1. Morphological Awareness as a Help With Comprehension
The Response To Intervention Best Practices Institute
Presented by Sally Grimes, Ed.M.
October 16, 2012

2. Agenda Background and The Reading Process
Morphological Awareness – Its Role in Reading
Activities and Resources to Use “Tomorrow”

3. Source: Neuman, Susan B. and Dickinson, David K
Source: Neuman, Susan B. and Dickinson, David K., “Handbook of Early Literacy Research”

4. Why Do Students Struggle?
Contributing Factors
Neurological
“Wiring”
Genes
Environmental
Lack of early language experience
Inadequate instruction

5. One Size Never Fits All!

6. Reading Comprehension is Interaction Between
Reader
Language Competency
Cognitive Processing
Schemata
Working Memory
Metacognition
Motivation
Print
______
Level of text
Book and Print Features
Structure of Text
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary/Language
Content
Linda Crumrine, 01

7. Morphological Awareness
A morpheme (prefix, a suffix, root or base) is the smallest unit of meaning. Good readers analyze a word’s parts to find chunks of meaning.
Latin and Greek roots are the basis of a host of words e.g. “struct” forms the basis of construction, instruct, reconstruct, destruct etc.
Despite the scarcity of studies and the equivocal nature of the findings that do exist, most experts recommend some teaching of morphemic analysis. (Baumann, Font, Edward, & Boland, 2005;Carlisle, 2007; Graves, 2006; Stahl & Nagy, 2006)
“Word parts are too valuable a resource to ignore.” Stahl & Nagy, 2006

8. Language Components
Phonology – The sound system of a language… Was it taught? Was it learned? What “holes” exist?
Morphology - the study of the smallest meaningful units of speech (morphemes: affixes, roots, “ed” “s” etc.) Very motivating to defeated students (See Vocabulogic)
Syntax – underlying grammatical structure (HARD for ELL’s)
Semantics - the ways in which a language conveys meaning
Pragmatics – the social side of language…accent, tone, body language
Etymology – the origins of the language…Fun!
KEY POINT:
With practice and experience, children develop skills in each of these components as they develop language.
NOTE: These terms are included in the Facilitator’s Guide glossary.

9. What is Vocabulary Development?
The ability…..
to understand (receptive language) &
to use (expressive language)
words to acquire & convey meaning.

10. Research Has Found That…
Vocabulary size in kindergarten is an effective predictor of reading comprehension in the middle elementary years.
By the end of grade two, students in the bottom 25% have the same size vocabulary as an average kindergartener.
For them to catch up, they must acquire words even faster than the average learner.
(Scarborough,1998, 2001)

11. Baker, Simmons, Kame’enui, ‘95
Morphological Awareness is Key – Especially for Older Strugglers
“There is considerable evidence that words, both spoken and written, are remembered in relation to other words and that word meanings are not stored in our memory as isolated wholes that resemble entries in a dictionary.” Moats, 2000
Because struggling readers do not read widely, a huge gap in word knowledge distinguishes them from their proficient peers.
Baker, Simmons, Kame’enui, ‘95

12. Research Findings
Vocabulary Development is both important and ignored. (Gough and Tunmer, 1986)
We need to focus on root word growth. (Lorge and Chall, Beck and McKeown, 1990 & others)
This can mean only 600 root word meanings a year; children can acquire about 1200 a year K-8.(Biemiller & Slonim, 2000, Anglin,’93)
A child needs to know at least 4000 meanings of words by the end of grade 1 to progress at an average rate. (Biemiller)
Words known by average 2nd grader:
The Oxford English Dictionary , the most complete lexicon, lists 290,000 know English words
The average college educated adult recognized the meaning of 50,000-80,000 words when reading.

13. Stages of Word Knowledge
1. Never saw it before
2. Heard it, but doesn’t know what it means
3. Recognizes it in context as having something to do with _________
4. Knows it well & can use it correctly.
Dale & O’Rourke, 1971, Beck, 1994
Adapted from Isabel Beck’s Bringing Words to Life

14. Using Word Parts international
transatlantic
joyful
impossible
fearless
invisible
disappear
unexpected
When students encounter unknown words, they can use their knowledge of word parts - prefixes and suffixes to determine meaning.
TRY IT!

15. Morphemes – The Smallest Unit of Meaning
There is some evidence to suggest that the human brain may use a coding system to process words & may not register multisyllabic words in their entirety:
“Words may be analyzed by access codes into units, consisting of their bases or stems with prefixes and suffices stripped.” Corson, 1985

16. “There is considerable evidence that words, both spoken and written, are remembered in relation to other words and that word meanings are not stored in our memory as isolated wholes that resemble entries in a dictionary.”
“Each word is part of a network of related meanings…one of the ways word family networks are constructed in memory is by their morphological relationships.” Moats, 2000

17. Basic Terms root form: inspector, thermal base word: unlikely
prefix: re-, un-, dis-
suffix: -able, -ive, -ly
Derivation - a word formed from an existing word, root, or affix: electric, electricity
Susan Ebbers 2005

18. trans port able dis rupt ion pre script re tract or inter cept pro
Latin: Some Common Roots
trans
port
able
dis
rupt
ion
pre
script re
tract or
inter
cept
pro
ject
ile de
struct
con
duct
miss al
sub
vers
ive e
dict
to carry
to break
to write
to pull
to take
to throw
to build
to lead
to send
to turn
to speak
Susan Ebbers 2005

19. 20 Most Frequent Prefixes in School Texts
1. unable
2. review
inedible (impotent, illegal, irresponsible)
distrust
enlighten (empower)
nonsense
inside, implant
overcome
misguided
submarine
prefix
interrupt
forewarn
derail
transfer
supersonic
semicircle
antitrust
midterm
underfed
Analysis: White, Sowell, and Yanagihara 1989
Susan Ebbers 2005

20. Prefixes: Meaning and Connotation
Often Negative
dis-, de-
non-
sub-
in-
un-
mis-
mal-
anti, contra a-
Somewhat Positive
pro-
co-
bene-
super-
com-
be-
en-, em-
ad-
Susan Ebbers 2005

21. Derivational Suffixes
Derivational suffixes change the part of speech
words ending with –tion are often nouns
words ending with –ive are often adjectives
words ending with –ish are often adjectives
words ending with –ity are often nouns
Others: -ment, -ous, -ness
Susan Ebbers 2005

22. Cognates Connect English and Spanish through Latin Origins
Romance Languages (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, etc.) share the same Latin roots
Morta: Roman goddess of death
Example: The Latin root for the word death is mort. The French spell it morte and the Spanish, muerte. In English, we have a whole network of related words: mortal, immortal, mortality, mortician, mortuary, postmortem, etc.
Ebbers, 2004
Susan Ebbers 2005

23. hydro graph geo pyro polis neuro ortho scope photo therm crat psych
Greek Combining Forms
hydro
graph
geo
pyro
polis
neuro
ortho
scope
photo
therm
crat
psych
chron
phobe
pseud
onym
crypt
helio
logy
sphere
the, theo
Susan Ebbers 2005

24. mono uni di bi du, duo tri tetra quadri penta hexa sept oct nove deca
Counting in Greek and Latin
mono
uni di bi
du, duo
tri
tetra
quadri
penta
hexa
sept
oct
nove
deca
deci
cent
milli
poly
multi
semi
hemi
Susan Ebbers 2005

25. Sixty percent of the words in English texts are of Latin and Greek origin.
Bear et al., 1996; Henry, 1997
Susan Ebbers 2005

26. Anatomy and Medical Terms
Content-Specific Greek Terms
Anatomy and Medical Terms
esophagus, thyroid, diagnosis, psoriasis, dyslexia
Studies and Sciences
biology, seismology, morphology, geochronometry
Animals and Plants
arachnid, amphibian, chlorophyll, dinosaur, nectar
Theatre and the Arts
charisma, drama, chorus, muse, symphony, acoustics
Susan Ebbers 2005

27. gram, graph to write, written grammar graph gram grammar school
photograph
polygraph
mimeograph
phonograph
telegraph
paragraph
telegram
mammogram
histogram
anagram
cryptogram
monogram
electrocardiogram
photographer
cartographer
geographer
cryptographer
autobiographer
xylographer
paleographer
biographer
graphite
grapheme
graphologist
graphic
graphically
grammar school
grammar books
rules of grammar
grammatical
grammatically
ungrammatical
ungrammatically
grammatology
graph
grammar
gram, graph
to write, written
Greek
gram
Susan Ebbers 2005

28. Look Inside the Word and Look Outside
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Look inside the word for known word parts: prefixes, roots or combining forms, suffixes.
Use the analogy strategy—“I don’t know this word, but I know pneumonia and I know volcano, so by analogy, this word might have something to do with lungs and heat.”
Look outside the word at context clues, visuals
The coal miners, coughing and wheezing, suffered from pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
Susan Ebbers 2005

29. Anglo-Saxon French Latin or Greek
SO MANY SYNONYMS
ANGLO-SAXON, FRENCH, LATIN, and GREEK
Anglo-Saxon
French
Latin or Greek
cook
sauté
concoct
holy
sacred
consecrated
kingly
royal
regal
wreck
sabotage
subvert
hearten
encourage
inspire
show
cinema
theater
See also Bryson, 1990; Lederer, 1991; King, 2000
Susan Ebbers 2005

30. “A Positive Emotion” GLAD PLEASED DELIGHTED OVERJOYED HAPPY CAREFREE
ENGLISH: A RICH VOCABULARY
SO MANY SHADES OF MEANING
“A Positive Emotion”
GLAD
PLEASED
DELIGHTED
OVERJOYED
HAPPY
CAREFREE
LIGHTHEARTED
MERRY
JOYOUS
JOYFUL
CHEERY
CHEERFUL
CONTENT
BLITHE
BLISSFUL
SATISFIED
BOUYANT
BEATIFIC
ECSTATIC
EUPHORIC
EUPEPSIC
Susan Ebbers 2005

31. weather Coyne miasmic rainy turbulent gusty wet windy wet breezy
stormy
blustery
weather
sultry
freezing
humid
snowy
cold
hot
nippy
frigid
sweltering
sizzling
Coyne

32. Meteorology Instruments: Barometer Thermometer Rain Gauge Anemomter
Precipitation:
Rain
Snow
Fog
Hail
Patterns:
Fronts
High pressure
Low pressure
Storms:
Thunderstorms
Tornado, hurricane
Tsunami

33. Let’s Prevent “The Matthew Effect”:
Unrewarding Reading Experiences That Multiply Over Time and More Feelings of Inadequacy.
Stanovich, 1986

34. Hypothetical “Matthew Effects”
Average Progression
Poor Reader
Grades
Author unknown

35. Special Resources www.colorincolorado.org www.corelearn.com
(Kevin Feldman, Kate Kinsella)
Vocabulogic (Susan Ebbers)
WGBH: Martha Speaks

36. Supplemental Curricula
Writing: Project Read (Language Circle); Step Up To Writing (Cambium); John Collins Writing Program; Expressive Writing (Haynes & Jennings) Landmark School); PLANS (Laud & Patel); Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students-Graham & Harris (Brookes)
Vocabulary: Elements of Vocabulary (Beck); Keys to Literacy (Sedita); Vocabulary Through Morphemes (Ebbers);; Daily Oral Vocabulary Exercises (Ebbers & Carroll); Academic Vocabulary for English Learners (Cambium)
Comprehension: Elements of Comprehension (Beck): Collaborative Strategic Reading (Vaughn); Keys to Literacy(Sedita); Ready To Read (Farrell & Matthews)

37. Miscellaneous Ideas
Learning by Design, RAVE-O, Rewards (These Address Multiple Aspects of Reading Instruction)
Bringing Words to Life (Beck et al)
Vocabulary Handbook (Diamond and Gutlohn)
Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction: Connecting Assessments to Effective Interventions (Smartt and Glaser) – Teacher Friendly Means of Driving Instruction-Based on DIBELS and AIMSweb)
LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) Prof. Dev.
TRE (Teaching Reading Essentials) Prof. Dev.

38. Resources For Videos, Webinars, Articles, etc.
(for UDL)
wwwneuhaus.org

39. THANK YOU
Danke
Merci
Gratias
ευχαριστώ /efharisto/
Susan Ebbers 2005

40. Thank You!
Sally Grimes, Ed.M. – The Grimes Reading Institute – Consultation and Professional Development in Literacy (cell) / (office)