Helping students develop
morphological awareness
1
meld (meld) v.
• A. liquefy
• B. combine
• C. harden with age
meld (meld) v.
• B. combine
• melt+ weld= meld
Inventor melded two devices to create the
camcorder.
bodacious
(boh-dey-shus) adj.
• A. remarkable
• B. interfering
• C. part human, part machine
bodacious
(boh-dey-shus) adj.
• A. remarkable
• bold+ audacious= bodacious
Wasn’t it bodacious of Bonnie to become a
paratrooper?
Chillax (chi-laks) v.
• A. ice fish
• B. calm down
• C. rudely insult
Chillax (chi-laks) v.
• B. calm down
• chill+ relax= chillax
The puzzle addict could not chillax until he
solved the riddle.
Objectives
Teachers will:
• Learn about the impact of morphological
awareness on reading and spelling
• Employ instructional routines that enable
students to learn word meanings and
spellings
8
Divide this word
autobiography
9
Divide this word
Divide syllables:
au-to-bi-o-graph-y
Divide morphemes:
auto-bio-graphy
10
Where in the Common Core?
• Understand and use common prefixes and suffixes
• Use knowledge of syllabication patterns and morphology to
decode unfamiliar multi-syllabic words
11
What we know…
Until about 1990, Morphological Awareness
has been somewhat overlooked in research
and particularly in practice, but recent
studies have shown it to be strongly related
to literacy, including reading, spelling,
vocabulary, comprehension, and even
grammar (Carlisle, 2003; Nagy, 2007).
12
5 Big Ideas of
Reading
Progression of Decoding
Phonemes
Graphemes
Syllable spellings
Inflectional morphemes
Derivational morphemes
Phonics
• The pairing of a sound with the letter or
letters (graphemes) that represent that
sound (phonemes).
• This pairing is also called sound/symbol
correspondence.
Syllable
• A unit of speech that has one sounded
vowel
• Vowel is the core of the syllable
• Six syllable types
Why do syllables matter?
• Syllables are smaller, predictable patterns
of letter/sound combinations.
• By breaking an unfamiliar word into parts
with predictable patterns, a person is likely
to read an unfamiliar word correctly.
Syllable Type Review
C
closed
vc
at
frosts
L
Consonant le
-le
crumble
Uncle
O
open
v
he
sta-
V
vowel teams
vv
rain
cow
E
silent e
v_e
ate
stole
R
r controlled
vr
or
shark
Small Group InstructionMulti-syllabic Decoding
Instructional activities:
•
•
•
•
Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping
Syllable Division
Identifying Syllable Types
Syllable Sorting
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Applying our Knowledge
Grade 3
•
•
•
•
Beautiful
Cheerful
Daily
Fairness
•
•
•
•
Finally
Helpful
Illness
Kindness
•
•
•
•
Painful
Quietly
Safely
Spotless
20
Phoneme-Grapheme
Mapping
21
Applying our Knowledge
•
disapprove
•
discontinue
•
disrespect
•
distrust
•
•
•
•
unaware
•
unlikely
•
unsolved
•
unsuspecting
inability
incomplete
indirect
22
Syllable Sort
Closed
Open
Silent –e
R-Controlled
Vowel Team
Consonant –le
23
slurve (slurv) n.
• A. ice-cream drink
• B. automobile stunt
• C. baseball pitch
slurve (slurv) n.
• C. baseball pitch
• slider+ curve= slurve
A batter can only guesstimate where AJ’s
slurve will go.
Liger (liy-ger) n.
• A. liquid measure
• B. midnight snack
• C. big cat
Liger (liy-ger) n.
• C. big cat
• lion+ tiger= liger
I can’t go to the Cineplex. I have to feed my
liger.
mockumentary- n.
• A. simulated-trial manual
• B. placebo
• C. satirical film style
mockumentary- n.
• C. satirical film style
• mock+ documentary= mockumentary
Kathy urged her Labradoodle-loving sister to
watch Best in Show, a mockumentary about
five dog owners.
Morphemes
morpheme
smallest part of a word that carries
meaning
free
morphemes
A morpheme that can stand alone
 Base word (ex: care)
 Compound word (ex: daydream)
bound
morphemes
A morpheme that must be used in
combination with other morphemes
• Affixes (-s, -ly, -tion, un-, pre-)
• Greek combining forms (chrono,
graphy, pedi)
Base Word
• A stand-along word to which prefixes
and/or suffixes can be added.
– Ex: unwholesome, disengage
Root Word
• Word parts that cannot stand alone, but
are used in combination.
– Ex: reflected,
constrict
Useful Morphemes:
Roots
• These 12 Latin roots plus the Greek graph and ology
provide clues to the meaning of more than 100,000
words:
Meaning
Root word
Example
to write
scrib, scripti
to bear or yield
fer
to lead
duc, duce, duct
to make or do
fac, fact, fect, fic
to stretch or strain
tend, tens, tent
to see, watch
observe
to send
spec, spect, spic
to hold
ten, tain, tin, tinu
to stand
sist, sta, stat, stit,
to put place or set
pon, pose, pound
mit, miss
Affixes
• An affix is a prefix or a suffix
• It can attached to a base, stem or root
• Most often are inflectional endings
Ex: -s, -ed, -ing, -er, -es, -est
Affix Review Routine
Materials: Chart of affixes to review
Explain: Demonstrate the task as you are explaining.
You’re going to practice reading and saying the
meaning of affixes. When I slide my finger, read the
affix out loud. When I slide my finger again, say the
meaning out loud.
Model: Use the signal for each affix. * Model until students
are successful with the routine.
I’ll show you how to read and say the meaning for
the first two affixes. My turn.
Affix Review Routine
*Signal for each affix
1. Prefix: Touch to the left of the prefix. Prefix?
1. Suffix: Touch to the left of the suffix. Suffix?
2. Wait 1 second for students to think.
3. Slide finger under the affix.
4. Touch again to the left of the affix. Meaning?
5. Wait 2 seconds for the students to think.
6. Slide finger under the affix.
Practice for students only: Go back to the first affix on the chart. Use the
signal for each affix. * Your turn.
Affix Review Routine
Check for Understanding: Call on 2 to 3 students in an unpredictable order. If an
individual student makes an error, you will use the correction procedure with all
students responding after you say “Your turn”.
Let’s do some individual turns. I will touch next to a prefix or suffix;
everyone will read and say the meaning in their head. I will call one
student’s name and only that student will read and say the meaning out
loud.
Correcting Student Errors
1. My turn. Follow the signal for each affix and re-present the
missed affix.
2. Your turn. Follow the signal for each affix*, and re-present
the missed affix.
3. Back up two affixes and continue presenting the sounds on
the chart.
Advanced Decoding
• Neither is “the correct” way
• Think about the purpose of the activity
• Clear direction for students is key
Advanced Decoding:
divide by morpheme
• Box affixes (prefixes & suffixes)
recapture
• Scoop the syllables
capt
• Apply syllable knowledge for the vowel
sound
capt = ă
• Define the root/base/stem elements
căpt = take, catch, seize, hold
• Rebuild the word
– Begin with one syllable root/base/stems and
add one affix at a time
capture
recapture
Box, Scoop, Define, Rebuild, Say It Fast
Small Group InstructionAffixes
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Review Affixes. What do they mean?
Select only those with like meaning.
Choose example words (8-10).
Instructional activities:
Etymology
Word Comparisons
Synonyms
Denotations/Connotations
Words in Context
Analogies
42
Frenemy
(fre-nuh-mee) n.
• A. false friend
• B. opposition army
• C. frantic movement
Frenemy
(fre-nuh-mee) n.
• A. false friend
• friend+ enemy= frenemy
A true frenemy, Lisa poked fun at my lob
before asking her hairstylist for one too.
Frankenfood
(fran-ken-food) n.
• A. dangerous eats
• B. genetically engineered food
• C. fusion cuisine
Frankenfood
(fran-ken-food) n.
• B. genetically engineered food
• Frankenstein+ food= Frankenfood
The food purists plotted ecotage against the
Frankenfood conglomerate.
Bromance
(bro-mans) n.
• A. fraternity dwelling
• B. gaseous element
• C. close male friendship
Bromance
(bro-mans) n.
• C. close male friendship
• brother+ romance= bromance
Ben and Andy’s bromance grew out of their
mutual love for automobilia.
Thank you!
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