click the link below to run the program.

www.neilramsden.co.uk/spelling/matrix/run.html?version=temp

You may wish to add a bookmark to this link.

Please read the current terms and conditions before running it. They may be updated periodically.

Free Usage

We may charge for using the Mini Matrix-Maker in future, but for the moment usage is free. The most likely next step will be to include a voluntary donation box to help keep this web-site active.

Using Mini Matrix-Maker now doesn't commit you to any future involvement.

Example Matrix

View a sample Matrix Results Page, built from word sums around the base element <mode>.

What is Mini Matrix-Maker?

Mini Matrix-Maker will automatically build a word matrix for you from the set of word sums in your word family.

Normally, deciding how to organise your word matrix can be hard to get right and even one small change to your word sums can make a big difference in how the matrix looks.

Mini Matrix-Maker makes life easy for you, because all you have to do is concentrate on the word sums. From there, building an accurate, attractive matrix is all done for you.

How do you use a Word Matrix?

Word matrices are powerful tools for exploring and testing knowledge of word structure. They provide a graphical shorthand for illustrating families of interrelated words.

Word matrices read from left to right.

From them, you make single, complete words.

You may use one element from a column at a time.

You don't have to take an element from every column of a matrix - but you must not "leapfrog" over a column.

How does Mini Matrix-Maker compare with Word Microscope?

The Word Microscope program can more actively guide you in creating word sums and matrices. It recognises prefixes, bases, connecting vowels and suffixes, and includes checks and reference tools. You can also easily save and retrieve your work, or print a customised findings log.

Learn more by reading the quick comparison between Word Microscope and the Mini Matrix-Maker.

There is a Word Microscope download for Microsoft Windows, which can be used for free for a limited period.

Word matrices originated within Real Spelling. Visit the Real Spellers web-site to discover more about Real Spelling concepts and the role of matrices in understanding English orthography.

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Welcome to the main information page for Mini Matrix-Maker.

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Potential small group, partner, or individual inquiry

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Make a Copy before planning.

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UFLI
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LETRS
The Measured Mom

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Blank PA & Phonics Application Word Study Planner

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3-Day Cycle: PA & Phonics Application Planner

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Morphology K5 Scope and Sequence aligned to CCSS

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Morphology Affixes Quick Reference Sheet

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Sybil's Schedules 2022: Carol Morgan School.xlsx

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Decoding Focused Reading Group Examples & Blank

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Decoding Focused Reading Group Examples & Blank

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PA & Phonics with Reading/Writing
PA, Phonics & Reading
Connect, Practice, Transfer

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Word Study Documenting. Adapt to fit YOUR Curriculum progression

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Letter ID and Sounds
Phonological Awareness
Phonics

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Workshop Planning Across Week -Mock-up Detailed

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Lucy Calkins and Colleagues Units of Study

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Home / Our Series - Jump Rope Readers

Michael Rae-Grant and Lucy Calkins, Series Editors

What makes a book "just right" for a beginning reader? The answer is simple. A book is just right if the child can read it and wants to read it. Anything else is "just okay" at best. But, if you work with beginning readers, you know it's not easy to find these "just right" books.

On the one hand, there are books that beginners want to read but can't. Most picture books and chapter books fall into this category. Surprisingly, so do many of the early readers and I-can-reads you see in libraries and bookstores. On the other hand, too many of the decodable books that we see in classrooms aren't particularly enticing, even if beginners can read them. We think beginning readers deserve better.

We want all readers to begin as we aim for them to continue-with enthusiasm for reading and excitement to pick up the next book.

Download the Overview View Samples and Summaries

Introductory Video from Lucy Calkins and TCRWP Coauthors

"Teachers and students in our district have been loving the Jump Rope Readers. As a district, we purchased several different brands of decodable texts to find what teachers and students liked best and over and over, we hear how the Jump Rope Readers are the easiest to use and that students love the beautiful pictures and great story lines. We are grateful for this resource that allows us to easily match students to books that match the phonics work they are currently doing and that the books provide such lovable and fun stories."
- Jenn Nelson (Saline Area Schools, MI)

Four Key Qualities of Beginner Books

Influential reading researchers Richard Anderson and Freddy Hiebert described the key qualities that educators should look for in books for beginning readers in a report they wrote for the National Academy of Education. They wrote:
"Writing the first selections a child will read is a difficult balancing act. Ideally, the selections will be:

interesting (so that students will want to read them);

comprehensible (so that students are able to understand them); and

instructive (so that students will learn from them)."

Of course, a quality that underlies all of this is representation. When books are an accurate reflection of our beautifully diverse world, children find them considerably more interesting and comprehensible, so we added that foundational idea to the list of essential priorities that informed the development of the Jump Rope Readers series.

Interesting and Comprehensible

As you explore the Jump Rope Readers, you'll notice the books are arranged into different series, each starring a distinctive main character. There's Nick, who loves dinosaurs, and Ana with her big imagination, Tam, who's full of energy and mischief, Imran, who's a bit shy at first, and many more. In addition to getting to know these lovable main characters, we also get to know their diverse families. All the Jump Rope Readers take place in the same dynamic, inclusive urban neighborhood, so characters from earlier books make special guest appearances in later ones, extending stories in ways that will engage and delight beginning readers.

The fact that the Jump Rope Readers are arranged into series makes them more engaging to kids, and also makes them especially comprehensible. Series books feature familiar characters who react to problems in predictable ways. Once kids know who the characters are, they know what to expect, and this helps them follow the story. To ensure that kids understand the key characters and their relationships, each series begins with a "book one" that lays out these elements. In set A, "book one" is a picture book that teachers can read aloud to kids. In set B, it's a decodable book that kids can read on their own.

Example: Titles in the Red Series, featuring Tam and Nat

Representative

When kids open a book and see characters who look, live, or act like them, it helps them connect not only to the characters, but to the act of reading.

Instructive

Like all decodable books, the Jump Rope Readers start off simple, then gradually grow in complexity as more phonics content is added. The books follow a scope and sequence of letter-sound correspondences and high-frequency words that aligns with the phonics progression behind the Units of Study-and this same progression, or one quite similar to it, informs most other phonics programs as well.

Within this progression, the texts don't introduce every letter-sound correspondence in the English language (there are over two hundred), but rather focus on those letter-sound correspondences that occur most frequently in print, providing kids with an efficient path toward more advanced reading.

Overall, the scope and sequence offers a steady "ramp" into early trade books. By the time students have finished the last Jump Rope Reader, they'll have lots of letter-sound correspondences under their belts, and they'll be ready to tackle familiar series such as Fly Guy, Yasmin, Henry and Mudge, or Sofia Martinez. Ready, that is, for a deep dive into the wider world of children's literature.

To view the Scope and Sequence for the titles within each set, check out the Series Overview (pages 10 & 12).

Series Components

The Jump Rope Readers series consists of 66 high-interest decodable books and six accompanying read-alouds, organized into two classroom sets, each composed of two boxes. Together, these books gradually and systematically introduce beginning readers to new letter-sound correspondences and high-frequency words. Along the way, they also introduce memorable characters, exciting adventures, and the foundational elements of literary fiction.

Set A Includes:

Set B Includes:

View Samples and Summaries

Click on the button below to read sample books from each box and view the book Summaries Chart. The Jump Rope Readers Summaries Chart offers a closer look at the engaging storylines in the books and important details about opportunities to practice phonics skills across the series. We suggest that you review this information to make choices about which sets you will use in your classrooms and whether you might want additional sets of certain boxes to allow more than 6 students at a time to access any given set within the series. The book summaries also convey the spirit of the Jump Rope Readers series, depicting a dynamic, inclusive, urban neighborhood and the diverse families who live there.

Series Introduction Videos from the Authors

Ordering Information

The links below offer the online ordering options for the Jump Rope Readers. Please be sure to reach out to your local Heinemann sales rep to discuss your purchasing options.

Additional Purchasing Options

Individual Series Sets

Related Resources

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Jump Rope Readers - A Series of High-Quality Decodable Books

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Jump Rope Readers - A Series of High-Quality Decodable Books from Lucy Calkins and Colleagues

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About the cover artist

Elizabeth Close is an Anangu woman from the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara language groups in the APY Lands in outback South Australia. She was born in Adelaide and spent much of her upbringing in remote communities, learning her language and receiving cultural education.

'This artwork represents the literacy and numeracy learning journey, and the path towards independent learning. The circles represent the collaborative learning and supports around children with specific learning difficulties, including children, schools, families, SPELD SA and others.'  Elizabeth Close, Artist.
Click here for printing tips

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About the cover artist Elizabeth Close is an Anangu woman from the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara language groups in the APY Lands in outback South Australia. She was born in Adelaide and spent much of her upbringing in remote communities, learning her language and receiving cultural education.

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Wiley Blevins
Links to purchase High-quality Decodables

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science of reading research, phonics instruction must follow a defined scope and sequence with ample review and repetition. Each skill is explicitly introduced and applied in ways that get students thinking and talking about how words work.

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These are high quality decodables and FREE!

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Free Books for Kids | Consonant Digraphs | Beyond Decodables | Teacher Resources

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Beyond Decodables provides access to free kids books online with a focus on phonics and diversity. Kids books include decodable words related to CVC words, consonant diagraphs, CVCe Words, Multisyllabic Words, Consonant Blends, and Long Vowel Patterns.

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Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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Text Project

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The Reading GPS gives teachers information about whether students are moving toward the goal of proficient reading.

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Passages that match the phonics feature you are using...

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Kindergarten and First Grade Student Center Activities Phonological Awareness | Phonics | Fluency | Vocabulary | Comprehension

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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UFLI
CKLA
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The Measured Mom

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UFLI Passages
The Measured Mom-Fiction  Nonfiction
Core Knowledge Student Readers
Beyond Decodables
Speld Phonic Books
Open Source Phonics (Passages)
Flyleaf Publishing
Starfall

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