1. Intentional Word Study with Greek and Latin Roots
Get Back to Your Roots!
Intentional Word Study with Greek and Latin Roots

2. Rationale English language has 1,200,000 – 2,000,000 words!
Estimated that technology is contributing 20,000 new words a year
90% of English words with more than 1 syllable are Latin based
Most of remaining 10% are Greek based
Single root can help us understand 5-20 related English words
Along with point about 90% of English words are Latin based –
Latin roots are important especially for Spanish speakers, but for other languages as well, since many of the roots are cognates which help build a bridge to English
Tiff does welcome & both rationale slides

3. Kinds of Roots Base root words Affixes Prefixes Suffixes
Roots are semantic units that carry meaning – different from phoneme and word families C

4. Roots affixes bases prefixes suffixes
They are all root words, but then they can be broken down something like this C
suffixes

5. Parallel Latin and Greek Roots Parallel Latin & Greek bases
Definition
water
foot, feet
earth
Latin
aqua-
ped-
terr-
Greek
hydro –
pod –
geo -

6. Broadening the Cognate Approach
English
Spanish
Innovative
Inovador
nov
Nuevo
Nueva
Novice
Novelty
Renovate

7. Base Root
“vis/vid” examples as base roots – vis/vid are not words by themselves, but they are roots that mean “see”.
Experience the Consensus Board!
Cheryl explains consensus board procedure with “VIS/VID”

8. Some examples… A visionary sees ahead to how the project could unfold.
A visor protects your eyes from the sun.
The vivid colors were so bright, we could see them clearly from far away.
Readers with a good imagination visualize the action or setting of the story.
Because it was so foggy, the visibility was very poor.
It is so fun to watch YouTube videos of the screaming goats!
The girl felt invisible as she started her first day at the new high school. C

9. Prefixes Prefixes – give direction, negate, or intensify
Most English prefixes derived from Latin (about 25)
The four most frequent prefixes account for 97 percent of prefixed words in printed school English…
dis-, re-, un-, & in-, im-, il-, ir-
T – see if teachers can guess 4 most common prefixes…tell them list of 25 most common in their packet…
Reference Teaching Reading Sourcebook: For Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade by Bill Honig, Linda Diamond, and Linda Gutlohn. © 2000 by CORE.
Dis – not/opposite of; re – again; un – not; in, etc, - also means not like “injustice”

10. What do you think these words mean? Pop Quiz!!!!!
Create a four chart graphic organizer
Word
What I Think it Means
What it REALLY means
Word Origin
Megalosaurus
Pachyderm
Rhinoceros
Tyrannosaurus rex
Velociraptor
Brontosaurus
Stegosaurus
Protoceratops
Pterodactyl
Triceratops

11. Check your work! Megalosaurus Pachyderm Rhinoceros Tyrannosaurus rex
Word
What it REALLY means
Word Origin
Megalosaurus
Mega = long, large, great
Saurus – lizard, reptile
Greek
Pachyderm
Pachy= thick
Derm = skin
Rhinoceros
Rhino= nose, snout
Cera= hirn
Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannikos= tyrant
Saurus = lizard
Velociraptor
Veloci= speedy
Raptor = robber
Latin
Brontosaurus
Bronto= thunder
Stegosaurus
Stego = roof, cover
Protoceratops
Protos= first, earliest
Cera = horn
Tops = face
Pterodactyl
Preto= wing, feather
Dactylos= finger
Triceratops
Tri = three

12. Parallel Latin and Greek Roots Parallel Latin and Greek prefixes
contra-, contro-,
circu-, circum-
multi-
super-, sur-
sub-
Definition
against
around
many
over
under, below
Greek
anti –
peri –
poly –
hyper –
hypo -

13. Directional Prefixes
Most of the prefixes students encounter in school texts are directional in nature.
Examples:
at-, ad- = to, toward, add to
de - = down, off
dis - = apart, in different directions
con- = with, together
re - = again T

14. Suffixes
Least important component in terms of understanding a word’s meaning
Usually used to indicate a part of speech
Only a few suffixes merit intensive scrutiny
- ology = “study of”
-er = “more”
-est = “most”
-ful = “full of”
-less = “without, lacking”
-able, -ible = “can, able to”
Refer to handout in packet that lists most common prefixes, suffixes and base words. - T

15. Vocabulary list
Greek/Latin Root Meaning Modern Word aequus equal equal, equation canto sing chant, cantor credo believe credible, incredulous fundo, fusum pour, thing poured effusive, transfusion locus a place local, dislocate nego deny negate per through perceive, persist, persevere possum be able possible, potent satis enough satisfy spiritus breath inspire, spirit verbum word verbal

16. I doubt his credibility because he lies.
Independent Practice
For each of the vocabulary words you are to create a word web like the one seen below.
(Meaning)
Believe
(Other words)
Credence
Incredible
Creed
(Root Word)
Credo
(Sentence)
I doubt his credibility because he lies.
(Modern Word)
Credibility

17. L.2 Activity Construct Construction Obstruct Deconstruct
Infrastructure
Reconstruct
(Latin base stru, struct; prefixes con-, de-, infra-, ob-, re-, )
Give teachers worksheet of table to “divide and conquer” -T

18. Vocabulary list L.2
GREEK/LATIN MEANING MODERN WORDS 1. ago, acta do, things done agent, enact, transact 2. Caput head captain, decapitate 3. culpa blame culpable, culprit 4. Genus kind, origin generic, congenital 5. loquor speak eloquent, loquacious 6. nihil nothing nihilism, annihilate 7. phobos [g] fear phobia, claustrophobia 8. pugno to fight impugn, pugnacious 9. scio know science, conscious 10. totus whole totalitarianism 11. verto turn avert, convert, anniversary

19. Word Prefix: Root: Suffix: Prefix Definition Root Definition
Suffix Definition C
Other words with this prefix
Other words with this root
Other words with this suffix

21. Activity 3
Look at the following subject headings. Add more, if you wish. Look at the list of Greek and Latin words, below, and assign them to the subject they go with. For example, “geometry” would be under the math heading. Some words may fit two topics.
Addition Adjective Alias Allegation Altar
Antonym Arthritis Assault Biography Calculus
Cerebral Chant Chromatic Colonies Crime
Culpable Custody Democracy Despot Divorce
Fungus Geography Geometry Holocaust Homicide
Homonym Incarcerate Judiciary Jugular Larva
Legislature Metaphor Microscope Militant Minister
Monarchy Narrative Nasal Neuropathy Opera
Optician Organ Orthodontist Paragraph Penal
Photosynthesis Political Politics Pope Pragmatist
Primeval Primitive Prologue Pronoun Psychosis
Pulmonary Radius Song Species Subcutaneous
Subtraction Testify Theology Theorem Totalitarian Vaccinate Verb
Law
Government
Medicine
Math
Science
Religion
Grammar/ literature
History
Music