vocabulary strand teks talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--vocabulary. The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively.

Provide students with two sets of index cards. One set includes cards with examples of Greek and Latin roots with their meanings and one card that provides an unknown word for which they will determine the meaning. The second set of cards should have a definition on each card. Task students with matching the unknown word to its definition. Then, have students write a short essay using the new vocabulary appropriately.

Matches might include the following:

  • The Greek root log means “word, idea, speech or reason,” so the word dialogue means . . .
  • “a conversation between two or more persons”
  • The Greek word phil means “love,” so philosopher means . . .
  • “lover of wisdom”
     

Further Explanation

This SE focuses on determining the meaning of a word derived from a Latin or Greek root. Students should know that the root of the word cannot function alone but can suggest the meaning of the whole word. For example, the Greek root word log means "word, idea, speech, or reason," so students can determine that dialogue means “a conversation between two or more persons.”

words used in the learning of academic subject matter in a formal educational context that are associated with literacy and academic achievement, including specific academic terms, technical language, and speech registers related to each field of study
Students should be able to determine the meaning of a word if it is derived from a Latin or Greek root. The root of the word cannot function alone but can suggest the meaning of the whole word. For example, the Latin root word omni means all, so students can determine that an omniscient point of view means that the narrator is all-knowing.
roots originating from Greek or Latin that are common in the English language and understanding their meaning can improve vocabulary acquisition (e.g., omni, log/logue, gen, vid/vis, phil, luc, and sens/sent)

Research

1. Pacheco, M.B., & Goodwin, A.P. (2013). Putting two and two together: Middle school students' morphological problem-solving strategies for unknown words. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(7), 541–553. doi:10.1002/JAAL.181

Summary: Pacheo and Goodwin discuss strategies that assist students in determining word meanings. One such strategy includes figuring out words by breaking words down into their smallest parts, such as affixes and root words. The recommendation suggests this approach as a means to learning unknown words. 

2. Crosson, A. C., & McKeown, M. G. (2016). How effectively do middle school learners use roots to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words? Cognition and Instruction, 34(2), 148–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2016.1145121

Summary: This study examines ways in which middle school students can apply their knowledge of Latin roots  to comprehend the meanings of unfamiliar words. The study includes an assessment of the analytical strategies used by students when attempting to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. The study is a qualitative study of sixth and seventh grade students. The study reveals that using root words to analyze unfamiliar words can be applied using direct and indirect approaches. The study suggests that morphological problem solving, particularly applying the knowledge of Latin roots, is a promising instructional approach. Morphological problem solving is significantly correlated to establishing the  meaning of a word as well as increasing the memory representation of the root word in various other contexts. 

3. Crosson, A. C., McKeown, M. G., Moore, D. W., & Ye, F. (2018). Extending the bounds of morphology instruction: Teaching Latin roots facilitates academic word learning for English Learner adolescents. Reading and Writing, 32(3), 689–727. doi: 10.1007/s11145-018-9885-y

Summary: The authors discuss how academic vocabulary instruction can be based on morphological analysis of Latin roots to determine the meaning of new words and to clarify texts. The article includes an overview of the impact of abstract words that tend to be used in multiple disciplines. Additionally the article addresses the complexity of learning advanced vocabulary. Crosson and McKeown recommend that teachers support students in learning academic words and developing morphological analysis. The article provides a deep dive in the discussion and includes tables, figures, and charts.