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Double check!

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Sight Words, Reading, Writing, Spelling & Worksheets

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A suffix is a letter or group of letters that come at the end of a word and have meaning. A derivational suffix is a type of suffix that creates a new word; the new word is derived from the base word, e.g., adding -er to the word creates a new word teacher.

Meanings of the Most Common Derivational Suffixes

The most frequently occurring derivational suffixes are as follows:

Source:
Fry, E.B., Ph.D. & Kress, J.E., Ed.D. (2006). The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists 5th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

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Meanings of Common Derivational Suffixes

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A suffix is a letter or group of letters that come at the end of a word and have meaning. A derivational suffix is a type of suffix that creates a new word; the new word is derived from the base word, e.g., adding -er to the word teach creates a new word teacher.

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Graphic organizers too, LOTS of LINKS

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Task 1: Think About It
Learning word parts (Latin and Greek roots, prefixes, suffixes) is a proven strategy to improve reading comprehension, develop vocabulary, and connect context clues.

Adults with expansive vocabularies can decipher word parts from experience. It becomes a habit and enhances reading and studying.

While this instruction initially takes place through elementary and middle schools, it tends to get lost in high school. However, students are learning more content-specific vocabulary and learning roots and derivatives can be even more critical!

Look through some resources and lists. How could you connect Latin and Greek roots to your content area?

Source: Teaching Latin Roots With Word Trees

Task 2: Get Your Hands on It

Open your device. Go to the website and enter the code. Start when ready!
You are competing against everyone else who is playing!

1. Look through the resources below.

2. Choose 4-5 roots that you could teach in your content area to enrich students' grasp of vocabulary.

3. Check to make sure it is not already on the sheet!

4. Add the word and other information to this sheet under your content area: Latin and Greek Root Words

Rough out an example of a way for students to record and study root words in your content (look at bottom of page for examples).

APPLY: How do we use this data to inform our instruction?

Identify key root words that would help your students understand and decipher vocabulary on your assesments AND standardized assessment.

Plan to include them in instruction.

Think of ways you could implement study of word roots to enhance learning.

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Task 1: Think About It Learning word parts (Latin and Greek roots, prefixes, suffixes) is a proven strategy to improve reading comprehension, develop vocabulary, and connect context clues. Adults with expansive vocabularies can decipher word parts from experience. It becomes a habit and enhances reading and studying.

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notebook ideas

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Free root word tree and more! Over eighty percent of the words in the English language contain a root word. The origin of the root word may be Greek, Latin, Old English, Anglo-Saxon, or even Proto-Indo-European! A Word Tree is a tree-shaped graphic organizer to help students understand root words and the words they generate. Using a root word tree, students discover that prefixes, roots, and suffixes combine to create meaning. A root word tree is one of my favorite ways to teach word origins. Below, you'll find links to a free root word tree and other freebies for teaching root words in your classroom. Click the images to get the freebie.

1. Free Intro to Greek and Latin Roots Interactive Notebook

This free interactive notebook activity answers two questions about Greek and Latin roots.

1. Where did they come from?

2. Why study them?

It's a color, cut, and glue activity. It can be used with any curriculum on Greek and Latin roots. I use it with my Greek and Latin roots interactive notebook.

2. Free Root Word Tree

Root word trees help students spot patterns when spelling and reading. I like to put a blank copy of this one on the Elmo and fill it in while they follow along with smaller versions in their INB. Click here to get it from my TpT store. There's two different versions - one with the boxes and one without. It's free!

There's also a cool video introduction to Greek and Latin roots on YouTube. I show the video when every student has completed the interactive notebook.

For something more advanced, All About Learning Press has a free word-builder root word tree. It's fun!

3. Free Greek and Latin Roots Flash Cards

These visual flash cards are the backbone of my Greek and Latin roots mnemonic unit. I love them because they are engaging, easy-to-use, and big enough to use with the entire class at the same time. They work with PowerPoint

4. Free Word Wall Cards

A set of ten word wall cards that illustrate and define ten numeric Greek and Latin roots.

5. Free Etymology Scavenger Hunt

Provided in editable form, in case you need to customize it to work with the dictionaries in your classroom.

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Free Root Word Tree and Vocab Resources - The Illustrated Classroom

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Free root word tree and more! Over eighty percent of the words in the English language contain a root word. The origin of the root word may be Greek, Latin, Old English, Anglo-Saxon, or even Proto-Indo-European! A Word Tree is a tree-shaped graphic organizer to help students understand root words and the words they generate.

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Some estimate that up to 75% of the English language is derived from Greek and Latin roots. They truly are the "building blocks" of English and present teachers with an extremely powerful framework to nurture students' vocabulary development.
Why should you be teaching Greek and Latin roots to your students?
1. Consistency: Not only do these roots follow fairly consistent orthographic patterns, they also have distinct semantic components; these features, when explicitly taught, allow students to link pronunciation, spelling, and meaning when encountering new and/or challenging words. Just as primary teachers utilize the consistency of word families to teach their emergent readers, upper grade and secondary teachers can also rely on the consistency of roots when teaching their students.

2. Effective Intervention: Many English language learners' first language is based on the Latin lexicon (e.g. Spanish). Teaching roots to these students allows them to connect new English vocabulary to words they already know in their native language. Research also indicates that struggling (native-English) readers also benefit from the learning Greek and Latin roots.

3. Increased Demands: Each year students in grades 5 and higher encounter around 10,000 new words in their reading! Most of these new words will be of Greek and Latin origin. When students are familiar with highly utilized roots, learning such a vast number of new words becomes so much more manageable.

4. Technical Vocabulary: Content areas such as science and social studies overwhelm students with unfamiliar vocabulary. Fortunately, most of these scientific or scholarly terms are grounded in Greek and Latin origins. If students know the meaning of a root, they are more apt to determine the meaning of an unknown word that uses that root.
Activities for Teaching Roots
Most of the pintables referenced below can be
downloaded for free{HERE}.

1. Root Tree:
This activity is pretty straightforward and easy to implement. Print a "Root Tree" page (download for free
HERE) for your students. I really like
having students complete this activity in pairs or triads, but it can also be
completed independently. Assign students
a root or affix, which they will write at the base of the tree (roots); they
should also include the meaning of the root.
Then students fill in the spaces on the branches with words derived from
the root. They may need to reference
outside sources (dictionary, Internet, prepared list of root words, etc,) to
find words. This is a great way to introduce a new root to
students and it presents a great visual of how the words are connected in
meaning to the particular root of the tree.

2. Root Word Graphic Organizer: This activity is
similar to the Root Tree, except students will include definitions for the words
on this page. Again, students can
complete this in pairs, small groups, or independently.

3. Divide and Conquer: For this activity, you'll
need to choose 4-8 preselected words.
The words should all contain the same root; the example shown uses
"sens, sent" (Latin - "to feel, sense, perceive). Any affixes that are part of
the words should be ones your students already know the meaning to. Take for example the word "sensible." Students break down the word into its meaningful parts (e.g. sens + ible). The meaningful parts are then defined (e.g.
to feel + able to be). Students will
then provide a literal definition based on the meaning of the roots (e.g. able
to feel). The last step requires
students to provide a dictionary definition of the word (e.g. capable of being
made aware of or of feeling). Divide and
Conquer allows students to examine the meaningful parts of words to determine
their meanings. They can then compare the literal definition of words (based on
the root and affix meanings) to the dictionary definitions, which allows them
to see how similar the definitions are (in most cases).

4. Word Bingo: Use a Bingo card that is either a 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 matrix. You can download a set for free . Create a list of root words that the students have been studying and project them or write them on the board for all students to see. Students can then write the words down where ever they wish on their matrix (one word per square). Then you will read clues for the words. Clues might include a word's definition, synonym, antonym, or a sentence with the target word omitted. If a student recognizes a clue for a particular word, he/she can then cross out that word. The first student to have a complete row, column, or diagonal can call out "Bingo!"

5. Concentration: Prepare pairs of concentration cards so that one card has the word written on it and the other has the definition. A set of cards should contain at least 8 words and their definitions, for a total of 16 cards. The students will shuffle the cards and place them face down. They will take turns with a partner to flip over two cards, trying to find a match between word and definition. Once a match has been made, that student gets to keep those cards. The student with the most cards wins. I made a set of these concentration cards for each of the 40 units in my Get to the Root of It! Books.

6. Invent-a-Word: This is a fun "review" activity since it uses word roots that have been previously taught. Provide students with a list of roots and affixes that they are already familiar with. Their task is to combine these known roots to invent new words. They must also compose definitions for these words. Students can work alone or in pairs to create at least 3 words and definitions. Students will then share and discuss their invented words with the class.

7. Word Charades: Have a list of 10 words displayed so that all students can see it during the entire activity. In pairs, students review all 10 words and then select 1 that they will act out. Give the students 2-3 minutes to plan how they will act out their word. The rest of the class will then try to guess the word while looking over the list of 10 words.

If you're interested in implementing a robust and through Greek and Latin roots vocabulary program, click on the image below!

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Some estimate that up to 75% of the English language is derived from Greek and Latin roots. They truly are the "building blocks" of English and present teachers with an extremely powerful framework to nurture students' vocabulary development. Why should you be teaching Greek and Latin roots to your students?

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Who says Latin is a dead language? It's true that no country speaks Latin anymore, but thousands of English words have Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes. More than that, Latin words, expressions, and abbreviations are part of everyday English, particularly in the areas of law and business. Below I've listed 77 examples of Latin terms every English speaker should become familiar with.

ad nauseam to the point of disgust
Alternative to ad infinitum; repeating until it makes one sick.

Tom complained ad nauseam about his new job.

aurora borealis northern lights
A natural light display visible in the night time sky in Arctic regions; the same phenomena in the south is known as the aurora australis.

Even after twenty years of living in northern Alaska, Carol never ceased to be astonished by the sudden beauty of the aurora borealis.

coram deo in the presence of god
The theological idea that we live ever in the presence of, under the authority of, and to the honor and glory of God.

We are never really alone, because all of life is lived coram deo.

cum laude
A title applied to academic graduates who attain to a level of excellence. Students can also graduate magna cum laude (with great honor) or summa cum laude (with highest honor).

Sarah is naturally smart, but it was her dedication to academic study that caused her to graduate summa cum laude.

deus ex machina God from the machine
An unexpected, artificial, or improbable resolution to a plot situation in a work of fiction.

The action movie was entertaining, but the ending was an unconvincing deus ex machina.

in vitro
Refers to studies done on organisms isolated from their normal biological surroundings; commonly called test tube studies or experiments.

persona non grata not-pleasing person
An unwelcome, unwanted, or undesirable person.

After I broke Aunt Wilma's antique vase, I was persona non-grata at the Thomas home.

semper fideles always faithful
The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps; sometimes abbreviated semper fi.

My uncle, the retired Marine sergeant, has "semper fideles" tattooed on his arm.

sic
Just so; used to indicate that a preceding quotation is copied exactly, despite any errors of spelling, grammar, or fact.

The student wrote "the communists were probly right about some things [sic]."

sola fide faith alone
One of the "Five Solas" of the Protestant Reformation that summarize the theology of the reformers. The others are sola scriptura (by Scripture alone), sola gratia (by grace alone), solo Christo (Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone).

An important tenet of Protestantism is the idea of sola fide - that salvation is attained by faith, not works.

p.s. (post scriptum)
After writing; used to indicated addendums to otherwise completed personal letters.

Sincerely,George

p.s., Don't forget to feed the parrot.

***** Please leave your comments and questions below!

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77 Latin Words, Abbreviations, and Expressions That You Should Know

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Who says Latin is a dead language? It's true that no country speaks Latin anymore, but thousands of English words have Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes. More than that, Latin words, expressions, and abbreviations are part of everyday English, particularly in the areas of law and business.

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I often get asked about how best to teach Greek and Latin Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes. In this article, I'm going to share eight ways I integrate teaching Greek/Latin Roots into my vocabulary instruction. Teachers and instructional coaches will recognize that these methods are designed to take only small amounts of time and energy above what they are already doing in the classroom, and that many of these suggestions can be done in connection with other vocabulary learning and review methods.
Download the WORD STRUCTURE: Greek and Latin Roots Tip Sheet now!
"The word 'benevolent' starts with the root 'bene.' How many of you can think of a word that starts with 'bene' or 'ben'?" I ask my students when reviewing the two vocabulary words of the day.

"Benefit!" "Benefactor!" "Benign!" "Bengal!", shout students. I laugh, caution them that they aren't all quite right, and I then ask them what most of those words have in common. The students suss out that "bene" means good or positive. Then I ask what the opposite of benevolent is, and one student mumbles quietly, "malevolent."

I probe deeper, asking about the meaning of the root "mal" and if the Spanish cognate"mal" also means bad (it does). I ask about other words that start with "mal" and soon students have a strong grasp on the roots "bene" and "mal" without me having to didactically explain each word or its meaning.

This is my favorite part of teaching Greek and Latin roots- the excitement and charge students get from linking their prior knowledge with their current learning. This charge is really important because it proves to students that they often know more than they think they know about their language, and that they are curious about words, their meanings, and their mutations.

Benefits of Teaching Greek and Latin Roots

Our English standards imply that teachers should encourage students to be curious word learners, and, by imagining vocabulary words as puzzles to be solved rather than pieces of information to be digested, they become much more engaged.

Research reinforces that deep learning occurs not when our students blindly memorize information, but rather when they get excited about their opportunities for growth.

No matter how small the time investment, when a teacher or coach takes the time to develop students' basic knowledge of roots/suffixes/prefixes, much more sophisticated lexicon development can occur. Students can access and develop their root skills in order to expand their knowledge without teachers having to devote whole class periods to studying language.

Ideas to Integrate Greek and Latin Roots Into Vocabulary Instruction

Idea 1: Greek and Latin Root Words Worksheet

First, teachers can provides students with this basic Greek and Latin root words worksheet that Sadlier has created. Have students fold the paper in half so that they can only read either the meaning of the root or the root itself. Then students can see how many meanings/roots they can identify just with this simple self-assessment.

Students who score highly on this formative pre-assessment can set goals to see how many words they can identify with the roots/prefixes/suffixes, while struggling students can focus on simply linking their new word learning with these basic prefixes/suffixes and roots.

Idea 2: Greek and Latin Roots Matching Game

Another fun way to test students' knowledge of root words is to use the Greek and Latin root word games games on Sadlier Connect online.

When students visit Sadlier Connect, they can click into their vocabulary program and grade level. They will then see 'Matching Challenge- Greek Roots' and 'Matching Challenge- Latin Roots' under the Games and Study Aids section. With these games, students will work to match the roots or meanings at the bottom of the screen with the words or roots that float by. The game aspect can both intrigue and frustrate students so teachers should know which students learn from the competitive online game and which do not.

Idea 3: Identify GreeK and Latin Roots Reviewing Daily Vocabulary Words

The third resource that will assist you in teaching Greek and Latin roots while reviewing daily vocabulary words. As teachers or coaches review two or three vocabulary words each day in class, students can add the Greek and Latin roots to the mnemonic device column on the Vocabulary Sheet of the Week.

In doing so, teachers are providing students with a mnemonic device for their learning of an individual word, as well as providing the necessary instruction on Greek/Latin roots that students need and our standards demand.

Idea 4: Connect Vocabulary Words That Contain the Same Root

Simple Word Webs are a great resource to utilize when teaching Greek/Latin roots. Have students place a root on their Word Web sheet and then surround it with various vocabulary (and more basic) words that contain the same root. This basic thought exercise really helps students make connections across many dissimilar words until they see the big picture of the root's meaning.

Idea 5: Baseball Greek and Latin Roots Game

One way I've been successful teaching Greek and Latin roots is with my Vocabulary Baseball Game.

When teachers/coaches play the Vocabulary Baseball Game with students, they should designate that the pitcher "throws" roots/prefixes/suffixes at batters, rather than words. The pitcher must answer with the meaning of the root/prefix/suffix, an example word, and how that word utilizes the Greek/Latin word part in its meaning.

To learn more about how the Vocabulary Baseball Game, grab the free download! This will help you get a better idea on how the game can be adjusted to review Greek and Latin roots.

Idea 6: Reward Students for Recognizing Greek and Latin Word Parts

A quick and easy way to encourage students to analyze their words is simply to reward them when they recognize Greek/Latin word parts in vocabulary words or in other words in texts! This incentive really puts the ownership on the students to recognize and analyze when and how Greek and Latin roots are being used. It costs the teacher little to nothing and can pay off significantly.

Idea 7: Build Vocabulary Words Around a Greek and Latin Root

Finally, teachers and instructional coaches can tweak one of my favorite vocabulary activities to practice Greek and Latin roots!

To repurpose the Build a Sundae Vocabulary Activity teachers and/or coaches should simply write a root in each student's bowl, then have each student describe the elements of the sundae using words that include the root.

Example: "Mal" -the ice cream was a malignant blight on the bowl as it began to run so the malicious strawberries began attacking them with their stems...

Idea 8: Vocabulary Workshop Achieve

Vocabulary Workshop Achieve provides a variety of activities and games to help students see these roots/suffixes/prefixes as an extension of their vocabulary learning that can help students become better word detectives.

When using Sadlier's Vocabulary Workshop Achieve program, each review unit contains a Greek/Latin root practice page highlighting a specific root. All of these activity pages can be completed in one lesson, perhaps by assigning one page to each student in a group, and then each group member reports out. Thereby, students can really start to understand the way much of our language developed.

In Summary

Greek and Latin roots are an integral part of vocabulary instruction but can be tedious and overwhelming to teach in isolation.

The more students feel success in connecting their prior knowledge with their current learning to actually understand and ultimately utilize their vocabulary in their own writing, the more the teacher or coach has succeed! If students enjoy this vocabulary learning and sleuthing, the more they can take ownership of their own education.

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8 Ways to Integrate Greek/Latin Roots into Vocabulary Routines

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Eight ways I integrate teaching Greek/Latin Roots into my vocabulary instruction. Teachers and instructional coaches will recognize that these methods are designed to take only small amounts of time and energy above what they are already doing in the classroom. Plus, I'm sharing FREE printables.

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Great Resource for all ages!!!

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You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Familiarity with Greek and Latin roots, as well as prefixes and suffixes, can help students understand the meaning of new words. This adapted article includes many of the most common examples.

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Abstract

Content-Area Vocabulary: Slippery and Essential

The Power of Roots

Working It In

Day 1. Introduce the Root

Day 2. Divide and Conquer

Day 3. Read and Reason

Teacher Testimonials

Studying Latin and Greek word origins makes vocabulary instruction resonate.

Credit: Copyright(C)2000-2006 Adobe Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

Content-Area Vocabulary: Slippery and Essential

The Power of Roots

Working It In

Day 1. Introduce the Root

Day 2. Divide and Conquer

Day 3. Read and Reason

Teacher Testimonials

Research going back seven decades demonstrates that vocabulary knowledge is strongly associated with proficiency in reading comprehension. Large vocabularies lead to better reading performance (Baumann et al., 2002; Davis, 1944). Amazingly, more than 80 percent of students' reading comprehension test scores can be accounted for by vocabulary knowledge (Reutzel & Cooter, 2015). Yet, the most recent assessment of 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students' vocabulary development shows that at all three grade levels, U.S. students have demonstrated no improvement at all in their vocabulary knowledge since 2009 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015).

According to vocabulary scholar Margaret McKeown, very little vocabulary instruction happens in many U.S. classrooms (Banchero, 2013). Where vocabulary instruction does occur, students often learn to view it as painful and meaningless: weekly word lists and quizzes. Students may memorize words, spellings, and definitions, but these are quickly forgotten. The result of either approach-benign neglect or rote memorization-is stagnation in our students' vocabulary knowledge.

Content-Area Vocabulary: Slippery and Essential

Clearly, there is a need for improved vocabulary instruction across grade levels and content areas. Content-area words represent concepts that are integral to a field of study, yet mastering such vocabulary can be challenging for students because it involves learning new words for new ideas. Limited understanding of content-area vocabulary can lead to misconceptions and gaps in students' learning. It can hinder future learning (Blachowicz & Obrochta, 2005) as students try to build new understandings on existing knowledge. Moreover, students encounter content-area vocabulary infrequently outside of school, so they're unlikely to learn these terms indirectly (Worthington & Nation, 1996). Teachers face the dual task of helping students master new conceptual knowledge and teaching the terminology that goes with it.

Content-area vocabulary is abstract and technical, and it assumes multiple meanings in various contexts-all of which adds cognitive complexity to reading and learning. Students studying the American Revolution, for example, learn vocabulary terms such as revolution, regiment, and movement. Consider the different meanings, both literal and figurative, two of these terms assume in other content areas. In science, a revolution involves the literal act of the earth turning around the sun, whereas in social studies, it describes an act in which power is figuratively turned back to the people. Similarly, a movement in the context of the American Revolution refers to the colonists' efforts to establish independence from Britain. But in music class, students study movements in a symphony; in science they learn about tectonic movements; and in physical education class, they engage in physical movement.

The multiple meanings of many academic words are domain specific. So knowledge of a word in one context may not support understanding of that word in another context. Students must learn to be flexible thinkers and develop an understanding of words that extends beyond single definitions. Likewise, teachers must ensure that vocabulary instruction is multidimensional and extends beyond dictionary definitions (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2009; Newton, Padak, & Rasinski, 2008).

The Power of Roots

Basing vocabulary study on Greek and Latin roots can help. The academic register is vast and complex but not haphazard: The majority of academic words are connected by morphemic (meaning-based) patterns derived largely from Latin and Greek lexicons (Edwards, Font, Baumann & Boland, 2004; Graves, 2004; Padak, Newton, Rasinski, & Newton, 2008). Scholars estimate that up to 90 percent of words with more than one syllable have origins in Latin and that many of the remaining multisyllabic words share roots in Greek (Padak et al., 2008). These morphological patterns provide the foundation of much content-area vocabulary, as up to 76 percent of commonly occurring academic words share morphological roots (Coxhead, 2000; Hiebert & Lubliner, 2008). By analyzing these patterns, students can make connections between words that are semantically and conceptually related (Baumann, et al., 2002; Edwards, et al., 2004).

Teachers at all grade levels and content areas can provide instruction in Greek and Latin roots to develop students' vocabulary. A morphological approach to vocabulary instruction emphasizes teaching affixes (prefixes, bases, and suffixes) that occur commonly in content-area words. This generative approach teaches meanings for key words while helping students learn to analyze and infer meaning from the structure of words in general. Students can then use this understanding to independently infer the meanings of new words they encounter. This approach may be particularly beneficial for students who find reading difficult (Kirk & Gillon, 2009; Nelson, Dole, Hosp, & Hosp, 2015) and can act as a learning bridge for English language learners whose first language is also based on Latin or Greek, such as Spanish.

The generative nature of Latin and Greek word roots gives them great potential for improving vocabulary. Knowledge of one root can lead to understanding of many English words. Take, for example, the Latin root trac(t). Knowing that this word root means to drag, pull, or draw, students will better understand why a tooth extraction means to have a tooth pulled, distracted means to have your attention pulled or drawn away, a contraction can refer to muscles pulling together or two words being pulled into one, and a tractor is a vehicle used for pulling or dragging farm machinery.

Many teachers recognize the importance of using Latin and Greek word patterns to build vocabulary, but are still developing their own understanding of morphemic patterns and how they can use these patterns to expand students' word knowledge. Fortunately, teachers can tap online resources to identify roots, provide definitions, and find lists of English words containing key roots (see "Resources for Learning Your Roots" for some of our favorite online resources).

Working It In

It's not hard to bring Latin and Greek word roots into a classroom. The first step is to find the time. We recommend devoting 10 minutes per day at least three days per week; this should let you teach one or two word roots per week. Consider trying the following routine.

Day 1. Introduce the Root

Focus on one or two roots per week. English language arts teachers might check the content covered in math, science, or social studies to find roots that are pertinent to students' current instruction in these areas. (See Figure 1 for a starter list of word roots related to the content areas.) Display the root and its essential meaning on a large classroom chart or screen. Brainstorm with students 5-10 words that contain that particular root, and write the words and their definitions on the chart. Keep the chart posted so you and your students can refer to it throughout the next several days of instruction.

Figure 1. A Few Content-Area Word Roots from Latin (L) and Greek (G)

angl-, angul-= angle, corner (L)

dia-and per-= through, across, thorough (L)

frag-, fract-= break, broken (L)

graph-, gram-= write, draw (G)

integer-, integr-= whole (L)

meter-, metr-= measure, meter (G)

hem(o)-, hemat(o)-, -emia, -emic= blood (G)

spher-= ball, globe; region, zone (G)

arch-, -archy= leader, first, oldest (G)

- crat, -cracy= rule, ruler (G)

dic-, dict-= say, speak, tell (L)

equ(i)-, egal-= equal, fair (L)

Lead students in a discussion of how the word meanings contain the essential meaning of the word root. For example, if the root of the week is terr(a), meaning earth or land, help students see how words such as territory, terrace, terrain, subterranean, and Mediterranean refer to earth or land in some essential way.

Day 2. Divide and Conquer

Provide 5-10 words that contain the target root(s) for the week. Guide students in breaking each word into its essential parts (prefix plus base word, base word plus suffix, or word and inflected ending) and identifying the meaning of the parts. Then, discuss how a reader might get to the word's meaning by considering the meanings of individual word parts.

Here's an example using the phil(e) word root:

Bibliophile: biblio = books; phile = love(r). Lover of books.

Philosopher: phil = love; soph = wisdom; -er = a person. A person who loves wisdom.

Philanthropy: phil = love; anthropy = humanity, people. The love of people.

Philadelphia: phil = love; adelphia (adelphos) = brother. City of brotherly love.

Over time, help students see that new concepts can be created by adding the meanings of word parts together.

Day 3. Read and Reason

Vocabulary is important to the extent that it helps readers make meaning of texts. On the third day, students read and respond to passages that contain one or more words including the targeted word root, using their newfound vocabulary to construct meaning as they read. You might write a passage that highlights key words, have students write one, or use something you find. Here are two passages,1 the first for older students and the second for younger, from our own work (Rasinski, Padak, Newton, & Newton, 2014a, 2014b):

We all know that racial segregation is outlawed in the United States-and for good reason. When a society segregates people according to their race, an injustice is committed against them. The Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." But a racially segregated society treats citizens unequally. In a segregated society, some people are denied basic human rights, such as the right to equal opportunities in housing, employment, or education. Not so long ago, some people were even denied the right to sit at a table in the same restaurant with others of a different race! Racially segregated societies do not provide equal access to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Far from honoring the dignity of each and every human being, segregation clusters people into "herds." This is what the Latin base greg- means: In segregation, people are "herded" into separate clusters and kept apart from one another. A segregated society can never be an equal society. This is why U.S. law mandates racial desegregation.

Do you agree that a "segregated society can never be an equal society"? Why?

Four quarters make a dollar

Four quarts make a gallon

Quart means four I'll bet.

Four sides make a quadrilateral

Four muscles make quadriceps

Now we know that quad means four

So how many babies make quadruplets?

This sequence allows students to experience word roots across time and in a variety of ways. Of course, you can always expand such lessons beyond three class sessions, trying activities like completing sentences with relevant words, playing word games, and assessing students' knowledge of word roots.

Teacher Testimonials

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of word-roots instruction with contextual analysis in primary and intermediate grade classrooms, in various content areas, and with struggling readers (Baumann et al., 2002; Biemiller, 2005; Harmon, Hedrick & Wood, 2005; Porter-Collier, 2010).

Lisha Cabral (2015) studied elementary science teachers who: collaborated with English language arts teachers to teach Greek and Latin roots. These teachers' students were better able to understand the science terms provided than students who didn't receive such instruction. Moreover, students who were taught word roots were more able to hypothesize the conceptual meaning of newly introduced science vocabulary than were students who were not provided with word-root instruction.

Teacher testimonials paint a similar picture. Joanna Newton has noticed that roots-based instruction improved her 3rd grade students' understanding of content-area vocabulary. One student who was learning English as an additional language made a powerful connection between the Latin prefix e/ex and the word erosion during a science unit on weathering. The class had spent several days studying and exploring the Latin prefix e/ex, meaning "out" or "away from." At the end of a lesson on soil erosion, a student named Aaliyah called out, "Erosion! Ms. Newton, is that e in erosion from ex?"

Newton responded that she was unsure. She invited students to share their thinking on the question: Was the e in erosion from e/ex? Why did they think so? Was there a meaning of "out" or "away from" in the word? The students reasoned that the e in erosion was from this prefix because soil was taken away from one place and moved to another. Newton invited Aaliyah to confirm the class's thinking by looking the word up, and Aaliyah reported the next day that the class's reasoning had been correct.

Middle school teacher and reading coach Hillary Loftus recently told us:

A solid background in the meaning of word roots helps all of my students with their reading comprehension. Recognizing and knowing how to apply root meanings is especially valuable for my students whose vocabularies are not as broad as I would like them to be. Often these students will encounter a word in their reading that initially seems intimidating and unsolvable. They used to freeze, give up, or just say the first few sounds and make something up. If a student can recognize the meaning of just one part of a difficult word, this provides him a toehold on the new vocabulary. Students don't give up as easily because they already know something about the word.

Words in English aren't random strings of letters; their patterns have logic and meaning, much of which comes from Latin and Greek. Unfortunately, many students are unaware of this link and unable to use it to learn new words and concepts. Let's help our students-and ourselves-gain this secret knowledge about English vocabulary.

Resources for Learning Your Roots

End Notes

1 Excerpts from Getting to the Roots of Social Studies Vocabulary and Getting to the Roots of Content Vocabulary, copyright © 2014 Shell Education. Used with permission.

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