Morphological/Structural Analysis for Word Identification, Spelling and Meaning Education 573 Spring, 2015 University of Bridgeport

Teaching students key vocabulary can include teaching them to look for affixes and root words that they know and can help them determine the meanings of new words as they read.

Morphology is… morphe = form -logy = to study The study of meaningful units of language and how those units are combined in words Morpheme: the smallest meaningful unit or form in a language Example: cat-s cats (1 syllable word, 2 morphemes)

Why study morphology? Knowing morphemes can help readers identify words.

Why study morphology? Knowing morphemes can help readers figure out the meanings of words.

Structural Analysis The number, order of and type of morphemes used to make up a particular word is called its structure.

Structural/Morphological Analysis For about 40-50% of words known by children, there is evidence that they worked out meanings by consciously combining prefixes and suffixes (i.e. Un-, -able) with known root words or by analyzing compound words into their components. (Anglin, 1993) More research is needed.

Typical structure: prefix + root + connective + suffix trans port a tion

Bound Morphemes Bound morphemes : Have meaning, but cannot stand alone. Bound morphemes are referred to as affixes Prefix: trans- Suffix: -able

There are two types of affixes; There are two types of bound morphemes; prefixes and suffixes

Prefix Letters added to the beginning of a (base/root) word that changes its meaning un- pre- re- trans- inter- sub-

Suffix Letters added to the end of a (base/root) word or another suffix that changes its meaning or the way it can be used in a sentence.

Free morphemes: Have meaning and can stand alone. Free morphemes are referred to as roots lock

un + lock + ing bound free bound prefix root suffix 3 morphemes

Root The form of a word after the affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are removed. Re port ertrans form ed con tract ing

Compound Words A compound word is made when two words/roots are joined to form a new word. A compound word is made when two free morphemes are joined to form a new word.

Compound Words lifetime elsewhere upside grandmother cannot baseball fireworks passport become became sunflower crosswalk basketball superstructure

-ject = to “throw” (-tion“the act of”) Verb Noun e (ex)(“out”)eject ejection in(“in”)inject injection pro(“forward”)project projection inter(“between”)interject interjection sub(“under”) subject subjection re(“back”) reject rejection

When do we teach? Grade 1 introduce the concept with very basic common morphemes (suffixes: -ing, -ed, -er, -est) Can introduce the Latin elements such as the prefix ex-, pre- Grades 2/3 continue with common prefixes and suffixes, use compound words to develop the concept of morphology Grade 3/4 introduce the most common Latin roots, continue with affixes Grades 5-6 study in depth Latin roots and affixes, introduce Greek, chameleon prefixes Grades 7/8 study in depth Greek combining forms High school continue studying the most sophisticated morphemes

7 Guiding Principles for Morphemic Instruction Provide explicit instruction in how morphemic analysis works Teach most common, most transparent first Examine relationships between words through “word families” Provide a structure so students can use analysis independently Sufficient review and practice to build automaticity Summarize and reflect on the lesson content, structural patterns and procedures Be clear that it (morpheme analysis) doesn’t always work

Lesson 1 Setting the stage using compound words Objectives: 1. Define the term morpheme 2. Know that parts of words carry meaning 3. Knowing the parts can help define the whole 4. Knowing it doesn’t always work

Lesson 2: Examples versus Non-examples Objective: 1.Define prefix. 2. Define suffix. 3. Locating examples/ non-examples of the prefix pre- pretty prevent Locating examples/ non-examples of the suffix –ing looking vs. king

Typical Introduction T: Present orally: support, transport, import, export, report S: Repeat above T: In what way do those words sound the same? (port) T: Presents visually above words S: Reads words T: In what way do these words look the same (p,o,r,t) T: Where is “port” p,o,r,t in the words? T: What does “port” mean? How does “port” change the meaning of the root word?

port to carry My brother needed tra transportation to the airport.

Introduction: “tion” T: Present orally: support, transportation, invitation, S: Repeat above T: In what way do those words sound the same? (shun) T: Presents visually above words S: Reads words T: In what way do these words look the same (t,i,o,n) T: Where is “shun” t,i,o,n in the words? T: What does “shun” mean? How does “tion” change the meaning of the root word?

-tion words VerbVerb collect invent infect perfect elect experiment explore Noun collection invention infection perfection election experimentation exploration - the a is a bridge to get us from the word to -tion

A word about the really weird looking suffixes: Some suffixes look really hard and scary, but once you understand them, they are easy to read. They always say the same thing: -cian/shin/-xious /shus/ -cious /shus/-tial /shul/ -tious /shus/-cial /shul/ The key ci and ti make the sound /sh/. The spellings alter to accommodate whatever came before it in the word.

Examples of student tasks: Read the room for prefix/ suffix of the day or to review several affixes Grab any text and search for morpheme of the day, list on paper After doing several affixes, teacher posts several base words, teams mix & match base words and affixes to make as many words as possible in 1 minute Cumulative review Bingo- affixes on board, T calls out definition, S match to affix

Building a Morphology Board PrefixesLatin Roots Suffixes pre- ject-ing un- spect-ful dis- dic/dict -ly re- -tion e-, ex- rejection predicting disrespectfully

Resources for Beginning the Study of Morphology Ganske, K. Mindful of Words. Guilford Press Henry, M. Words. Pro.ed Johnson, K & Bayrd, P. Megawords Workbooks 2-8. EPS King, D.H. English Isn’t Crazy! Pro.ed Numes & Bryant. Improving Literacy by Teaching Morphemes. Routledge Websites of interest: