1. Root Word Investigations
Word Part Investigation
A Vocabulary Building Strategy

2. Today’s Learning Objectives
Students will:
Recognize the differences between prefixes, suffixes, root words, and base words.
Identify different parts of speech.
Practice dictionary skills.
Discover the meaning of selected prefixes and root words using a part-to-whole graphic organizer.

3. prefixes pre- -ment suffixes
Word Parts
Affixes are added to a word part to change its meaning.
Prefixes are word parts attached to the beginning of a word or word part.
Suffixes are word parts attached to the ends of a word or word part.
prefixes
pre-
-ment
suffixes

4. Word Parts -JUDGE- -JECT-
Base Words contain meaning and can stand on their own.
Root Words are word parts that do not typically form a stand alone word.
-JUDGE-
-JECT-

5. verb noun Word Parts pre judge judge ment Prefix Base Word Suffix
pre = before
ment = the act
of; the state of
judge (verb) = to
form an opinion
about someone
or something
pre
judge
judge
ment
to form an
opinion beforehand
the act of
forming an opinion
verb
noun

6. pre- scrip/scrib -tion
Word Parts
Prefix
Root Word
Root Words contain meaning but cannot stand on their own.
Suffix
pre-
scrip/scrib
-tion

7. Root Word Investigation
Set Up Your Graphic Organizer
Draw a circle in the center of the page.
Write the root word “scrip/scrib” inside.

8. Root Word Investigation
Create a Word List
In your group, make a list of words with the root word “scrip” or “scrib” in them.
Write each word in a circle that’s connected to your target word.
Leave plenty of blank space inside the circles.

9. Root Word Investigation
Add the Definitions
Use the classroom dictionaries to look up the meaning of each word.
Each group member must look up one of the words.
Write the exact dictionary definition in the circle that matches your word.

10. Root Word Investigation
Share the Definitions
Take turns sharing each of your definitions with the whole group.
As other group members share their definitions, copy them onto your graphic organizer.

11. Root Word Investigation
What do they have in common?
Read all of the definitions.
Find a common word or idea among the definitions.
One at a time, share your findings with the group.

12. Root Word Investigation
What do they have in common?
Decide together what most have in common and highlight the common word or idea.
In the center circle, INFER and write what you think that root word means.
writing

13. Root Word Investigation
Congratulations, word detectives.
You just conducted your first root word investigation and created a part-to-whole graphic organizer.
We will practice this all year.

14. What does somnambulist mean?
Group Practice
If you divided the word into a prefix, a root, and a suffix, where would you separate the word?
Do you recognize a common suffix?
What do you think the root could be?
What about the prefix?
Somn|ambul|ist
What other words can you think of that have somn in them?
Insomnia, insomniac, Unisom

15. What does somnambulist mean?
Group Practice
Prefix
somn-
= sleep
Root word
ambul
= walk
Suffix
-ist
= one who

16. Now, You Try It dy- dox -ist an- archy Dyarchy:
Prefix
Root Word
Suffix
dy-
(meaning two)
dox
(meaning opinion or belief)
-ist
(meaning one who)
an-
(meaning without or no)
archy
(meaning government)
Dyarchy:
a government with two rulers
Anarchist:
one who rebels against governmental authority