# data[].attributes.body
natashya@erinkentconsulting.com

Website: erinkentconsulting.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
About the Community | Erin Kent Consulting (EKC)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A few special gifts for signing up now: a strategy call with Erin Kent or an EKC Senior Strategist to get started using the EKC Community to support your current literacy initiatives; and 5 free spots in our live, virtual winter courses ($1495 value!)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TextProject is the only website with student texts and teacher guides based on the science of reading-available for free download. Download our research-based, open-access resources for teachers, teacher educators, parents, tutors, and students.

TextProject is the only website with high-quality student texts and teacher guides that are all available for free download.

download-student-texts-banner

Leveled | Research-based | Open access

Vocabulary instruction through networks of words

Vocabulary instruction through networks of words

A blog and video series based on evidence from reading research

A blog and video series based on evidence from reading research

Free Classroom Materials for Teaching Reading

Classroom-proven resources including favorite books, reading passages, vocabulary lessons, word pictures, literacy lists & forms.

Free Student Texts

Free texts for reading instruction! TextProject is the sole website with free texts based on the science of reading.

For programs such as BeginningReaders and FYI for Kids, world-renowned researcher and teacher educator, Patricia Cunningham, has written lessons to accompany the texts.

Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary is the strongest predictor of reading comprehension. TextProject provides free resources for the four kinds of vocabulary words that contribute to reading comprehension: core, academic, content-area, and literary.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Strategies, tools, and texts to bring beginning and struggling readers to proficient levels of literacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Example: Vocabulary Study 2-week Planner

# data[].attributes.headline
Resource for teaching Semantic Word Mapping

# data[].attributes.subject
Resource for teaching Semantic Word Mapping

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Semantic Mapping - Teach with Tech

Discover Lessons in Action:

Watch Our Quick View Technology Videos:

As students advance to upper elementary grades, there is a shift from "learning to read" to "reading to learn", particularly with regard to content-area reading in history, social studies, and science. Students are expected to read primary and...

Quick View: Using Multimedia to Support Reading Instruction

Part of preparing students to become college and career ready involves helping them become adept at integrating and evaluating information in a variety of different media formats. To help students become comfortable with multimedia, it is useful to...

What's New on POWERUP?

AIR Informs Episode #6: Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities During COVID-19
Remote learning requires adjustment for all students, but students with disabilities face additional challenges during the COVID-19 quarantine. In the latest episode of AIR Informs, Allison Gandhi, managing researcher and director of AIR's special education practice area, describes some of these obstacles and shares strategies to help students make the most of this time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Semantic Mapping - Teach with Tech | Power Up What Works

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover Lessons in Action: Watch Our Quick View Technology Videos: As students advance to upper elementary grades, there is a shift from "learning to read" to "reading to learn", particularly with regard to content-area reading in history, social studies, and science. Students are expected to read primary and...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Study_Morpheme Frequency in Academic Words_ Identifying High-Utility Morphemes for Instruction

# data[].attributes.headline
Scope and Sequence from Can Do Kids Academy

# data[].attributes.subject
Scope and Sequence from Can Do Kids Academy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This reading intervention was developed and tested by Dr. Jessica Toste and colleagues at The University of Texas at Austin. The program materials were redesigned for open access by the Toste Team in October 2022. We are excited for you to use the Word Connections program! We look forward to continued feedback from teachers and students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This classroom-tested program teaches spelling concepts explicitly, systematically, cumulatively, and enjoyably! A perfect complement to your current reading and language arts program, Spellography was designed to help all students make sense of the English spelling system, and thus become better at understanding, reading, and writing words.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Appealing and informational morpheme reference cards for when teachers and students need a quick morpheme review or reminder. Post these in the classroom to support the Morpheme Magic lessons. These cards are built into many of the lesson activities, or can serve as a stand-alone for learning anytime during the day.

# data[].attributes.headline
Go: Learn more about Grammer process and about evidence for learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Go: Learn more about Grammer process and about evidence for learning

# data[].attributes.body
Great lesson ideas and i now have some useful lessons brewing in my mind

# data[].attributes.headline
Really like how it has been structured to teach vocabulary - word web/word matrix/word sum. Can't wait to try it with my children.

# data[].attributes.subject
Really like how it has been structured to teach vocabulary - word web/word matrix/word sum. Can't wait to try it with my children.

# data[].attributes.body
Got: Make time for it!!!! Lots of usable applications and great resources.

Wants: Scheduling when there is so little time

# data[].attributes.headline
I really have a lot to think about now. Love the resources - and I have new thoughts on having students use the matrix for word parts. Tomorrow I would like to focus more on grammar. 

# data[].attributes.subject
I really have a lot to think about now. Love the resources - and I have new thoughts on having students use the matrix for word parts. Tomorrow I would like to focus more on grammar. 

# data[].attributes.headline
Gots: Lots of examples and very applicable ideas! 

# data[].attributes.subject
Gots: Lots of examples and very applicable ideas! 

# data[].attributes.body
As an EAL in multiple homerooms, I'm wondering if there are any suggestions around collecting and sharing student insights in public/digital spaces.

# data[].attributes.headline
Got great ideas and resources. Would love to learn more about Word Study assessment and progress monitoring.

# data[].attributes.subject
Got great ideas and resources. Would love to learn more about Word Study assessment and progress monitoring.

# data[].attributes.body
I like the resource suggestions and ideas for how this knowledge can transfer.  I also really like how you suggested dipping into UFLI resources.
Scheduling and how a week might look at various grade would be really helpful. However, I'm also a grammar geek so love the idea of that too. Thanks :)

# data[].attributes.headline
Take away: Great resources on the padlet and also the books you recommended look very interesting.

# data[].attributes.subject
Take away: Great resources on the padlet and also the books you recommended look very interesting.

# data[].attributes.body
GOT: Word study is a critical piece in the teaching of literacy

WANT: How can we make it more explicit/meaningful for multilingual learners?

# data[].attributes.body
Take aways: resources and examples of activities

Wants: scheduling with recommended minutes for different grade levels

# data[].attributes.body
I thought this was intriguing and never thought of word study integrated into science and social studies blocks and I definitely want to explore this.

# data[].attributes.body
Got - Great Resources, a great foundation for some ideas to amp-up my current word study practice

Want - Some time with scheduling (esp. for schools beholden to TC UOS...), But would also be happy to spend time on grammar

# data[].attributes.body
Got great tools and resource books.  LOVED the word matrix.

Would love to learn more about how to schedule or build a weekly planner with morphology (amount of time)

THANK YOU!

# data[].attributes.body
Got: This may be very basic, but the validation of how important word study is for all learners, and the time should be made for it, and there are so many great ways to do so.
Want: Strategies and Routines to fit it into our already overwhelming schedule.

# data[].attributes.headline
Example of Passage written to implement words with prefixes 

# data[].attributes.subject
Example of Passage written to implement words with prefixes 

# data[].attributes.headline
Great Website matching books with morpheme bases (and sometimes concepts)

# data[].attributes.subject
Great Website matching books with morpheme bases (and sometimes concepts)

# data[].attributes.body
Could use as a resource...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Skip to content

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Literacy Resources | Can Do Kids Academy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Can Do Kids website is full of ready-made resources to support teachers and learners in their study of English orthography.

# data[].attributes.headline
Choose ONE of the activities to do in your Break Out room. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Choose ONE of the activities to do in your Break Out room. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prefix Morpheme Matching - Google Jamboard

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
List of Morpheme frequency fromHolly B. Lane, Linda Gutlohn & Wilhelmina van Dijk

# data[].attributes.body
Filled with ideas to explore...

# data[].attributes.body
Many, many articles and resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Blog

The senior year for high school students and their parents can be an exciting time and a time of anxiety. For many, much anxiety focuses on the college application process. Some believe it is imperative to enroll in one of those colleges considered elite or "one of the best." Often this thinking is that an elite school will provide a better education than a non-elite one. This thinking is misguided....Read More

Thanks to a great kindergarten teacher, my mom, and my dad, I learned how to read before starting first grade. My journey illustrates that the path literacy is not always straight and narrow, children can come into literacy in a variety of different ways....Read More

Read this email from 7th grade teacher Kelly Beggs and learn how she used phonics and fluency instruction with her struggling readers in the 7th grade to increase her students' Lexile scores in just one school year....Read More

Freedom and independence are never free. They are won by those willing to stand up and work for these bedrock human values. Twice in the 20th century the people of the United States rose up to defend their freedom and independence. Among these people were hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States to gain these human rights and who then often found themselves fighting their own countrymen to keep these rights....Read More

I was first introduced to a Rapid Recognition Chart (RRC) during my initial-level Orton-Gillingham training. It is a tool that can be used during the fluency portion of a lesson; a way to add variety. During my advanced-level training, I used RRCs to improve my student's oral reading fluency and words read correct in their decodable texts. As I started to see the benefits of the RRC when working one on one with students, I began to use them in my reading intervention groups with exciting results....Read More

When phonics instruction is done with high-leverage instructional practices, using interactive writing, and decodable texts, the impact is palpable and leaves plenty of time for other types of reading and writing experiences, imaginative play, and knowledge-building across the curriculum. Learn why this type of deliberate practice is essential in getting all of our children to decode and encode with automaticity....Read More

Because of the kindness and support with which my dad inspired me, I have gained the confidence to invest in others while creating a synergy of positive goodness in my students and my colleagues. The pride that I take in my students' accomplishments is similar to that which my dad always took in my accomplishments. I am proud to say that even though this journey still has many more steps for me to take, I am finally becoming you, Dad....Read More

The "reading wars" have been around for longer than you might think. In the last century and now again, we have gone in and out of debates about the best way to teach reading - as if there was a single best way for all children - with the arguments focusing on phonics, whole language and balanced literacy. This post - written by David Reinking, Peter Smagorinsky, and David B. Yaden - looks at the debate on phonics in a different way than is most often voiced these days....Read More

I'm an elementary music teacher and I am going to describe a process for teaching songs that I frequently employ in my music lessons. I believe that it is a unique approach to song instruction and that it can be used for strengthening fluent reading in students...Read More

Read Two Impress is a synergistic reading intervention that combines the Neurological Impress Method (NIM), Repeated Readings, and Echo Reading. Essentially, read chunks of text with a student using NIM and stop frequently and have the student read each section aloud. Here are the steps in more detail....Read More

I'd spent my life teaching little ones to read and write with a clear focus on the struggler, and in a moment, I was one of them. Unable to even speak my own name, I started my journey unable to read a kindergarten-level book, had no recognition of the alphabet, and many preschoolers could surely write better than I could. I feel impassioned to share my deepened understanding of the process with teachers, especially those who struggle with becoming literate....Read More

In this media-driven world of fast messages and even faster decisions, we educators must create optimal learning environments that encourage mindfulness, playfulness, exploration, careful thought, and a sense of wonder and joy. These traits constitute the artistic nature of teaching. As my seventh-grade integrated language arts students would say, "You're making sure that your lessons are 'lit' (by placing the emphasis on literacy)."...Read More

This study evaluated a 12 week intervention delivered by regular teaching staff as a whole class, to assess whether it could make a difference for 8-9 year old children. The study included 103 students from two Local Authority schools and five teaching staff. ...Read More

In my kindergarten classroom, it turns out I do work on fluency more than I realized. Songs and poems are a key component of my reading instruction. Every morning we begin with a "morning dance party." This is a wonderful way to start any day for many reasons, but it is actually important to my instruction as well. ...Read More

I have always enjoyed challenging and enriching my second grade students with word work since becoming a teacher in 2003. During my second year of teaching 2005 Daily Word Ladders were brand new and I instantly fell in love with them. The routine became part of my bell ringer work. I always knew the transfer into daily writing was evident and continued to make this important daily work a priority. I bragged about this transfer to my peers and told them they were missing out on a daily 8-10 minute activity, one that would profoundly impact writing outcome....Read More

This project presents results of whole class Fluency Development Lessons (FDL) in four upper elementary classrooms on fluency and reading comprehension. Findings provide insight into the ways in which the various components of FDL (repeated reading, prosodic reading, teacher modeling, explicit instruction of comprehension strategies and time with texts of age-appropriate complexity) can be effectively and flexibly integrated into whole class instruction....Read More

As we gratefully transition to the summer of 2021, our eyes are opened but our nerves are frayed. It's a time of change, but change brings opportunity. We need to choose to act courageously to reconsider relationships with parents. We have a new opportunity to learn from the pandemic experience and reconstruct our relationship with the 'first and forever' teachers in our students' lives. We need to change the paradigm of the passive parent role to a true teaching partnership. Summer Reading is the logical place to start...Read More

Abbey Galeza, conducted an action research project on the role of repeated singing/reading in her class of preschoolers. Findings from her study are quite promising. In addition to singing/reading being an enjoyable and community building experience, the children learned concepts of print, so important for early literacy development....Read More

We can all celebrate the creative and innovative work of teachers, parents, grandparents, caretakers and others in keeping our kids engaged and learning during the most challenging school year in recent history....Read More

Building students' knowledge of word meanings is essential to their success in reading, writing, and content area learning. The Building Vocabulary series is a groundbreaking structured approach to developing your students' general and academic vocabularies for the present and future. ......Read More

Long before the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s in which certain Americans demanded that all citizens, regardless of the color of their skin, be treated fairly and with respect. Read this Readers Theater Script to celebrate Sojourner Truth and the fight for equal rights for women...Read More

Singing and Music-Making is Essential for Brain Development. Neuroscientific research has found that early music-making is highly correlated with reading achievement...Read More

Fluency: A Central Component of Effective Literacy Instruction........Read More

David L. Harrison writes poems for young readers and partners with authorities on early language and literacy development to create books to support classroom teachers. In this blog he gives six reasons why poetry is a powerful teaching tool...Read More

Herts for Learning (HfL) is an award-winning provider of products and services to schools and educational settings within and outside Hertfordshire...Read More

"Fast Start has been an amazing journey for our students, parents, and teachers...Read More

"My granddaughter, Helena has a rare syndrome......Read More

"The process of determining the base of a Latin verb is systematic and consistent....Read More

"Alan Becker's journey with using Greek and Latin roots as an educator began in 2011...Read More

"Tammy Noska learns about the Fluency Development Lesson during her work as a reading clinician at the Kent State University Reading Clinic....Read More

"What do solo and sole (as in "sole survivor") have in common?...Read More

"Activities and a special video from Tim Rasinski. Video link: https://go.tcmpub.com/rasinski-video ...Read More

"It's Poetry Month! Grab a favorite poem and immerse your students in it with these ideas to integrate repeated readings in an engaging way! ...Read More

"Start with "Winter", a season of cold and snow. ...Read More

"Start with "boy" another name for a young man. ...Read More

"Start with "pop" another name for a fizzy soda drink. ...Read More

"Veteran - Take away 4 letters to make the past tense of "run." ...Read More

"Start with "Quarter" - One fourth of an object; a coin worth 25 cents. ...Read More

"Start with "Touch" - To come into contact with someone or something. ...Read More

"Start with the word "Summer" - a time for sun, swimming and play. ...Read More

"Start with the word "Sham" - a word that means something that is fake or false. ...Read More

"Start with the word "Love" - the emotion celebrated on Valentine's Day. ...Read More

"Start with the word "King" - a ruler of a country....Read More

"Start with the word "Harbor" - a place of safety, usually for ships and boats...Read More

"Most of us can remember the traditional way of teaching vocabulary"...Read More

"Start with Foot - the part of our body we use for standing and walking."...Read More

"Here's a Halloween word ladder. Enjoy! Start with the word "trick"...Read More

"I recently visited the National Art Museum and Portrait Gallery in Washington DC."...Read More

"Start with Hurricane - a large and sever tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean."...Read More

"Let's start with sun, our star that gives us warmth"...Read More

"With vacation time rapidly approaching, here's a quick lesson to help your students expand their vocabulary and learn a bit more about the English language."...Read More

"Start with Spring, the season where April showers bring May flowers"...Read More

"Let's start with May, the fifth month of the year"...Read More

"Let's start with April, the fourth month of the year"...Read More

"Let's start with a word that describes our Earth and all the large bodies in the solar system"...Read More

"Let's start with a word the famous spring Holiday"...Read More

"April Showers bring May Flowers." One of the meanings for shower is a type of rain."...Read More

"Hello Everyone - here's a word ladder that you can do with your students on the first day of April. Word study can be fun!..."...Read More

"Besides being the name of month, the word "March" refers to a particular way of walking (in unison as a group)..."...Read More

"Let's start with a word that describes an animal that roars..."...Read More

"Let's start with a word that describes the man who can leap tall buildings and is faster than a locomotive..."...Read More

"Start with the top word and guide your students to make a series of new words..."...Read More

"Now that it's October, the days are getting shorter (in the northern hemisphere) and the temperature is starting to dip"...Read More

"In the U.S. Sept 5th is a holiday - Labor Day; a day to celebrate the working person"...Read More

"Here's a Word Ladder to share with your students on the first day of school! Feel free to add to or change the clues. Go from top to bottom"...Read More

"I am a self-proclaimed and unapologetic lexophile, word nerd, or vocabulary zealot! I love words! I love to learn about how words came to be; I love the fact that some words have the same spelling but varied pronunciations and meanings while other words may have the same pronunciation but different spellings; and I love how words can be used to convey facts, tell a story, or elicit emotion"...Read More

"A few years ago several colleagues and I were engaged in a study of reading fluency in high school students. Our study involved having ninth-grade students from a local urban high school read orally a relatively short informational text. Our intent was to check their reading rate (words read correctly per minute) to see if fluency may be an issue that is causing students difficulty in their reading. Our findings confirmed our hypothesis. Many 9th graders experienced difficulty in fluency and this appeared to be a contributor to their reading difficulties..." Read More

"November is one of my favorite times of year. Despite the weather getting increasingly colder and the threat of winter weather on the horizon, I view November as a time for nesting, when family and friends often come for visits. During these visits it is not unusual to bring out a board or card game...Read More

"Teaching Is Joyous Work: It's early September and school has begun or will begin soon for teachers, principals, and other educators. I certainly believe that teaching is a joyous profession; however, it is also a profession that requires lots of work. Thankfully, Labor Day rolls around on the first Monday in September and gives teachers a chance to take a quick breather. Here's a word ladder I did that connects work to labor..." Read More

The resources on this page require Adobe Acrobat to view, Get Adobe Acrobat Reader now

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Timothy Rasinski is a professor of literacy education at Kent State University. He has written over 150 articles and has authored, co-authored or edited over 15 books or curriculum programs on reading education.

# data[].attributes.headline
Article on SWI - Q&A with Shanahan and Peter Bowers

# data[].attributes.subject
Article on SWI - Q&A with Shanahan and Peter Bowers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
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!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Morphology Instruction in Reading | Shanahan on Literacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
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.

# data[].attributes.headline
Patricia Cunningham on 'most useful' morphology words

# data[].attributes.subject
Patricia Cunningham on 'most useful' morphology words

# data[].attributes.body
Good guide to using morphology to help with spelling and vocabulary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This reference manual includes several useful features:

takes teachers through how English spelling uses morphology to represent the meaning of words

teaches word sums and word matrices as tools for examining word structure and constructing and deconstructing words morphologically

contains a series of ready-to-use lessons, helping teachers and students act as word detectives who problem-solve the links between structure and meaning

targets vocabulary, reading, and spelling skills!

By: Peter Bowers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
teaching how the written word works [wvc216] books and workbooks grammar and writing workshops | trainings classroom sets games gift certificates multisensory learning beginning reading morphology and vocabulary free downloads multisensory bundles high-frequency words multisensory instruction kit books and workbooks grammar and writing workshops | trainings classroom sets games gift certificates proceeds to charity multisensory learning beginning reading morphology and vocabulary free downloads o-g multisensory bundles sight words multisensory instruction kit ecommerce

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kendore Learning Store Teaching How the Written Word Works [WVC216] - This reference manual includes several useful features: takes teachers through how English spelling uses morphology to represent the meaning of words teaches word sums and word matrices as tools for examining word structure and constructing and deconstructing words morphologically contains a series of ready-to-use lessons, helping teachers and students act as word detectives

# data[].attributes.body
Article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Bright, motivated, hard-working students often struggle to spell simple words like <been & says>.And early in my training, one of my young students got my attention when he wrote *<hoam> for <home> and I realized that I had no way to help him understand why it wasn't spelled with <oa>. (The asterisk indicates that the written form inside the angle brackets is not standard-here, it's noting a spelling error.) We were systematically working our way through all of the ways to spell "long o" and my student could isolate phonemes and spell words accurately as long as I specifically told him whether we were working with an <o-e> pattern as in <home, mole, rode> or an <oa> grapheme as in <foam, goal, road>. But that wasn't going to help him when he was sitting at his desk trying to remember how to spell <home> and thousands of other words that seem like they could be spelled more than one way.

Note that angle brackets < > are used to refer to written letters or graphemes. Graphemes are the letters or combinations of letters that combine to form written words. So < cat > refers to a written form-the graphemes C A T, not the meaning or pronunciation of that word.

Slash brackets / / are used to refer to phonemes which are the flexible units of pronunciation in spoken words that distinguish one word from another. So / k /refers to the phoneme that is the first segment of the spoken word cat, and/ kæt / refers to the pronunciation of the word cat, using IPA symbols.

I didn't know it then, but to understand why one specific grapheme represents a phoneme in a word, we need to look at the phoneme-grapheme relationships in that word within the context of morphological (structural) families and etymological relationships. This context for understanding the writing system is critical, especially for students who can't easily memorize spellings by rote.

Unfortunately, though, you will hear people suggest that including morphology and etymology in literacy instruction might be helpful for older students but would probably be too much for younger students and would divert time from what are considered to be the essential, foundational concepts and skills that beginning students need most. To test that premise, let's look at two confusing categories of words that students will encounter from their first day of school: words that are called "irregular"and words that can be spelled in more than one way, based on their pronunciation.To understand the spelling of these words, everyone-even a very young student-needs to understand how structures and relationships influence our writing system.
Words called "irregular"
Many very common words are categorized in traditional instruction as "irregular," including words like <says & been>.In their first years of school, students are typically asked to memorize many of these words by rote.

But so-called irregular words are not actually irregular; they are simply misunderstood. One of the reasons for that is that short words like <says, been, does, any, exit & real> are often assumed to be simple (built from only one written morpheme, called an element) and their structures are ignored. But many short words are not simple. All of the words I've just listed are complex, meaning that they consist of more than one written element. When we stop to think about the spelling of <says>, that's obvious.

says ➞ say + s

The word <says> is a third person, singular, present tense verb form, constructed by adding suffix <s> to the base element <say>. Many third person verbs are constructed this way.

In all of the verbs listed above, the structural pattern is exactly the same. So why is the spelling <says>called "irregular" or "rule-breaking?" It's called irregular because of an unexpected pronunciation of the spoken word. Says doesn't rhyme with plays. But in fact, the construction<say + s ➞ says> is perfectly coherent. And an unexpected pronunciation does not make a spelling irregular. When we look at the structure of <says>, we can easily understand its spelling.

We see the same thing in the written verbal form <been>, which contains the base element <be> with the suffix <en> added to form the past participle.

be + en ➞ been

This past participle suffix is found in a number of English verbs.

Notice that in <given, taken & driven>, the final unpronounced orthographic marker <e> in the base is replaced by the suffix <en> which begins with a vowel. (That replacement is signaled by the slash mark in the word sums above.) This is a consistent suffixing pattern in English.

But also notice that the <e> in <be> is not replaced. That's because we pronounce that <e>. It's not a marker which can be replaced by a vowel suffix but is a grapheme representing the final phoneme in the spoken word be. We don't replace a final <e> that's part of a grapheme, so <been> is spelled by just adding the suffix <en> to the base <be>. Again, the pronunciation of been may be unexpected, but the spelling <be + en ➞been> is perfectly coherent.

By analyzing the structure of <says & been> we can see that their spellings are not flawed; it turns out that the flaw is in the assumption that spelling is supposed to represent the pronunciation of words as directly as possible.

The English writing system is morphophonemic, so the spelling of an English word signals both phonology (the phonemes or flexible, distinctive segments of pronunciation in spoken words) and morphology (the structural units that construct the meaning of words). These two aspects of the orthography work together and allow us to comprehend text more quickly and easily than if words were spelled to represent only their pronunciation.

And think about the fact that English words are spelled the same regardless of regional variations in pronunciation. If words were spelled primarily to represent pronunciation, Americans speakers might think that the spoken word been would make more sense if it were spelled *<bin> or *<ben> depending on which part of the country they lived in, but the spelling <been> might seem quite appropriate to a British speaker.Which spelling would the writing system use?

Our writing system facilitates written communication between every speaker of English, no matter where they live. To do that, it ignores minor variations in the pronunciation of specific words. When we think about that fact, and examine the spelling of words that are categorized as "irregular," we see illustrations of a foundational, critical concept about English spelling.
English spelling is optimized for comprehension, not pronunciation.
Written words do indeed represent meaningful aspects of pronunciation, but not necessarily as directly as possible. That's an observable fact, and it allows the entire writing system to make sense, but the fact that it's a coherent part of the overall system is not understood; the words <been & says> are categorized as "irregular" precisely because their spelling is not the most direct representation of their pronunciation and because it's obvious that their spelling is not optimized for pronunciation.

However, if we look at the ways in which spelling allows English speakers to quickly comprehend words while reading, then we can understand why "irregular" words contain the specific graphemes they do. Graphemes in all words represent flexible segments of pronunciation (phonemes) but they must represent those phonemes while maintaining consistently spelled structural units across an entire morphological (structural) family of words. As we read, the specific graphemes in words give us signals about both phonemes and morphemes, which facilitates and deepens comprehension of written text.

We can see this in the spelled word<says> where the graphemes must represent the phonology of not only the word says, but all words that are in the same structural (morphological) family, including say and saying. And they need to do that while maintaining a consistent spelling of the base <say>.

It's important to know that we can absolutely understand the phoneme-grapheme relationships in words like <says, been, does, any> and every other word that is mistakenly categorized as irregular.And it's often very useful to do that type of analysis. However, I'm not going to go into that right now, because I want to point out that many times that type of analysis is not even needed. Once students understand that words are formed by combining consistently spelled structural units, they can often use the "expected" phoneme-grapheme relationships in base elements like <say & be> and common suffixes like <s & en> to reconstruct the accurate spelling of a complex word like <says> or <been> when they want to spell it.

By examining and analyzing written words, we can see for ourselves that words traditionally categorized as "irregular" are completely logical once we understand their structures, their relationships to other words which influence their spelling, and the phoneme-grapheme relationships within them. Rather than being a source of confusion and frustration, these words can be a point of entry for studying the coherence of the writing system, even with very young students.

But there's another pitfall of confusion that beginning students will face, and the spelling <be> is an example. Why is that word spelled <be> and not <bee>? Many words in English are categorized as "regular," but may use different graphemes to spell the same phoneme. When students try to make sense of words by analyzing the phonemes in a spoken word in isolation, even advanced students who may know all the ways to spell a given phoneme have no way to know how to spell a particular word.
Understanding multiple spellings
In my school district, kindergarteners learn to read and (hopefully) spell a set of commonly used words over the course of the year, including we, see, me, three, he & she.Each of these spoken words ends with the same segment of pronunciation. So how is a student supposed to know to use a single <e> to spell <he, she, me & we> but a double <e> to spell <see & three>?

When we teach students to go directly from speech to spelling, there is nothing to help them with this task other than their rote memorization skills. So almost immediately, some students will start to fail. But no student needs to struggle with these words. There's a convention that explains why we find <e> or <ee> in each of these words. This convention is one of the many ways that our writing system facilitates comprehension of written text.

To understand this, we first need to know that English words can be roughly divided into two general categories: function words and lexical (content) words. Function words primarily serve grammatical functions and are often unstressed in speech. This category includes pronouns ( me, her), auxiliary verbs ( do, is), prepositions ( in, up, toward), conjunctions ( and, but), determiners ( this, a) and a few adverbs.There are a number of spelling conventions in English related to function and content words; one is that function words can be spelled with just the graphemes needed to represent the phonemes. This means that they may be spelled with only one or two letters, although more may be needed to signal the pronunciation. Examples of one or two letter function words include I, a, an, he, me, we, in, to, of, up, so.There are only about 300 function words in English, but they are used constantly in our language, showing relationships between words, indicating grammatical structures, and generally gluing together lexical words.

Lexical or content words, on the other hand, are the words that carry the meaning of sentences more directly, and they are more likely to be stressed in speech. This category includes nouns ( dog, egg, sweater, freedom, awe), verbs ( run, catch), adjectives ( friendly, peaceful, odd) and most adverbs ( slowly, happily). These words, by convention, are spelled with at least three letters, and if there are several graphemes available to represent a phoneme, lexical words will often use a longer grapheme than a function word will.

This simple convention which begins to differentiate the spelling of function and content words explains the spelling of words like <egg, odd, awe> and many others.If spelling were based primarily on pronunciation, then *<eg, od & aw> would work just fine. But this spelling convention has evolved to make it easier to comprehend written text efficiently. The hypothesis is that lexical words contain more letters than function words, whenever possible, to visually emphasize meaningful content words in written text.

Be aware, however, that these two categories- function words and lexical words -are not either/or distinctions, but are really two ends of a spectrum; an individual word may fall somewhere on the continuum between function and content words.

So now let's look back at the written words <we, see, me, three, he & she> and see how we might categorize them to make sense of their spelling.

me, she, we, he: pronouns (function words)

see: verb (lexical)

three: a cardinal number (which is not strictly lexical or functional, but probably leans more towards the lexical end of the continuum)

With information about this one convention, we have a way to make sense of the shorter spelling <e> in the pronouns <me, she, we & he> and the longer spelling <ee> in the other two words. And can you now make sense of the spellings <be & bee>?If we understand something, we are much more likely to remember it and be able to apply it. This makes all the difference for a dyslexic student (or anyone) who does not have good rote memorization skills.

But perhaps you're thinking that concepts like pronouns and function words are too advanced for the youngest students. They're not. Very young children know how to use the words me, she, he and we and can have fun playing with sentences where nouns are replaced by pronouns, or sentences where we've removed all of the function or lexical words.Teachers in the early years can begin to use these terms in a very relaxed way. Although students will have many years before they need to master the details of the terminology, they will understand the concepts and begin their journey into literacy with the knowledge that all spelling makes sense.
A full understanding of spelling deepens and strengthens comprehension
Words that are called "irregular" and words that use different spellings for the same phoneme make it clear that we can't understand our writing system by starting with the pronunciation of words in isolation.English spelling represents the pronunciation of words, but it does so using flexible phoneme-grapheme relationships that allow for consistent spelling of structural units which build words. By maintaining the consistent spelling of base elements, prefixes and suffixes, our writing system makes it easier to quickly see relationships between words like <say & says, be & been, do & does>, and eventually <preside & president, normal & enormous, fast & fasten>.

When we ignore morphology and etymology in our instruction, the clues to comprehension that are embedded in the writing system are hidden from view. This restricts students to a shallow understanding of the writing system and we inadvertently force them to do far more rote memorization than is needed.

There's a lot of debate about the best way to teach students to read and write, including how to introduce the writing system to young students. For some reason, it's assumed that showing students the actual structures of words and the ways in which the spelling of words reveals meaningful relationships to other words is too advanced or even unnecessary. So we teach students to analyze pronunciation, which is a moving target. As prefixes and suffixes are added to words, the pronunciation of those words constantly shifts. Meanwhile, the consistently spelled structures of those words are sitting right in front of us, ready to be used to anchor those pronunciations to something that is logical and coherent. The writing system itself shows us that analyzing written words provides the best foundation for learning written English.

And in case you're wondering, it turns out that the spelling <home> is connected to the spelling of <hamlet>. Both come from the same historical root and have a sense of "settle, dwell." By looking at their entertaining history, students who struggle with rote memorization can understand and have a meaningful way to remember why the single letter vowel grapheme makes sense in <home> and they will also encounter the word <hamlet> and the idea of a diminutive suffix. And although I've known how to spell <home> for a very long time, when I was prompted to find out why it's spelled with <o-e> and not <oa>, I learned why many towns are called hamlets. This type of study not only enhances learning for 5-year olds and struggling students, but expands vocabulary understanding for all of us.Understanding how and why etymology influences spelling is a critical aspect of literacy study.

No one wants to condemn our youngest students to years of trying (and often failing) to memorize lists of words week after week. The wonderful truth is that every irregular word and every word that doesn't make sense is an invitation to deepen our understanding of our language. There's no better way to launch children into literacy than allowing them to understand how those puzzling words actually do make sense, by framing instruction in the real context of structures and relationships from the very beginning.

¹ Venezky, Richard L."English Orthography: Its Graphical Structure and Its Relation to Sound," Reading Research Quarterly, Vol 2, No. 3 (Spring 1967) pp. 75-105

³See information on <hamlet> at etymonline.com
And an update: when I published this essay a few hours ago, I included the word <bracelet> as an example of a word that has an <let> suffix. But I didn't look it up first. It started nagging at me, and when I just checked, I discovered that <bracelet> probably does not include a suffix <let>. Both <let> and <et> are diminutive suffixes, but I needed to look at the history before I could be confident which one seemed more likely, and I didn't do that. And I thought I had looked at <hamlet> carefully, but I didn't. As I reflect, I don't think I'm comfortable listing either <hamlet> or <bracelet> as words that have <et> or <let> suffixes in present day English, at least not without some more investigation. This is a great example of why etymology matters; it's a critical research tool to help us understand the morphology of present day words. And it's also a great example of a couple of things that I've learned from my friend Pete Bowers-that juicy mistakes often teach us so much and that it's never a problem NOT to analyze a word as deeply as we can, but that we do want to avoid false analysis. I've updated this essay and the pdf to something that (I think!) is justified by the evidence I've had time to look over.

Contact me with questions or comments here: learningaboutspelling.com/contact.

You can download a pdf version of this essay here.

Copyright Sue Hegland, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author/owner is strictly prohibited. This essay may be shared in its entirety and excerpts and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sue Hegland and LearningAboutSpelling.com with links and specific direction to the original content. No text from LearningAboutSpelling.com may be reprinted or republished for the purpose of resale.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bright, motivated, hard-working students often struggle to spell simple words like . And early in my training, one of my young students got my attention when he wrote * for and I realized that I had no way to help him understand why it wasn't spelled with . (The asterisk indicates that...

# data[].attributes.body
From the Dyslexic Association
Article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Morphological Awareness: One Piece of the Literacy Pie - International Dyslexia Association

# data[].attributes.body
Connect with other international educators who are passionate about all things literacy!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.