Vocabulary & reading are interdependent.

  • Reading is the primary way that people build vocabulary.

  • Lack of vocabulary inhibits reading comprehension.

  • Written language is richer in vocabulary than spoken language.

The Importance of Teaching Morphology

  • 4th-grade students with a strong understanding of morphology have higher reading comprehension scores (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007).
  • By 5th grade, students' understanding of morphology is a better predictor of reading comprehension than their vocabulary level (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007).

Ways To Make New Words in English

Tips for Teaching Vocabulary

  • Teach compound words.

    Demonstrate how two words can be combined together to form new words. Discuss the meaning of each word and the new meaning when they are combined.

  • Teach homonyms.

    Many words carry more than one meaning. For example, to fix can mean to repair. It can also mean to attach.

  • Teach the meaning of prefixes.

    For example, pre- as in prefix means before. Prefixes are letters attached before the base.

  • Teach the meaning of suffixes.

    Suffixes often carry grammatical meaning. Adding an -s to a noun turns it from singular to plural.

  • Teach accurate suffixing rules.

    Logic of English uses a flow chart with three spelling rules to accurately add a suffix to any word.

  • Teach common Latin & Greek roots.

    Multisyllabic words are often based on Latin and Greek roots. Knowing the meaning of a root can unlock hundreds of new words.

  • Teach Latin prefixes.

    Latin prefixes also carry meaning. Latin prefixes can change their spelling based on the sound after the prefix.

  • Demonstrate connections between words.

    Striving readers struggle to recognize the meaning of words that include a change to the sounds (Richards et al., 2006; Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007). Explicit vocabulary instruction can help them to understand the relationship between words.

The sounds, spellings, and meaning of written words are intertwined.

  • WR

    Sound /r/
    Meaning twist

  • wrench

  • wrinkle

  • wring

  • wrap

  • wrist

  • ed

    Sounds /ĕd-d-t/

    Meaning past tense

  • planted

  • bloomed

  • picked

How Morphology & Phonics Work Together

Phonograms that say more than one sound help retain meaning.

When phonograms say more than one sound, they may be used to retain the meaning of a root, prefix, or suffix. For example:

  • EA in please and pleasant - Using the EA phonogram in both words retains the relationship in meaning, while allowing for different pronunciation.
  • ED in decided, called, and passed - The phonogram ED indicates a past tense verb, but can be pronounced three different ways. The spelling helps retain the meaning.

Some phonograms are used based on related words.

  • For example, sign and design use GN to spell /n/ because both the /g/ and /n/ are heard in related words such as signal and signature.
  • TI is used to spell partial because part ends with T.

Explain exceptions to phonics rules.

Understanding that English is a balance of sounds and meaning also explains exceptions to the phonograms. For example the W in the word two is silent. But it is heard in words like:

  • twin (two children born together)
  • twice (two times)
  • twelve (ten and two ones)
  • twenty (two tens)

TW means the number two.

Word Reading Strategy

Decode First, Then Discover!

If it makes sense, keep reading! But if at anytime a word doesn't make sense, pause and use these strategies to discover the word!

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Morphology

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References

Kieffer, M. J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2007). Breaking Down Words to Build Meaning: Morphology, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in the Urban Classroom. The Reading Teacher, 61(2), 134–144. https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.61.2.3

Richards, T. L., Aylward, E. H., Berninger, V. W., Field, K. M., Grimme, A. C., Richards, A. L., & Nagy, W. (2006). Individual fMRI activation in orthographic mapping and morpheme mapping after orthographic or morphological spelling treatment in child dyslexics. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 19(1), 56–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2005.07.003