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This YouTube video is a rap about morphology and a fun way to catch my students' interest.

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"Prefixes, Suffixes, & Roots" Rap www.educationalrap.com

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"In addition, studying generative morphology using base words, roots, and affixes is explored through vocabulary study: the powerful role that knowledge of processes of word combination plays in vocabulary development as well as spelling (Johnston, p. 259)."

"One of your most important responsibilities for word study instruction at this stage is to engage students in examining how important word elements—prefixes, suffixes, and base words—combine. This morphemic analysis is a powerful tool for vocabulary development and figuring out unfamiliar words during reading. Students’ knowledge of morphology is related to reading comprehension and disciplinary knowledge and achievement (Carlisle, 2010; Nagy, 2007; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006; Townsend et al., 2013) (Johnston, p. 268)."

The direct practice of the instruction of morphology clearly gives students an access of power to their literacy.  Furthermore, when students are given the reason behind the action, they are more likely to buy-in to the purpose.  This directly aligns with my preferred teaching approach of Cognitism.  I believe in giving my students a process and a set of tools to achieve success.
These procedures help students to highlight and retain important information in an efficient manner following the methodology of Bloom’s Taxonomy, organized from simple to complex: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Slavin, p. 347)

Johnston, D.R.B.M.I.S.T. F. (2016). Words Their Way. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134110103/

Slavin, R. E. Educational Psychology. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134524290/

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Conduct a class brainstorm and create an anchor chart cheat sheet as a way to activate student knowledge.

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Have students complete and then glue this graphic organizer into their interactive ELA notebook.

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Phonics and Word Recognition

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.5.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.5.3.A
Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.D
Use knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the number of syllables in a printed word.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.A
Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.B
Decode words with common Latin suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.C
Decode multi-syllable words.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.5.4.A
Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

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Students will be able to read and understand grade level text by examining roots and affixes in decoding multi-syllabic words.

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This unit would be an excellent center activity and may ideally be played by 2-6 students.  Students should begin the week by pasting the reference sheet (available for each level) into their interactive ELA notebook.  This can be referred to during the games and to make corrections to any mistakes made on the tests.

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Greek and Latin Root Word Memory Game Unit

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Greek and Latin Root Word Memory Game Unit

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This unit was purchased via TeachersPayTeachers.com, a fantastic resource of lesson plans that are often aligned with the Common Core State Standards. This Greek and Latin Root Word Memory Game unit consists of 3 levels of commonly used Greek and Latin root words.  Each level has 5 different assessments, which essentially may be used throughout the week.

Progress can be evaluated as there is a pre-test, three progressive tests, and a post-test.  These tests will serve as the exit-ticket of the ELA hour.

Additionally, the teacher will conduct formative assessments as they walk around the classroom listening as students make words to be used in sentences with each correct match made.

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1. Students will shuffle the deck and then lay out the cards face down in a grid pattern.

2. Students aim to make a match.  When they do, they must say a word that uses the root and use it correctly in a sentence.  They may then keep the pair and have another turn.

3. If they did not make a match they must state what the possible definition would be for both roots, and then place the cards back facedown.

4. Steps 2 & 3 are repeated till the board is clear.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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There are two sets of memory game cards, one with pictures and one without.  The use of pictures is an essential reminder for EL students, as well as for any other students who have difficulty making word associations.

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Greek roots will be posted with with needed language translations, in addition to relevant visual aides, in a designated area.

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This YouTube video offers foundational knowledge on teaching word structures via affixes and syllables.

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Teaching Word Structure: Affixes & Syllables

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Teaching Literacy Skills Series: Phonics -- Structure: Affixes & Syllables Video shows how to advance the ability of students to recognize meaningful word units, such as bases, root words, prefixes and suffixes. It explains syllabication rules and details a method for teaching them holistically. Suffix spelling changes rules, contractions and possessives are also covered.

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This article provides a rationale for teaching morphology, rather than a "whole word" aproach.

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Every teacher knows that word parts are the building blocks of words. Most teachers know that learning individual word parts and how they fit together to form multi-syllabic words is the most efficient method of vocabulary acquisition, second only to that of widespread reading at the student's independent reading level. These word parts that are, indeed, the keys to academic vocabulary-the types of words that students especially need to succeed in school. However, most teachers do not know the best instructional methods to teach these important word parts.
How Most Teachers Teach Prefixes
The Test Method: "Here is your list of ten prefixes with game cards to memorize this week. Test on Friday." No instruction + no practice = no success.

The Literature-based Method: "Notice the prefix pre in the author's word preamble? That means before. Let's look for other ones.

The Word Sort Method: "Here is a list of 20 big words. Sort all of the words that start with pre in the first box."

The Intensive Vocabulary Study Methods: "Let's use our Four Square vocabulary chart to study the prefix pre. Who knows an antonym? Who knows an example word? Who knows a synonym? Who knows an inflection that can be added to the word? Who knows...? Spend at least 15 minutes "studying" this one prefix." How inefficient can you get?

The Modality Methods (VAK): "Let's draw the prefix pre in the word preamble. Then draw a symbol of the word that will help you remember the word. Use at least three colors. If you prefer, design a Lego® model of the prefix." Check out this relevant article on Don't Teach to Learning Styles or Multiple Intelligences.
Better Ways to Teach Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes Choose the Right Word Parts
Teaching the high utility Greek and Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes is a very efficient tool to acquire academic vocabulary. These morphological (meaning-based) word parts that form the basis of English academic vocabulary are primarily Greek and Latinates. Prefixes and roots carry the bulk of important word meanings; however, some key suffixes are important, as well. Over 50% of multi-syllabic words beyond the most frequently used 10,000 words contain a Greek or Latin word part. Since Greek and Latinates are so common in our academic language, it makes sense to memorize the highest frequency word parts. See the attached list of High Frequency Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots for reference.
Teach by Analogy
Word part clues are highly memorable because readers have frequent exposure to and practice with the high frequency word parts. Additionally, they are memorable because the simple to understand use of the word part can be applied to more complex usages. For example, bi means two in bicycle, just as it means two in bicameral or biped. Analogy is a powerful learning aid and its application in academic vocabulary is of paramount importance.

One of the most effective strategies for learning and practicing word parts by analogy is to have students build upon their previous knowledge of words that use the targeted word parts. Building student vocabularies based upon their own prior knowledge ensures that your example words will more likely be within their grade-level experience, rather than arbitrarily providing examples beyond their reading and listening experience.

After introducing the week's word parts and their definitions (I suggest a combination of prefixes, roots, and suffixes), ask students to brainstorm words that they already know that use each of the word parts. Give students two minutes to quick-write all the words that they know that use the selected prefix, root, or suffix. Then, ask students to share their words in class discussion. Quickly write down and define each word that clearly uses the definition that you have provided. Ignore those words that use the word part, but do not clearly exemplify the definition that you have provided. Require students to write down each word that you have written in their Vocabulary Journals. Award points for all student contributions.
Teach through Word Play
Effective vocabulary study involves practice. One of the best ways to practice prefixes is through vocabulary games. A terrific list of word play games with clear instructions is found in Vocabulary Review Games.
Teach through Association
Memorization through association places learning into the long-term memory. Connection to other word parts helps students memorize important prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

Fifteen Power Words

These fifteen words have prefixes or roots that are part of over 15,000 words. That is as many words as most student dictionaries! Memorize these words and the meanings of their prefixes and roots and you have significantly improved your vocabulary.

1. inaudible (not, hear)

2. dismiss (away from, send)

3. transport (across, carry)

4. unsubscribe (not, under, write)

5. predict (before, say)

6. remit (again, send)

7. encounter (in, against)

8. offer (against, carry)

9. inspect (in, see)

10. epilogue (upon, word)

11. antigen (against, people)

12. empathy (in, feeling)

13. intermediate (between, middle)

14. destruction (apart from, build)

15. superimpose (over, in, put)

Put-Togethers

Have students spread out vocabulary word part cards into prefix, root, and suffix groups on their desks. Business card size works best. The object of the game is to put together these word parts into real words within a given time period. Students can use connecting vowels. Students are awarded points as follows:

1 point for each prefix-root combination

1 point for each root-suffix combination

2 points for a prefix-root combination that no one else in the group has

2 points for a root-suffix combination that no one else in the group has

3 points for each prefix-root-suffix combination

5 points for a prefix-root-suffix combination that no one else has.

Game can be played timed or untimed.
Teach through Syllabication
Teaching basic syllabication skills helps students understand and apply how syllable patterns fit in with decodable word parts. The Transformers activity teaches the basic syllables skills through inductive examples.

In addition to the basics, the Twenty Advanced Syllable Rules provide the guidelines for correct pronunciation and writing.

Teaching the Ten Accent Rules, including the schwa, will assist students in accurate pronunciation and spelling.
Teach through Spelling
Using a comprehensive spelling pattern spelling program will teach how prefixes absorb and assimilate with connected roots, how roots change spellings to accommodate pronunciation and suffix spelling, and how suffixes determine the grammar, verb tense, and limit the meaning of preceding prefixes and roots. Beyond primary sound-spellings, spelling and vocabulary have an important relationship in the structure of academic vocabulary. Only recently has spelling been relegated to the elementary classroom. Check out Differentiated Spelling Instruction to see how a grade-level spelling program can effectively incorporate advanced vocabulary development.

Even knowing just one word part will provide a clue to meaning of an unknown word. For example, a reader may not understand the meaning of the word bicameral. However, knowing that the prefix bi means two certainly helps the reader gain a sense of the word, especially when combined with other context clues such as synonyms, antonyms, logic-based, and example clues. For example, let's look at the following sentence:

The bicameral legislative system of the House and Senate provide important checks and balances.

Identifying the context example clues, "House and Senate" and "checks and balances," combines with the reader's knowledge of the word part, bi and help the reader problem-solve the meaning of the unknown word: bicameral.

Similarly, having students develop their own context clue sentences, in which they suggest the meaning of the word parts and words with surrounding synonyms, antonyms, logic-based, and example clues is excellent practice.

After introducing the week's word parts and their definitions (I suggest two prefixes, three roots, and two suffixes per week), ask students to invent words that use each word part in a sentence, that uses context clues to show the meaning of each nonsense word. Encourage students to use "real" word parts to combine with each targeted word part to form multi-syllabic words. Award extra points for words used from prior week's words.

Don't want to reinvent the wheel? Find every resource you need to teach vocabulary, grammar, usage, and spelling in Pennington Publishing's grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Grammar, Mechanics, Spelling, and Vocabulary programs. Teaching the Language Strand. Each comprehensive program is designed to help students catch up while they keep up with grade-level Standards. The vocabulary worksheets are designed to teach every grade level Common Core Vocabulary Standard (L4.0, 5.0, 6.0). Check out the YouTube introductory video for a concise overview of the program.

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Every teacher knows that word parts are the building blocks of words. Most teachers know that learning individual word parts and how they fit together to form multi-syllabic words is the most efficient method of vocabulary acquisition, second only to that of widespread reading at the student's independent reading level.

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In the case of Spanish speakers, EL students may find that when studying roots they may recognize spellings and meanings that are similar to their native language. When handled carefully, this awareness can strengthen their acquisition of the English language. However, there is the possiblity for confusion.

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Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. While English may share very few cognates with a language like Chinese, 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English language.

Not surprisingly, researchers who study first and second language acquisition have found that students benefit from cognate awareness. Cognate awareness is the ability to use cognates in a primary language as a tool for understanding a second language. Children can be taught to use cognates as early as preschool. As students move up the grade levels, they can be introduced to more sophisticated cognates, and to cognates that have multiple meanings in both languages, although some of those meanings may not overlap. One example of a cognate with multiple meanings is asistir, which means to assist (same meaning) but also to attend (different meaning).

Classroom strategies for teaching cognates

Read aloud

When you read aloud to your students, ask the Spanish speakers to raise their hand when they think they hear a cognate. Stop reading and discuss that cognate. Point out the subtle differences you hear between the Spanish and English words. If you have a French, Italian, or Portuguese speaker in your class, invite them to contribute cognates in that language.

Student reading

As ELLs read their texts, ask them to find three or four cognates and write them on sticky pads. Collect those notes and put them on an OUR COGNATES laminated chart. Before the class ends, read or have students read them to the class. Discuss spellings or sounds that are the same and different between the cognates.

Follow-up activities:

Word Sort

Pair students and give each pair a set of cognate cards: one card has the English cognate and the other has the Spanish cognate. For example:

Have students sort the words. Then ask them what the word pairs have in common and write responses on the board.

Circle Differences

Ask students to indicate which letters are different between the cognates by circling the letters. Alternate between having them call out differences with the teacher circling and occasionally having students come up and circle the differences themselves.

False Cognates

Write examples of false cognates on the board. For example: embarrassed/ embarazada and pie/ pie. Warn students that they might run into some words that are false cognates. These are words that look alike but do not have the same meaning in English and Spanish. Ask the students:

Does anyone know what pie means in Spanish ( foot)? What does the word pie mean in English ( dessert)?

Another example of a false cognate is the word embarrassed in English and embarazada in Spanish. What does embarrassed mean in English (to feel ashamed about something)? Does anyone know what embarazada means in Spanish ( pregnant)?

Give students some cognates and false cognates and ask them to identify each. Examples of false cognates:

Ask students to work with a partner to find as many cognates and false cognates as they can from a given list of words. After they finish, ask partners to share one example of each with the class.

Exaggerate intonation and stress

Cognate words can cause problems for Spanish speakers learning English and vice versa because of different stress patterns in the two languages. Point out how the emphasis changes in the following words:

condition / condición

animal / animal

ability / habilidad

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Using Cognates to Develop Comprehension in English

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Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. While English may share very few cognates with a language like Chinese, 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English language.

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Provide translations of the assignments/tests and roots in advance so that EL students may have time to really absorb the material.

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Allow extra time for EL students to complete the assignment if needed.

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210 Morphology Activities ideas | reading intervention, teaching spelling, reading instruction

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Aug 30, 2022 - Teaching morphology involves word structure using stems, root words, prefixes, suffixes and parts of speech. Morphology activities, games, interactive notebooks, printable worksheets and morphology lesson plans are a great way to make learning fun for struggling readers in a structured literacy setting. Grab the best teacher resources and reading intervention curriculum for morphology from our TPT store!. See more ideas about reading intervention, teaching spelling, reading instruction.

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This board has loads of resources and materials geared toward teaching morphology.

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Article: Linking the Language: A Cross-Disciplinary Vocabulary Approach

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Article: Linking the Language: A Cross-Disciplinary Vocabulary Approach

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This article advocates incorporating relevant morphemes throughout the school day and across the subjects in order to create the linguistic networks needed for ESL students to successfully acquire the new vocabulary.

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In theory, it should be relatively easy for educators to link the language by introducing related vocabulary in clusters that cross content domains. Rather than introducing a word in isolation, we might surround it with family members that share the same root. This approach should help diverse learners, including English-minority students, make important vocabulary connections and transfer core ideas across content.

Students are exposed to an abundance of terms across the K-12 continuum - words that might be linked in the mental lexicon to promote retention and retrieval (Reichle & Perfetti, 2003). For example, the word thermometer may appear in a second-grade science curriculum, the related words thermal and geothermic several years later, and exothermic reactions show up in middle school. Adolescents may read about hypothermia in literature selections or in health class. The high-school science text may include thermonuclear or thermoelectricity. Meanwhile, at home, families might speak of a thermostat or a thermos. At which point across the K-12 continuum does the learner recognize the pattern inherent in these meanings and spellings? Some may naturally figure out that all these words share the same root ( therm) and pertain to ' heat'. Others may never make that connection without help. They are unlikely to independently determine the meaning of thermodynamics through analysis of word structure. Such students are stymied until they learn the fundamental building blocks of the English language. We might begin teaching commonly occurring roots by fourth grade:

The end of third grade is the time to introduce students to the Latin roots and Greek combining forms used frequently in social studies, math, and science texts... Learning these important patterns provides strategies for not only decoding and spelling but also for expanding expressive and receptive vocabulary. (Henry, 2003, p. 101-102)

The English language is potentially overwhelming. About 70% of the words derive from Latin, French, or Greek, and about 22% from German (Finkenstaedt & Wolff, 1973). Furthermore, the language is large, with nearly one million meaningful lexemes, including words, idioms (we can't overlook figurative language), prefixes, roots, and suffixes (Crystal, 1995, Global Language Monitor, 2009). Given the scope and complexity of the language, it behooves us to help learners process and classify related concepts. One way we might do this is through meaning-bearing morphemes, such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Approximately 88,500 distinct root families of words appear in school texts ( credible, incredible, credibility, credulous), and about 60% of the words encountered in varied textbooks may be deciphered by analyzing the morphemes inside the word and the context in the surrounding sentences (Nagy & Anderson, 1984).

To promote this process, educators might expose the root in clusters of related words. For example, in Figure 1 each word shares the same root -prim- meaning 'first or before.' This is a morphological family of words, and such relationships have been shown to facilitate reading (Carlisle & Katz, 2006).

Seeking connections

With just a little practice, recognizing roots becomes relatively easy. For example, the words bat, battle, battalion, combat, combatant, combative, battering ram and debate contain the root -bat- meaning ' to beat.' Approaching these related words through their shared root offers a way to decode, encode, and decipher meanings. In fact, most states publish academic standards that require students to analyze the morphemes to determine word meaning. However, there is inconsistency between academic standards and pre-service teacher education, so some educators do not understand morphology (Moats & Foorman, 2003) but they may enjoy learning with their students. Thus, "Even while they teach, men learn" (Seneca).

Teaching new words was subordinated to the goal of teaching about words - various kinds of information about words that could help [fifth-grade] children figure out meanings on their own. (Carlo et al., 2004, p. 205)

Students needn't become linguists - they need to become curious. A good deal might be accomplished by simply seeking root relationships in words. Each teacher thinks beyond his/her domain to broad common usage, providing for transfer of ideas and revealing root families. For example, the math teacher may expose the root -equi- meaning 'same or equal' in the terms equate, equation, equidistant, and equivalent, and link it to the geography term equator or the civics terms equal rights and equity. Likewise, the history teacher might draw from that same bank of words - including the math terms - when discussing equality or inequity. As applicable, the Spanish cognate igualar could be linked to its English counterpart equal. Working together, educators help students bridge the language by drawing attention to the root and revealing families of related words, as illustrated in Figure 2 for photo, meaning 'light.'

Gradually, intermediate and secondary students should begin to understand that most words are structured according to logical patterns of meaning and spelling. Coupled with context clues, a morphological approach may benefit diverse learners, especially English Language Learners (Carlo et al., 2004; Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007). From a classroom perspective, Gloria Ramirez, ELL teacher, has successfully capitalized on morphemes and cognates in middle school instruction:

Personally, I have found that my intermediate-level ELL students can feel successful and are successful when they have learned the meaning of affixes and roots. I find that their spelling improves as well as their vocabulary. Cognates are very important. For instance, sincere in Spanish is sincero, sincerity is sinceridad and sincerely is sinceramente. The roots are the same and just as we add different suffixes to change the grammatical part of speech in English, so we do also in Spanish. The concept transfers easily. (personal communication, March 2, 2004)

Prefixes

Students benefit from learning the most common prefixes (Graves, 2004). These affixes contribute a great deal to meaning, as seen in the difference been the words benediction (blessing) and malediction (curse). Again, consider the power of the prefix in the related academic words interior, exterior, posterior, anterior, and ulterior. Science teachers might reinforce these prefixes as students examine and label parts of the brain, the atom, etc. Literature teachers might bridge to ulterior motive, while history teachers link to Department of the Interior, interior exploration, etc. Some of the more common prefixes are shown in Table 1.

Note: Adapted from Carroll, Davies, and Richman, 1971.

English teachers might introduce common prefixes (such as trans- in transfer) and content teachers reinforce them. For example, history teachers may expose the prefix and reveal the relationship between transportation, Transcontinental Railroad, Transatlantic Exploration, and Transcendental Meditation, helping students deduce that all terms contain the prefix trans-, meaning 'across' or 'through.' Health teachers could discuss transfections, trans fatty acids, and blood transfusions, while in science, students build lexical bridges to transmitters and transponders. All teachers would link the targeted vocabulary to related words beyond their domain. They needn't know what other teachers are teaching; they simply need to make connections to related words. With this kind of 'transdisciplinary vocabulary outreach,' the language may shrink as the learner's vocabulary grows.

Numeric Prefixes

As they naturally teach their subject matter, math and science teachers are strategically positioned to point out the meanings of numeric prefixes, such as mono, bi, tri as shown in Table 2. They might begin with easier words ( tricycle, triangle, monoxide) and advance to more complex vocabulary ( triaxial, trilobite, trisoctahedron, polycarbonate). Likewise, mythology teachers could expose the three prongs of Neptune's trident while music teachers explain the difference between monotone, duet, trio, and quartet. History teachers could link to the Roman triumvirate. Taking another root, they might explain that the words century, centurion, centipede, and percent all share the root centum meaning 'hundred.' With instruction in morphology, students might note the numeric prefix in words like bicentennial, decades, and hemisphere. Time invested in learning numeric prefixes should be worthwhile.

Suffixes

A few suffixes appear frequently in social studies. For instance, the suffix '"ism meaning 'belief or practice' occurs in well-known words like alcoholism or vandalism and in lesser-known terms like feudalism, fanaticism, and capitalism. History students need to become comfortable with the derivational suffixes '"ist and '"istic, as in separatist, abolitionist, communistic, socialistic. Crossing domains, art teachers reinforce this suffix with the terms photorealistic, pointillism, and impressionism. There are at least a dozen derivational suffixes that appear frequently in words (see Ebbers, 2004; Henry, 2003; Moats, 2000).

Linking Morpheme Clues and Context Clues

Proficient readers look at context clues as well as morpheme clues to determine word meaning when reading independently. However, older students may not naturally know how to do this - some may not even realize that such clues exist, or they may not utilize context and morphemic clues together (Wysocki & Jenkins, 1987). In every domain, teachers might model this strategy. They could guide the process, encouraging learners to access the context outside the word and the morphemes inside the word. This strategy has been proven somewhat effective in reading subject-matter texts (Baumann et al., 2002). For an example of this method, see also Ebbers and Denton (2008).

Word-savvy student

Word-conscious students are somewhat primed to learn vocabulary. They are motivated, interested in language, and inquisitive about words. English or reading teachers might ignite such an attitude by sharing the humorous yet educational chapter book Frindle (Clements, 1996). This fast-paced plot is suitable for grades 4-8 and ought to motivate and engage the class. Motivation and engagement may well optimize instruction, resulting in higher achievement (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). In fact, according to Tseng and Schmitt (2008) motivation permeates all phases of the vocabulary learning process, including the mastery phase, and success promotes not only the skill to learn new words but also the will to do so. This may depend somewhat on the ability to self-regulate, or to purposefully select the best vocabulary approach for the unknown word. Since a morphemic approach may only work for about half the words encountered in text, teachers could model self-regulation by thinking aloud as they decide which vocabulary tactic is best for a particular word.

"Vocabulary instruction needs to be more explicitly metalinguistic; word consciousness is an obligatory, not a optional, component" (Nagy, 2007, p. 54)

Thus, vocabulary lessons that engage and motivate the learner are likely to prove effective. By modeling an attitude of curiosity about language, educators could generate linguistic insight. To promote such a spirit, we strive for a learning atmosphere that is both lighthearted and directed. Students discuss word relationships, invent words, sort words, compare and contrast meanings, and simply enjoy the sounds of speech. Because the activated mind seeks word associations, lessons do not focus on isolated words, or dictionary lists, but on relationships. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002) encourage discovery in forming word associations:

Another entry point for adding words to the environment is morphological relationships. For example, challenge students to compare Tyrannosaurus and tyrant; pedestrian and pedal; duplicate and duplicity. It can also be valuable to discuss when relationships seem to exist but do not, as in the case of gargle and garden... Including such ideas in discussions of words lets students see language as an open book rather than as mysterious and impenetrable with authority over them. (p. 128)

Planning for Success

Working collaboratively, all teachers help students discover morphological links. The more systematic the plan, the more likely it will succeed. Content teachers could focus on the roots that apply to their domain. For example, science roots include bio, therm, phono, photo, geo, hydro, etc. This type of cross-content instruction is feasible, takes little time, and eventually becomes habitual. One middle school in Florida has been using this approach to vocabulary for several years. The assistant principal, M. Vertrees, explained the benefits:

One of the most important benefits of this type of instruction is that it gave students a deeper understanding of the word and it helped them remember it. For example, when I taught Mediterranean Sea, I taught it as medi = 'middle' and terra = 'earth' - The sea in the middle of the earth. Then they knew how the people felt about their world back then. That was the known world; it was all they knew. (interview, June 14, 2006)

Schools might focus on an academic word family each week. Academic words might be selected from the first five sublists of the New Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000). For example, the academic word benefit could include beneficial, benefactor, benevolent, benign, and benediction. The meaning of the prefix bene- ('good') would be taught in English class but students would encounter related words across the curriculum, in science, math, art, etc. Every teacher would find a way to relate at least one of the words to a lesson that week. Schools might display the family-of-the-week in the halls, the library, and on classroom walls. This may yield positive school-wide community effects as well as vocabulary growth.

Cross-domain linkage is not likely to occur by happenstance. At first, this type of approach will require leadership, an interdepartmental focus team, collaboration, planning, and professional development - at least a professional learning community. Instructional leaders will need to promote and prioritize the vision. They will serve as metaphorical torchbearers, keeping the flame alive amidst the myriad distractions that occur over the school year.

Affirmation and validation is key. Teachers need to see that this approach is working and students need to feel more capable and confident around language. However, monitoring vocabulary growth is a thorny issue, as vocabulary grows slowly. One early indicator may be a heightened level of interest in words. Progress is evident when students spontaneously identify morphemes during shared reading: 'Look! There's bio- again!' Furthermore, as students learn to recognize the shared root in large families of words, spelling and reading may improve. This is another indicator of progress. Gradually, eventually, growth in reading comprehension and perhaps in disciplinary knowledge should be reflected on summative state achievement tests.

Resources are necessary. Teachers may need a dictionary that includes word origins. In schools populated with English Language Learners, cross-language dictionaries may be needed to find cognates ( insect-insecto). Much of this information is available online (see appendix). For parsing out essential roots and prefixes across the departments by grade level, see Henry (2003). See Moats (2000) for lists of common morphemes and a variety of teaching suggestions and exercises.

Patience and Practice

Vocabulary growth may not be immediately appreciated, just as a few drops in a bucket are easily overlooked. If progress is slow, resist the temptation to feel discouraged. Unlike learning the letters and sounds of the alphabet, vocabulary is an ongoing growth construct, not quickly mastered. Adolescents may first need to overcome their sense of frustration and failure, which may manifest itself as apathy or anger. An accepting, humorous, engaging atmosphere of playful discovery is optimal. Validating partial knowledge (the student understands the word when hearing it, or knows something about the word) and demonstrating that meanings are somewhat flexible - as used in context - may offset years of intimidation. Also, ongoing review will secure a stronger sense of success. Distributed practice is more effective than massed cramming because retention of information is higher (Willingham, 2002). Eventually, with multiple exposures over time and through varied vocabulary strategies, a new level of linguistic insight, possibly even a new sense of self, should emerge.

Limitations

A morphology approach is one important strategy in the vocabulary teacher's toolbox; it does not take long and it can be - and should be - integrated easily with context clues. But it is not the only approach and it will not work for every word. Some words do not make sense through the root or do not belong to a large morphological family. Furthermore, morphology research, while promising, is not yet conclusive, especially with respect to learning disabilities (Reed, 2008). Moreover, the concept of a school-wide interdepartmental approach is theoretical, albeit based in principles of effective instruction. Thus, the vocabulary plan should include a variety of strategies, such as specific word instruction, semantic mapping with partner discussion, and wide reading. A comprehensive, multipronged vocabulary model has been hypothesized by Graves (2006) and confirmed in the classroom by Baumann, Ware, and Edwards (2007).

May you have the hindsight to know where you have been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far (Irish blessing)

Finally, it's possible to go too far with morphology, to the point of diminishing returns. To avoid this, teach only the most common roots and affixes. A root approach should not overwhelm inquiry-based science or history lessons; rather, it should support such instruction. Norborn Felton, Emeritus Professor of Geology at San Jose State, explains the value of morphology even as he advises restraint:

Kids don't need to learn all of the prefixes and roots. They need to be exposed to enough of them so they can see how useful they are. That's the important thing. And they can make up new scientific words. It should be engaging. (interview, June, 2006)

Online Resources for Morphology

About Susan Ebbers

Susan Ebbers is a doctoral student at the University of California and an educational consultant and speaker. She is the author of Vocabulary through Morphemes: Suffixes, Prefixes, and Roots for Intermediate Grades as well as Daily Oral Vocabulary Exercises: A Program to Expand Academic Language (Sopris West, Cambium publishers).

As a middle school teacher and literacy coach, she received the district teaching award and the county literacy award. For more information, go to www.readingway.com or email her at [email protected]

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Linking the Language: A Cross-Disciplinary Vocabulary Approach

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Rather than introducing a new word in isolation, teachers should introduce students to a rich variety of words that share the same root. This approach should help diverse learners including English language learners, make important connections among vocabulary words within the same family, and transfer core ideas across content areas.

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Activities for morphological instruction

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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This game would be a fun way for students to practice and build upon their morphology skills.

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This website has loads of games and materials for literacy instruction.

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Use a sharpie to write morphemes and affixes onto lego blocks for students to build tactile words.

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Some students will need extra practice with basic prefixes and suffixes before they are ready to move on to Greek and Latin roots. This worksheet is part of a teaching bundle available through TeachersPayTeachers.com with loads of fun hands-on activities.

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The research that backs the purpose and 'how-to' of teaching morphemes to ESL students and the whole class.

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Morphological Awareness in the Classroom

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This article covers the challenges and strategies of teaching morphology to students with special learning needs. Some approaches include:

1. Teach different morpheme patterns

Syllable types and syllable division,

Base words, prefixes, and suffixes,

Compound words, and

Function words.

2. Use speed drills to develop automatic recognition of syllables and morphemes.

3. Teach the different syllable types.

4. Teach the meanings of morphemes within the context of a sentence.

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By: National Institute for Literacy

Morphology is the study of word structure [1]. Morphology describes how words are formed from morphemes [2]. A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a word. A morpheme may be as short as one letter such as the letter, 's'. This letter adds plurality to a word such as cats. Likewise, a morpheme can consist of letter combinations that contain meaning. These units of meaning could be roots, prefixes and suffixes. An example of a morpheme that consists of letter combinations would be the word pronoun. This is also a compound word. Several combinations of word types can be created by compounding words; however, it is important to point out to the student that the meaning of a compound word does not always match the meanings of the individual words separately [3].

Morphemes can be manipulated to modify the word structures in order to change the meaning of the word [4]. For example, "She bake s cookies", can be changed to "She bak ed cookies." In this example, the " s" that signifies the third person singular is changed to " ed" and is indicative of past tense. Here the meaning of the word changes as well as the meaning of the sentence.

Morphology does make a reliable independent contribution to both reading and writing [5]. The unique contribution of morphological awareness to literacy skills is evident in the decoding rate of students in grades 8 and 9, and importantly morphological learning is still developing in the late school-age years [6].

What do good readers do?

Students who understand words at the morphemic level are better able to get the meaning of words and are better prepared to deal with the increased reading and writing demands across the curriculum and content areas [7]. Good readers use their knowledge of morphological structure to recognize complex words [8].

What challenges do adolescent readers face with morphology?

Struggling adolescent readers who lack the knowledge of morphological structure will have more difficulty in recognizing and learning words. Research shows that this awareness of the morphological structure of words is correlated with students' vocabulary knowledge as well as their reading comprehension [9].

Students with language learning disabilities may experience difficulty with delayed vocabulary and difficulty in defining specific vocabulary words because of a deficit in their knowledge of morphology [10].

How can instruction help adolescent students with morphology?

When adolescent students learn frequently used morphemes this knowledge improves not only their spelling, but also provides strategies for decoding and for building vocabulary [11]. Learning morphemes helps students particularly in the upper elementary grades and beyond as they encounter more unfamiliar words and morphologically complex words across their expository textbooks and narrative literature as well as in spelling tasks [12]. Students with morphological knowledge are better able to separate out the morphemes into meaningful units for use in decoding, comprehending or spelling the word [13].

Teach Different Morpheme Patterns

When teaching new words, teachers should not only consider the spelling of the word, but also should explain the morphemes role in changing word meaning. It is important to teach the different morpheme patterns and although formal instruction in the different morpheme patterns is likely beyond the scope of a content-area instructor, these instructors could introduce the morpheme patterns that are related to the content vocabulary that they will need to teach in their class. For background purposes, there are several morpheme patterns that include: Anglo-Saxon morphemes, Latin morphemes, and Greek morphemes. Adolescent readers will benefit from learning these morpheme patterns.

The Anglo-Saxon words tend to be the first taught words in primary school [14]. These words tend to be common, everyday words that are found in primary grade text [15]. Examples of these words are: cat, do, friend, and want.

Latin words make up the majority of the words in English and are the words that are generally polysyllabic and found in the upper elementary and secondary literature as well as expository text. Words of Latin origin contain a root along with the addition of either a prefix and/or suffix [16]. Examples of these words are: informing, conventional, and disrupted.

Greek words form about 10% of the words we use and are found in students' science, math, and philosophy textbooks around the 3rd grade and beyond [17]. Words of Greek origin tend to consist of a combination of roots that are connected to make a word [18]. Examples of these words are: chromosome, hydrogen, physiology and atmosphere.

Bound morphemes are suffixes and prefixes. These morphological word endings are meaningful units only when attached to another morpheme that is the root word. Examples of these bound morphemes that would help students comprehend the words being taught are: -ed, -ing, -s, and -'s [19]. When bound morphemes are added to a word they can change the meaning of the word.

Free morphemes are another type of morpheme that can present difficulty for students. Free morphemes can stand alone as a word and do not have to be combined with other morphemes. An example of this type of morpheme is the word man. These particular morphemes are divided into content words and function words. Function words such as pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and auxiliary verbs are learned early; however, these are often problematic for the student with language learning disabilities [20].

There are several recommended classroom activities that will help with the learning of morphology. Specifically these activities relate to the structural components of words plus relationships among words. Brice (2004) [21] suggests that general educators, special educators, and speech language pathologists all share the responsibility for teaching the following:

Syllable types and syllable division,

Base words, prefixes, and suffixes,

Compound words, and

Function words.

All of these activities could be incorporated into instructional practice for reading specialists and language arts teachers. Content-area teachers could focus on teaching base words, prefixes and suffixes, and compound words relevant to the new content-area vocabulary being introduced rather than as a separate activity to build morphological skills.

Use Speed Drills to Develop Automatic Recognition of Syllables and Morphemes

One way to build the automatic recognition of syllables and morphemes is through the use of quick speed drills [22]. When the quick speed drill is conducted as a challenge game to achieve a goal, it is more likely to be successful [23]. This activity would likely best be conducted by a reading specialist or a language arts instructor rather than in the context of instruction in subject-matter and content-areas.

Teach Students the Different Syllable Types

In general, it is important to teach students the six syllable types: closed, open, vowel-consonante, vowel pair, vowel-r, and consonant-l-e. Formal instruction in these syllable types could be conducted by a reading specialist or by language arts instructors where appropriate. More generally, content-area teachers can strengthen students' literacy skills by further developing their morphological skills during activities such as content-area vocabulary instruction.

Teach the Meanings of Morphemes within the Context of a Sentence

It is important to teach morphemes across the content-area classes with attention given to the word's internal structure and meaning within the context of a sentence [24]. Instruction should include not only the spelling, but also the role the morpheme has in changing the meaning of the word. It is very common for adolescent students to make grammatical errors with the endings on words.

Inflections and derivations change the meaning of a word. Both inflections and derivations use affixes, in general mostly suffixes, to change the form of words. Inflectional affixes change such grammatical factors as tense, gender, number, or person. For instance, one could change the tense of 'jump' from present to past tense by simply adding 'ed' to form jumped or change the person of the verb 'jump' by adding 's' (e.g. I jump versus he jumps).

Derivational affixes on the other hand create new words by changing the grammatical category, so for example 'jump' the verb can be changed to a noun by adding the suffix 'er' to form 'jumper', the noun or by adding 'y' to form 'jumpy', the adjective. Derivations are the aspect of morphology that is most closely tied to achievement in reading [25].

Inflections are generally learned by the early elementary school years; however, this is not the case for derivations. Derivations are learned from the preschool years through adulthood, thus an ideal time to pursue instruction for adolescents.

What do we still need to know?

To date, little research has been done to develop instructional programs that would help children with language-learning disabilities. These students have a need to acquire strategies as well as knowledge of words, both aspects of effective morphological processing [26]. The Green et al. (2003) [27] study has documented developmental changes in the students' use of morphological forms in their writing. This study has also established preliminary connections between morphological performance in writing to include skills such as spelling and reading. However, there is a need for more research to explore the role of morphological knowledge in both the transcription as well as the text-generation stages of the writing process.

There is a need for systematic studies of methods to help adolescent students improve their awareness of morphological structure, their knowledge of affixes, and their understanding of how to untangle complex words during reading [28]. This research would provide insights into the characteristics of instructional programs that ultimately would help students with reading problems or language-learning disabilities.

Further research on the effect of morphemic structure on word reading is needed. The complex relations of sound, spelling and the meaning of morphemes in words most likely influence word reading, but these relations are not well understood [29]. Word reading in sentences or longer text versus reading words in isolation also requires more study.

More key literacy components
References
References

Brice, R., Connecting oral and written language through applied writing strategies. Intervention in School and Clinic, 2004. 40: p. 38-47.

Carlisle, J. and C.A. Stone, Exploring the role of morphemes in word reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 2005. 40: p. 428-447.

Carlisle, J., Morphological processes that influence learning to read, in Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders, C.A. Stone, et al., Editors. 2004, The Guilford Press: New York.

Green, L., et al., Morphological development in childrenâ€™s writing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2003. 95: p. 752-761.

Henry, M., Spelling instruction in the upper grades: The etymology/morphology connection. Perspectives, 2005. 31: p. 30-32.

Joshi, R. and P. Aaron, Spelling: Its development, assessment, instruction, and the science of it. Perspectives, 2005. 31: p. 1-4.

Moats, L.C., When older kids canâ€™t read. Educational Leadership, 2001. 58(6): p. 36-40.

Nagy, W., V. Berninger, and R. Abbott, Contributions of morphology beyond phonological to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2006. 98: p. 134-147.

Tolman, C., Working smarter, not harder: What teachers of reading need to know and be able to teach. Perspectives, 2005. 21: p. 15-23.

National Institute for Literacy. (2007). Adapted from What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/adolescent_literacy07.pdf

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LD OnLine is the leading website on learning disabilities, learning disorders and differences. Parents and teachers of learning disabled children will find authoritative guidance on attention deficit disorder, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, reading difficulties, speech and related disorders.

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Mnemonic Phonic Technique - 72 Orton Phonograms 

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Mnemonic Phonic Technique - 72 Orton Phonograms 

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This YouTube video is both an auditory and visual supplement useful for those students who are still really struggling to absorb the basic phonemes.

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Mnemonic Phonic Technique - 72 Orton Phonograms

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Another resource for EL students

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Images
Prefixes and Suffixes with ELLs - A World of Language Learners

aworldoflanguagelearners.com

Images may be subject to copyright.

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Images Prefixes and Suffixes with ELLs - A World of Language Learners aworldoflanguagelearners.com Images may be subject to copyright.

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When I was a student, I really liked when teachers utilized this technique to take notes and keep important materials easily accessible and organized.  Below are some ideas of what this would look like in the topic of morphology.

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Considering the current educational environment, it is useful to have some distance learning teaching strategies in your pocket.

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How to Teach Online from Home to ESL Learners

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Once students have had an introduction to how words are formed, they can then practice building their own words using flashcards that have prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

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Now that students have had extensive exposure decoding and encoding words, they are ready to apply those skills to comprehensive reading activitites.

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Total Physical Response activities is another great way to engage EL, as well as, all learners.

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Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching - Total Physical Response

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A general overview of concepts to keep in mind for teaching special needs students.

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Special Education: Everything You Need to Know