TEAC 951A

A Way with Words

Learning and Understanding Morphology
in Third Grade
Kelly Kingsley
5/5/2010

This study looks at morphology instruction for third graders and how it affects their
retention of prefixes and suffixes and their ability to use what they have learned
and apply it to new words.
2 A Way with Words

Finding My Way

For the past year, I have been curious about how changing my practice in the instruction of

spelling would help students to retain the word spellings beyond the weekly post-test. I felt there

had to be components missing in my lessons regarding spelling. I needed to find a better way to

instruct my students to increase their word spelling retention.

I initially included word sorts, group games, and small group instruction into my spelling

lessons. The students were learning to spell wonderful words, but they really didn’t know how

to use the words or how to generate words that were related to the root word. I knew there was

still something missing in my spelling program, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was

missing.

I was fortunate to be able to attend Freddie Hiebert’s workshop on vocabulary. Her main point

was to help students understand word meaning and how to make related words from root words.

She used a term; I had either not really paid attention to or had not heard before, morphology.

She stated that students needed to have morphological awareness. Suddenly, the light bulb went

on in my head; that was the missing component in my spelling program. Ehri (1986) identified

three broad stages of spelling development and the third stage is Morphemic: The child becomes

more aware of conventional spelling, employing visual and morphological information in

spelling.

So how did I go about helping my students become aware of morphology? I decided before I

could instruct my students regarding morphology, I needed to understand it myself. I needed to

learn about morphology and how it would function in my classroom. I needed to get my hands

on scholarly articles regarding morphology. Improved morphological knowledge allows

students to use larger meaningful chunks of information (morphemes) to decode, comprehend,

3 A Way with Words

and spell more effectively. Their increased vocabulary and spelling knowledge can in turn

facilitate their writing (McCutchen, et al., 1994).

I began by having my students write a spelling word, define it, use it in a sentence and then draw

a picture of the word. This would definitely help them learn the word so they could use it more

effectively, right? Well, yes and no. When asked to use a spelling word in a sentence, some

students were able to this correctly, while others were not so successful. I was working toward

my students gaining word meaning knowledge, but, was this really what the research supporting

morphology was implying? I needed to find another way to help students find a way to

understand word structure and forms of words. Scott and Nagy, 2000, show that most students

have difficulty understanding the definitions and then being able to use the word correctly in a

sentence. They point out that there are significant obstacles to dictionary use and they strongly

caution the use of them. The authors state, it seems inappropriate to ask students to look up new

words in the dictionary without additional support or scaffolding, particularly if they have not

been taught how to read definitions (p. 198). They ask the question that I was asking the whole

time I was reading this article, "What can be done to improve the way students learn new

vocabulary?" They do suggest that integrating the information in a definition with a context

sentence, is a more difficult process than many parents, teachers, publishers, and researchers

presume (p.198).

I needed to help my students see how words could be divided into roots and stems, each

contributing to the meaning (and spelling) of the word (Hurry et al., 2005). Teaching that makes

children more aware of morphemes has a positive effect on their vocabulary growth and

promotes spelling and language development in the classroom(Teaching and Learning Research

Programme, 2006). My program would need components to improve my student’s vocabulary

4 A Way with Words

and their word attack strategies by boosting their awareness of morphemes. The components

could include: adding and subtracting morphemes, creating analogies, making invented words

with real morphemes and guessing the meanings of the word, discover grammatical categories to

sort words, and counting morphemes.

Word conscious learners have an awareness of and an interest in new words, their meanings, and

their power; students begin to take notice of words they read, hear, and those they write or speak

(Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001). When teachers focus on creating word conscious learners

many students for the first time are actually motivated to learn new words. Motivation is

everything; people accomplish little unless they are motivated to do so. If students are to achieve

academically, they must be motivated to learn and use many new words. Oliver Wendell Homes

said, “Once the mind is stretched by a new idea it never goes back to its original dimension.”

That quote speaks to the powerful outcome of creating word conscious students. We have all

heard unfamiliar words used in conversation and pondered the meaning once the chat ended.

Research indicates the brain is curious and has a need to know or figure out different or

unfamiliar information. Traditional practices have done little to motivate students to be word

learners; past results at best focused on a passing acquaintance with words.

Learning from Others

Word conscious learners have an awareness of and an interest in new words, their meanings, and

their power; students begin to take notice of words they read, hear, and those they write or speak

(Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001). It is important that morphology instruction may play a

very important role by providing students of all ability levels enhanced access to word reading

and word meaning (Reed, 2008). When teachers focus on creating word conscious learners

many students for the first time are actually motivated to learn new words. Listening to children
5 A Way with Words

to understand their confidence is strong and where they feel they struggle helps the teacher to

know when to step in and when to give their student’s space. Traditional practices have done

little to motivate students to be word learners. Past results at best focused on a passing

acquaintance with words. Motivation is everything. People accomplish little unless they are

motivated to do so. If students are to achieve academically, they must be motivated to learn and

use many new words.

Children who have knowledge of morphemes learn that these meaningful word parts are spelled

similarly in different words where they appear, even if the pronunciation is altered. This can also

transfer to spelling where children with better morphological ability were more often able to

choose the correct and reject the incorrect spelling of words with a wide range of morphological

complexity (Reed, 2008). Students who are able to decompose words into their constituent parts

and utilize morphological relatedness among words have been projected to learn approximately

two to three more new words per day than if they did not (or could not) engage in any

morphological problem solving (Anglin et al., 1993; Nagy & Anderson, 1984). Anglin’s study

(1993) shows that a great deal of the vocabulary growth of elementary school children can be

accounted for by an increasing ability to deal with morphologically complex words. Freyd and

Baron (1982) found that fast vocabulary development is enhanced by morphological awareness.

Morphological knowledge matters. Children acquire a more extensive vocabulary by making

use of their ability to analyze and comprehend words via morphological constituents (Bertram et

al., 2000). Nagy and Anderson state there is an important role for morphology in learning of

new vocabulary. Frequency cannot be the only criterion by which words are chosen for

instruction. The introduction of new words should be determined by family relationships, so they

can be taught together as a family. This would reinforce the learning of base words and word-
6 A Way with Words

formation processes (Nagy & Anderson, 1984). Successful readers must learn a large number of

words from context. If they have a large vocabulary they are better at inferring word meaning

from context. This also relates to their morphological relatedness among words.

Nagy and Anderson hypothesize that the principal force driving vocabulary growth is volume of

experience with language. Starting in third grade, the major determinant of vocabulary growth is

the amount of free reading. Vocabulary instruction needs to teach skills and strategies that would

help children become independent word learners (Nagy & Anderson, 1984).

Morphological awareness may contribute to both reading and writing in at least five different

ways by (a) providing insight into the writing system, (b) enabling readers to read and spellers to

produce longer words more accurately and fluently, (c) contributing to syntactic parsing(reading)

or packaging (writing), (d) increasing children's ability to decontextualize language and process

in analytically, and (e) facilitating written and oral vocabulary learning, which in turn affects

reading and writing acquisition (p. 730) and learning to read and write draws on orthographic

and phonological mappings in the beginning, but increasingly draws on orthographic,

phonological, and morphological mappings as written words become morphologically more

complex (Nagy, et al, 2003). Perhaps the most effective step that teachers can take to assist

vocabulary learning is to help students create effective ways to remember the meanings of new

words, either through the use of keywords or root words (Pressley et al., 1987).

Looking at morphology instruction is doing just that, helping students learn keywords and root

words. Morphological knowledge entails sensitivity to the internal, meaning-related structure of

words, including knowledge of inflections and derivational forms (Green, et al., 2003). Nagy

and Scott's (2000) identification of five aspects of word knowledge used in reading quite

enlightening. (a) Instrumentality: Knowing a word is not an all-or-nothing matter. (b)

7 A Way with Words

Multidimensionality: word knowledge consists of qualitatively different types of knowledge such

as understanding nuances of meaning between words. (c) Polysemy: many words have multiple

meanings, and the more common the word, the more meanings it is likely to have. (d)

Interrelatedness: learning or knowing a word often entails derivation or association with the

meanings of related words, either in linguistic context or in one's semantic memory store. (e)

Heterogeneity: a word's meaning differs depending on its function and structure (p. 286-287).

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this action research project is to examine how vocabulary instruction with a

morphological emphasis in third grade may improve both their vocabulary retention and increase

their ability to decode and comprehend new vocabulary. I predict that increasing the

morphological awareness of third grade students would result in greater vocabulary

comprehension and word recognition for that student. I also predict that the vocabulary practice

with morphology will increase that student's use of root words, suffixes, prefixes and inflected

endings. This study is particularly interested in the possible improvement differences within

students initially demonstrating low levels, average levels, and high levels of vocabulary.

Methodology

Participants

The participants in this project attend a school which serves a population of middle income

families, high mobility and diverse ethnicity. This project will look at comprehension results for

twenty third grade students of all academic levels, with an emphasis on three third grade

students, one from a low, average, and high vocabulary level.

Kahea is incredibly articulate and very comfortable speaking with adults. She is a high ability

learner with a great appetite for learning. Kahea is a very bright, energetic, and enthusiastic
8 A Way with Words

learner. She has very strong self-efficacy; she truly believes she will succeed at any academic

situation I can put her in. Kahea loves to play with language and will notice words she is not

familiar with and pursue finding out what those words mean and how to use them. She values

learning and is willing to accept any challenge in learning set in front of her.

Brett, on the other hand, truly struggles in school. He has a difficult time with reading, writing,

and spelling, and also is easily distracted in learning situations. Brett shies away from learning

challenges and seeks help often when involved in the learning process. Brett plays with

language in a different way than Kahea does. Since he struggles with learning new words, he

relies on the help of others to figure out new words and how to use them. Brett doesn’t appear to

value learning, but he wants to succeed to make his parents happy.

Tony is an average student. When he is engaged and interested he is an active learner and

participates readily. When he is distracted by other students or not interested in the context of

the lesson Tony will usually disengage and appear disinterested. Tony plays with language when

he finds it interesting. He doesn’t pursue difficult tasks but he will attempt them if he is required

to do so. Tony struggled with reading and comprehension at the beginning of the year and

worked with the school reading specialist. He improved his comprehension over the first 3

quarters of school and was excused from the reading program and has worked hard to maintain

his reading growth. He has also “bounced” around in spelling ability. His spelling inventory

resulted in a higher ability of spelling than he was capable of handling on a daily basis. He has

gone from the above grade level group to the at grade level group.

Intervention
9 A Way with Words

In this project, use of two vocabulary lists will be employed. One list of prefixes and suffixes

will be instructed in the classroom using activities to enhance the instruction of the morphology

of the words. The second list of prefixes and suffixes will not be taught, but will have both close

and far generalizations to the first list. I will give my students a pretest to assess what words they

are familiar with and what words they are unfamiliar with. I will introduce the list of words that

will be taught to the class and have the students work with the words to learn the morphological

structure of each word, as well as the word meaning. I will interview three students, one from

each ability level to gain an understanding of how each student feels about word learning.

Following four weeks of direct instruction of the vocabulary list to be taught, I will provide my

students with a post test of instructed words and words that were not instructed to compare to the

pretest results.

Here is an example of a week’s lesson of direct instruction (Templeton, 2008):

The Prefix un- (not, opposite or reverse )

Day 1

Most words in English are made by combining prefixes and suffixes with base words and word

parts from Greek and Latin. Greek and Latin were languages spoken over 2,000 years ago. We’re

going to be learning more about the most re important prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin

roots in the language. If you know these word parts, you will be able to read thousands of words

in English. You will also be able to figure out the meaning of thousands of words in English, too!

1. Write the following words on the board:

selfish fair
10 A Way with Words

Read and discuss what each word means. Having students turn and talk with a partner is a good

way to get this going, and then share out. (For example: How would you describe someone who

is selfish? If someone acts in a fair way, how would you describe that?)

2. Add the prefix un- to each word. Ask: How do you think adding the prefix un- to these words

affects their meanings?

3. Write the following words on the board, and talk about how un- affects the meaning of each:

unpack unwrap unbutton uncle

Uncle is the exception or oddball, and helps them realize that the letters un- are not always a

prefix. (You may choose to use the term oddball to refer to words that do not follow the pattern.)

So, how do you think we should define the prefix un- ? What meanings do you think it has?

This discussion is important: While some students will identify the meaning not, by talking about

the words unpack, unwrap , and unbutton , you will lead them to the understanding that it also

usually means the opposite or reverse of the word it s attached to. Write down the definition you

decide on. un-? has?” “not,” unwrap, unbutton, “opposite” “reverse” it’s attached to.

Now let s say we ran into this sentence when we were reading an article in the paper about the

high school football game [write this sentence on the board]:

The quarterback was knocked unconscious when he was tackled.

How can we figure out what the word unconscious means? Discuss with the students how they

can combine the meaning of un- with the word conscious and, together with the rest of the

sentence, figure out the meaning.

There are two things we’re going to do in our Vocabulary Notebooks today: First, write down

our un- words. Then, write down our definition for un-.

Day 2
11 A Way with Words

1. Display the words from Day 1. Ask students: What is our definition of the prefix un-?

2. Write the following words on the board:

unable unpleasant

With a partner, determine the meaning of each word, write a sentence for each word, and then

write your sentences in your Vocabulary Notebook. Today and tomorrow, keep your eye out for

words that contain the un- prefix . They could be anywhere: In our reading, on billboards, in

newspapers, or in conversations you are having or ones you overhear. Record or write them

down in your Vocabulary Notebooks. If you find any oddballs, write those down in a separate

column. We will share what you find over the next two days.

(Optional, though highly recommended): I’ll put up a un- chart on the wall, and any un- words

you find that are really interesting, write them on our chart. I’ll do that as well!

Day 3

What are some un- words that you have found? Were you able to figure out the meaning? (If a

chart has been posted, check that as well.)

Day 4

Check any additional un- words the students may have recorded. Review the meaning of un-:

not, opposite or reverse. Share a few sentences that the students have written. If a student is not

certain about the meaning of a word they found, this is a good opportunity to talk about the word

with the class and try to tease out its meaning. If students can share the source of the word that

provides an excellent context for the discussion of the meaning, un-: “not,” “opposite” “reverse.”

Timeline

This action research takes the form of an A-B-A-B design, with the following schedule:
12 A Way with Words

Phase 1 (Baseline): Teacher pretests students with instructed and uninstructed lists. Vocabulary

module is used to assess word knowledge.

Phase 2 (Intervention): Direct instruction of the list of words to be taught, highlighting

morphological patterns.

Phase 3 (Withdrawal): Teacher posttests students with instructed and uninstructed lists.

Phase 4: (Intervention): Teacher interviews three students, one from each academic level to

assess their word learning awareness.

Analysis

All student pre and posttests will be recorded in three areas, words they already knew, words

they knew the meaning of, and words they could make connections to. The interview data will

also be recorded in the previously mentioned areas and the made-up root words assessment. All

of this information will be analyzed both within and across phases, to determine if noticeable

differences exist between ability levels and instructed and uninstructed words.

Learning from Students

In Their Own Words

I conducted a word awareness interview with Tony, Brett and Kahea to find out what they

thought about words and how they used words, I wanted to understand their thoughts and

feelings regarding the vocabulary and spelling instruction that was occurring in my classroom

and where their engagement fit in. The teacher should provide meaningful activities the will

enhance the student’s confidence in their abilities by becoming aware of how students learn and

use words in the classroom and in their personal experiences.

Kahea and I met after school on March 9 to visit in the quiet of my classroom. Kahea was

excited to answer my questions and even asked if she could use humor in the interview.
13 A Way with Words

I asked Kahea how she went about learning new words. “I sound them out, look at the pictures, and decode

the word into words I know. My dad gives me words to figure out what they mean. I go to Google to

figure them out. I draw pictures of words and write what they mean. ” I inquired about what she

liked/disliked about learning new words. “I don’t like learning new words because it is boring.

Sometimes, I do, so I can transfer them to sentences to look smart.” She has a huge smile as she says the

last sentence. When asked how she makes words her own, Kahea answered, “I remember how to spell

them and what they mean. I keep using the word. I use it a lot so I remember. The new words you give

me, well I keep using them to make them my own, like the word livid.” I had had an early conversation

that week with Kahea about Danica Patrick, a NASCAR race car driver, who had lost her race and Kahea

had said she was really angry. I said, “Oh, so you were livid?” She grabbed that word and used it in

conversation, shared it with friends, and used it in her writing. Kahea also shared this new word with

Heather and both used the word in a personal narrative they wrote that week.

Our conversation continued when I asked Kahea how she incorporated new words into her writing. “I use

them where they make sense. If I don’t, people will go, “What? I like to make it interesting for the reader.”

Kahea and I talked about how research states spelling, reading, and writing can be related. “That is true.

When you read you learn a lot of words. In writing you use those words and in spelling you use words that

are connected to make your sentences more powerful.”

Kahea enjoyed learning and using new words, so she found looking up words, learning their

definitions and using those words engaging. Kahea’s interview about words was quite different

from the one I conducted with Brett.

I interviewed Brett during free time on March 31. It was rather noisy in the classroom and this

made it a little more difficult for Brett to focus on the questions I was asking him. If I had to do

it all over again, I would have arranged to meet with Brett after school when it would have been

a quiet and calm atmosphere.

I asked Brett what he did when he encountered words he didn’t know. “I sometimes I divide them out with

syllables. I look them up in the dictionary or ask somebody that does know.” I then asked Brett how he

makes a word his own. He replied, “If I have trouble and I’m not spelling it right a lot, I keep on trying.
14 A Way with Words

Word Work (my classroom lessons) really helps me look up words in the dictionary. You sometimes

challenge me with my spelling words. Long words are hard to read.”

I turned the conversation to Brett’s word work and his writing. I asked Brett how he uses new words in

writing. He said, “I make ‘em make sense. I use the word wall, the dictionary …um…” When I told Brett

that research supports the idea of reading, writing, and spelling to be connected, he really didn’t know

where I was coming from. I got a blank stare, so I clarified by asking him if he thought a person needed to

be able to read to be able to write and spell. “Um, you have to be able to read the word correctly.” I asked

him, “Do you think spelling and writing have helped you learn to read? His answer was, “Uh huh.”

Brett was not very comfortable speaking to me one-on-one. I am not sure why. He loves to tell

me stories about his family, so I didn’t think this would be an issue for him. I don’t think he

enjoyed being singled out from his peers. I also learned that Brett views long words as difficult.

So when I am looking at words to engage in him in Word Work I will need to keep in mind that

he finds long words difficult. Making sure Brett has many books at hand that are at his reading

level will keep him engaged when reading to himself or to someone else.

I also interviewed Tony on March 31. He was excited to talk to me but struggled at times to

clarify his answers.

I asked Tony, “What do you do when you encounter words you don’t know?” He said, “I look them up in

the dictionary to use the right one.” I inquired, “What else do you do if you don’t have a dictionary

handy?”

Tony replied, “I ask 3 people and if they don’t know I ask the teacher.” I asked him, “What do you like

about learning new words?” He told me, “They’re very exciting, some of them are fun.” I then asked,

“What don’t you like about learning new words?” Tony stated, “They’re kind of hard because they’re new

words and some you haven’t even said or heard before.” I asked Tony, “How do you make words your

own? What do you do so that you can use them and remember them?” He answered, “You use that word;

you use it over and over so your memory and it goes from the short term to the long term.”
15 A Way with Words

I had instructed my students on how memory works (Shell, et al. The Unified Learning Model)

and when we do repetitive tasks there is a reason for it. We move the information from our short

term memory to our long term memory.

I continued our interview by asking, “How many times do you think you need to use that word before you

remember it and can use it all the time?” Tony said, “Um, I think you have to memorize it a lot.” I asked,

“Do you think 10 times? 5 times? A 100 times?” Tony replied, “Maybe 10, 20.” I then asked, “How do

you take those new words that you’ve learned and put them in your writing? What do you do?” Tony just

sat there with a blank stare, I knew he needed more clarification, so I asked him, “Do you try to use your

new words or do you stick with words you’re pretty comfortable with when you write?” He answered,

“Well, words I’m comfortable with.” I inquired, “When you’re writing, if I said focus on word choice, what

you think that would mean?” Tony wasn’t sure what I was asking and replied, “You focus. Focus means

you’re staring at something and you’re focused on that.” I pressed on trying to clarify my question, “So if I

said, “Make sure when you’re writing you use good word choice.” What do I mean by word choice?”

Tony answered, “You mean you should use great words.” I asked, “What would be a great word that you

would use in your writing?” Tony said, “Um, instead of good you can use exciting.”

I found out from Tony that repetition is important. He needs to use words over and over so he

can make them his own. Tony needs the words he is working with presented to him orally as

well as in printed form so he knows what they sound like.

The ability of the student did dictate their confidence and ability to work with words. Kahea is a

very confident learner and her confidence allowed her to pursue the use of new words without

fear. Tony’s confidence was growing as he worked with words. He was working to put words

into his long term memory. Brett’s confidence was lacking when it came to words, he didn’t like

long words because they were too difficult for him. Each child is on their own path and walking

their own journey with word work.

16 A Way with Words

The instruction I conducted in my classroom allowed for these variables. The information was

differentiated so that each child could feel confident when working with the prefixes and

suffixes. I met with each of the spelling groups and worked with each group to understand the

use of prefixes and suffixes. I presented the information in multiple ways encouraging students

to take the information presented and then use the lesson to help them discover other words that

followed the prefix or suffix patterns. Activities in my classroom were used to help my students

focus on the meaning of the different prefixes and suffixes. My intention was to improve my

students’ morphological awareness with these activities to help them to facilitate new words.

Each student created a prefix and suffix book. Inside the book were activities that were done

following the instruction of each prefix and suffix. The student thoroughly enjoyed the activities

and even asked when we would be doing more of them. They used the books to review what

they had learned and they also used them as a reference for understanding other words with

similar prefixes and suffixes.

If a student missed a morphology lesson a student that felt confident in their knowledge of the

prefix or suffix that was taught became the teacher. The student worked one-on-one with the

student who missed to the lesson to help them understand what they missed.

I happened to overhear a couple of my students who were working on word meaning. Tony was

working with the word teacher. He said, “What should I write for the word teacher? I know

what one is, but I don’t know how to say it.” Taylor, who was sitting next to him, casually

states, “Well, you know teacher means one who teaches.” I wanted to leap for joy. Hearing one

of my students using the vocabulary and meaning of the suffix –er was so gratifying.
17 A Way with Words

Student Learning
Did Learning Occur?

Children could use morphology to bootstrap their vocabulary development and increased

vocabulary could be very useful during text generation (Green et al., 2003). Derivational affixes

are more challenging for all populations, due in part to their greater number and lower frequency.

Prefixes tend to be easier to acquire because they are almost always neutral, meaning they do not

cause phonological shifts in the pronunciation of the newly formed words (Reed, 2008). The

results from the posttest on instructed prefixes showed that students increased their knowledge of

prefix meaning from the pretest.

Prefix Student Knows Definition of Prefix Student Knows Definition of Prefix

Pretest Results Posttest Results

mis- 40% 80%

pre- 50% 65%

re- 65% 95%

un- 65% 90%

dis- 75% 95%

in- 30% 80%

non- 65% 100%

bi- 10% 70%

im- 40% 85%

Students had the easiest time learning and remembering that quite a few of the prefixes meant

not. We sorted and made a list of the prefixes that meant not. This helped the students focus on

the prefixes that meant something else. There was some confusion between pre- and re-. Many
18 A Way with Words

students stated that pre- and re- meant again. I am sure that more practice with the two prefixes

would help to clarify the two.

Suffixes on the other hand, can be non-neutral and cause more complicated shifts in phonology

and semantics (Reed, 2008). Descriptive studies on derivational suffixes suggest that frequency

of related words, neutrality of the suffix, and age of acquisition might be related to increases in

students’ recognition of derived words (Carlisle & Katz, 2006; Nagy et al., 1989; Carlisle &

Stone, 2005; White, Power & White, 1989; Anglin et al., 1993). The results from the posttest on

instructed suffixes showed that students increased their knowledge of suffix meaning from the

pretest.

Suffix Student Knows Definition of Suffix Student Knows Definition of Suffix

Pretest Results Posttest Results

-ly 0% 30%

-less 10% 20%

-er 10% 80%

-ful 45% 80%

-ible 10% 20%

-able 20% 30%

-or 30% 70%

The students increased their knowledge of suffixes and meanings, but it wasn’t as large a gain as

with prefixes. This could come from the age of acquisition or the frequency of the suffixes they

have encountered. The suffixes –er and –or were easiest for students to learn and remember,

more likely do the frequency they encounter the suffixes and that is it easy to use with the root

word. The other suffix students found easy to work with was –ful, since the definition is so

closely related to the actual suffix, it was very easy for them to remember.
19 A Way with Words

At the end of each week of direct instruction the students played a memory game with the

prefixes, suffixes and definitions. They would take turns matching the prefix to its meaning or

the suffix to its meaning. The students told me this was a very helpful tool and that it really

made a difference in their memory of them.

Once all of the words and prefixes and suffixes had been instructed, the class played another

memory game using the words with prefixes or suffixes and the meaning of the words. The class

again mentioned that this really helped them practice the words and their meanings. By doing

the review games and lessons I was allowing my students to have multiple encounters with the

prefixes and suffixes to help them deposit the information into their long term memories.

My students also showed growth in understanding word meanings when a prefix or suffix is

added to a word. There was a 70% increase in knowledge of word meanings from the pretest to

the posttest. Children who have knowledge of morphemes learn that these meaningful word

parts are spelled similarly in different words where they appear (Reed, 2008). They struggled

most with the addition of a suffix to a word. The two suffixes they seemed to have the hardest

time using with root words were –ly and –able/-ible. The two suffixes have direct meanings and

it is difficult to put into words what the words might mean. For example, compatible and

horrible or deadly and proudly do not tend to follow direct meaning paths as do hopeful or

careless.

When looking at prefixes and suffixes that were not instructed the results were not as promising.

There was very little increase, if any, of the knowledge of prefix and suffix meaning. This would

show that students will eventually acquire some morphological awareness without direct

instruction, but it will be a much slower acquisition than if direct instruction had occurred. Some

of my students were able to make a connection with the suffixes –er and –ster but I never made

the connection for them. Some were also able to make connections with the suffix –est due to

instruction in grammar using adjectives that compare, but no direct instruction of –est as a suffix

occurred.
20 A Way with Words

Prefix/Suffix Student Knows Definition of Prefix/Suffix Student Knows Definition of Prefix/Suffix

Pretest Results Posttest Results

anti- 0% 0%

ex- 5% 0%

fore- 0% 0%

counter- 0% 0%

il- 0% 0%

pro- 0% 0%

-age 0% 0%

-ess 10% 15%

-est 20% 25%

-ment 0% 0%

-ster 10% 25%

Morphological knowledge could provide children considerable leverage as they advance beyond

beginning reading levels and encounter more complex text. Approximately 60% of new words

acquired by school-age children are morphologically complex with clear internal structure, and

as they progress through the elementary grades, children encounter an increasing number of

words that are long, low-frequency, morphologically complex, and outside their oral

vocabularies (Green et al., 2003). Teachers need to be convinced that it is valuable to teach their

pupils explicit knowledge of the role of morphemes in reading and spelling. Increasing teachers’

explicit content knowledge is unlikely to be sufficient to change their practice. They need to be

convinced that it is valuable to teach their pupils about morphology; they need to know how to

do it, they need to have the resources to do it and they need to know that it is sanctioned by the

educational frameworks within which they operate (J. Hurry et al., 2005).
21 A Way with Words

What seems needed, then, is direct instruction in morphemic analysis (Reed, 2008). It would

appear that the direct instruction helped my students increase their morphological awareness of

prefixes and suffixes. Readers acquire knowledge about words and skill in reading words

through experiences with written and oral uses of the words over time. With repeated

encounters, features of written words become more completely represented in memory, and

connections among these features are strengthened (Ehri, 1998; Perfetti, 1992).

My 6-week direct instruction program of prefixes and suffixes netted several positive results due

to repeated encounters with the morphological structures and helping students create connections

with morphemic meanings.

22 A Way with Words

Appendices
Prefix Test
miscount

I know this word: yes no

The prefix mis- means:

This word means:

preschool

I know this word: yes no

The prefix pre- means:

This word means:

recharge

I know this word: yes no

The prefix re- means:

This word means:

uncommon

I know this word: yes no

The prefix un- means:

This word means:

dishonest

I know this word: yes no

The prefix dis- means:

This word means:

23 A Way with Words

informal

I know this word: yes no

The prefix in- means:

This word means:

nonfat

I know this word: yes no

The prefix non- means:

This word means:

biweekly

I know this word: yes no

The prefix bi- means:

This word means:

impure

I know this word: yes no

The prefix im- means:

This word means:

antibody

I know this word: yes no

24 A Way with Words

The prefix anti- means:

This word means:

exit

I know this word: yes no

The prefix ex- means:

This word means:

forecast

I know this word: yes no

The prefix fore- means:

This word means:

counterfeit

I know this word: yes no

The prefix im- means:

This word means:

illustration

I know this word: yes no

The prefix il- means:

This word means:

professional

I know this word: yes no

The prefix pro- means:

25 A Way with Words

This word means:

mistreat

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

precook

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

refill

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

unkind

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

disregard

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

inactive

I know this word: yes no

26 A Way with Words

This word means:

nonstick

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

bicycle

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

immature

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

impossible

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

prepackage

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

replese

I know this word: yes no

27 A Way with Words

This word means:

nonskit

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

ungust

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

misriver

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

antilock

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

counterclockwise

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

experiment

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

28 A Way with Words

illiterate

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

Suffixes Test
deadly

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –ly means:

This word means:

careless

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –less means:

This word means:

teacher

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –er means:

This word means:

hopeful

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –ful means:

29 A Way with Words

This word means:

horrible

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –ible means:

This word means:

comfortable

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –able means:

This word means:

director

I know this word: yes no

The suffix –or means:

This word means:

bandage

I know this word: yes no

The suffix -age means:

This word means:

princess

I know this word: yes no

The suffix -cess means:

This word means:

30 A Way with Words

biggest

I know this word: yes no

The suffix -est means:

This word means:

agreement

I know this word: yes no

The suffix -ment means:

This word means:

gangster

I know this word: yes no

The suffix -ster means:

This word means:

jokester

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

movement

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

longest

I know this word: yes no

31 A Way with Words

This word means:

lioness

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

village

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

proudly

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

spotless

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

dancer

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

wonderful

I know this word: yes no

32 A Way with Words

This word means:

legible

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

enjoyable

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

collector

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

vividly

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

sleeveless

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

reasonable

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

33 A Way with Words

compatible

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

wasteful

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

preacher

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

schickful

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

runkly

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

cleepless

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

34 A Way with Words

lesker

I know this word: yes no

This word means:

Pretest: Prefixes or Suffixes Receiving No Direct Instruction

35 A Way with Words

Prefix or Suffix Word Word Familiarity Prefix/Suffix Word Meaning

No Direct Meaning
Instruction
anti- antilock 10% 0% 0%
antibody 70% 0% 10%
ex- exit 100% 5% 50%
experiment 100% 5% 15%
fore- forecast 85% 0% 5%
counter- counterfeit 25% 0% 0%
counterclockwise 90% 0% 35%
il- illustration 85% 0% 25%
illiterate 35% 0% 15%
pro- professional 85% 0% 0%
professor 85% 0% 20%
-age bandage 95% 0% 25%
village 90% 0% 50%
-ess princess 85% 10% 20%
lioness 65% 10% 25%
-est biggest 95% 20% 50%
longest 100% 20% 75%
-ment agreement 90% 0% 5%
movement 95% 0% 25%
-ster gangster 85% 10% 15%
jokester 90% 10% 30%

Pretest: Made Up Words Using Prefixes and Suffixes Receiving Direct Instruction
Prefix or Suffix Word Word Familiarity Prefix/Suffix Word Meaning
Meaning
-ful schickful 50% 50% 50%
-ly runkly 50% 15% 10%
-less cleepless 45% 15% 10%
-er lesker 30% 15% 15%
mis- misriver 30% 25% 15%
un- ungust 20% 25% 15%
non- nonskit 35% 30% 25%
re- replese 40% 60% 50%

Pretest: Prefixes and Suffixes Receiving Direct Instruction

36 A Way with Words

Prefix or Suffix Word Word Familiarity Prefix/Suffix Word Meaning

Meaning
-ly
Prefix or Suffix deadly
Word 65% Familiarity
Word 0%
Prefix/Suffix 0%
Word Meaning
No Direct proudly 65% 0%
Meaning 15%
Instruction vividly 5% 0% 0%
anti-
-less antilock
careless 40%
70% 0%
10% 5%
40%
antibody
spotless 50%
70% 0%
10% 0%
50%
ex- exit
sleeveless 75%
70% 0%
10% 0%
65%
-er experiment
teacher 85%
75% 0%
10% 0%
50%
fore- forecast
dancer 75%
95% 0%
10% 5%
60%
counter- counterfeit
preacher 30%
20% 0%
10% 5%
10%
-ful counterclockwise
hopeful 80%
75% 0%
45% 20%
70%
il- illustration
wonderful 70%
85% 0%
45% 15%
60%
illiterate
wasteful 35%
70% 0%
45% 15%
35%
pro-
-ible professional
horrible 75%
50% 0%
10% 0%
0%
professor
legible 80%
10% 0%
10% 15%
0%
-age bandage
compatible 80%
10% 0%
10% 0%
0%
-able village
comfortable 60%
65% 0%
20% 40%
15%
-ess princess
enjoyable 85%
75% 15%
20% 20%
30%
lioness
reasonable 25%
50% 15%
20% 15%
40%
-est
-or biggest
director 90%
55% 25%
30% 25%
30%
longest
collector 100%
75% 25%
30% 30%
45%
-ment
mis- agreement
miscount 75%
85% 0%
40% 5%
60%
movement
mistreat 70%
75% 0%
40% 5%
65%
-ster
pre- gangster
preschool 70%
100% 25%
50% 15%
40%
jokester
precook 80%
75% 25%
50% 55%
35%
prepackage 40% 50% 10%
re- recharge 85% 65% 55%
refill 95% 65% 65%
un- uncommon 85% 65% 55%
unkind 90% 65% 75%
dis- dishonest 95% 75% 85%
disregard 30% 75% 35%
in- informal 25% 30% 25%
inactive 65% 30% 65%
non- nonfat 90% 65% 85%
nonstick 75% 65% 70%
bi- biweekly 40% 10% 10%
bicycle 90% 10% 20%
im- impure 55% 40% 40%
immature 80% 40% 60%
impossible 100% 40% 90%

Posttest: Prefixes and Suffixes Receiving No Direct Instruction

37 A Way with Words

Posttest: Made Up Words Using Prefixes and Suffixes Receiving Direct Instruction
Prefix or Suffix Word Word Familiarity Prefix/Suffix Word Meaning
Meaning
-ful schickful 30% 80% 40%
-ly runkly 25% 30% 10%
-less cleepless 25% 20% 25%
-er lesker 30% 80% 25%
mis- misriver 30% 80% 15%
un- ungust 20% 90% 15%
non- nonskit 35% 100% 25%
re- replese 40% 85% 50%

Posttest: Prefixes and Suffixes Receiving Direct Instruction

Prefix or Suffix Word Word Familiarity Prefix/Suffix Word Meaning
Meaning
-ly deadly 80% 30% 25%
proudly 75% 30% 15%
vividly 30% 30% 10%
-less careless 100% 20% 20%
spotless 90% 20% 20%
sleeveless 100% 20% 25%
-er teacher 100% 80% 85%
dancer 95% 80% 75%
preacher 75% 80% 40%
-ful hopeful 95% 80% 75%
wonderful 90% 80% 60%
wasteful 75% 80% 50%
-ible horrible 85% 20% 5%
legible 25% 20% 20%
compatible 25% 20% 5%
-able comfortable 70% 30% 20%
enjoyable 75% 30% 30%
reasonable 65% 30% 25%
-or director 85% 70% 50%
collector 80% 70% 55%
mis- miscount 100% 80% 80%
mistreat 100% 80% 25%
pre- preschool 100% 65% 60%
38 A Way with Words

precook 95% 65% 40%

prepackage 80% 65% 60%
re- recharge 95% 95% 90%
refill 100% 95% 95%
un- uncommon 95% 90% 90%
unkind 100% 90% 80%
dis- dishonest 95% 95% 95%
disregard 75% 95% 40%
in- informal 85% 80% 70%
inactive 80% 80% 70%
non- nonfat 100% 100% 100%
nonstick 95% 100% 100%
bi- biweekly 95% 70% 45%
bicycle 100% 70% 70%
im- impure 90% 85% 75%
immature 80% 85% 85%
impossible 80% 85% 75%

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