Vocabulary & reading are interdependent.

  • man reading to boy

    Reading is the primary way that people build vocabulary.

  • discouraged child looking at computer

    Lack of vocabulary inhibits reading comprehension.

  • pile of books

    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

    wrench

  • wrinkly shirt

    wrinkle

  • wringing a rag

    wring

  • a wrapped gift

    wrap

  • wrist

    wrist

  • ed

    Sounds /ĕd-d-t/

    Meaning past tense

  • plant growing out of pile of dirt

    planted

  • pink rose

    bloomed

  • boy picking flower

    picked

How Morphology & Phonics Work Together

kid with hand on head and look of surprise

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.
confident, young boy with arms crossed

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.
girl holding up two fingers

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

2019 Teacher Training

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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