Morphological Awareness as a Help With Comprehension

The Response To Intervention Best Practices InstitutePresented by Sally Grimes, Ed.M.www.grimesreadinginstitute.com

sallygrimes@comcast.netOctober 16, 2012

Agenda

• Background and The Reading Process

• Morphological Awareness – Its Role in Reading

Activities and Resources to Use “Tomorrow”

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

Contributing Factors

• Neurological– “Wiring”– Genes

• Environmental– Lack of early language experience– Inadequate instruction

Why Do Students Struggle?

One Size Never Fits All!

Reading Comprehension is Interaction Between

Print__________________________________________

Level of text

Book and Print Features

Structure of Text

Sentence Complexity

Vocabulary/Language

Content

Reader Language Competency Cognitive Processing Schemata Working Memory Metacognition Motivation

Linda Crumrine, 01

Morphological AwarenessA 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

Language Components

1. Phonology – The sound system of a language… Was it taught? Was it learned? What “holes” exist?

2. Morphology - the study of the smallest meaningful units of speech (morphemes: affixes, roots, “ed” “s” etc.) Very motivating to defeated students (See Vocabulogic)

3. Syntax – underlying grammatical structure (HARD for ELL’s)4. Semantics - the ways in which a language conveys meaning5. Pragmatics – the social side of language…accent, tone, body

language

6. Etymology – the origins of the language…Fun!

What is Vocabulary Development?

The ability….. to understand (receptive language) & to use (expressive language) words to acquire & convey meaning.

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)

“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

Morphological Awareness is Key – Especially for Older Strugglers

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: 5000-6000• 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.

Stages of Word Knowledge

1. Never saw it before2. Heard it, but doesn’t know what it means3. 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

Using Word Parts

• When students encounter unknown words, they can use their knowledge of word parts - prefixes and suffixes to determine meaning.

• TRY IT!

– international– transatlantic– joyful– impossible– fearless– invisible– disappear– unexpected

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

“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

Susan Ebbers 2005 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

Latin: Some Common Roots

trans port able

dis rupt ion

pre script ion

re tract or

inter cept ion

pro ject ile

de struct ion

con duct or

dis 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. reviewinedible (impotent, illegal,

irresponsible)

distrustenlighten

(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

Somewhat Positive

pro- co- bene-

super- com- be-

en-, em- ad-

Often Negative

dis-, de- non- sub-

in- un- mis-

mal- anti, contra a-

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

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

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

Content-Specific Greek Terms

Anatomy and Medical Termsesophagus, thyroid, diagnosis, psoriasis, dyslexia

Studies and Sciencesbiology, seismology, morphology, geochronometry

Animals and Plantsarachnid, amphibian, chlorophyll, dinosaur, nectar

Theatre and the Artscharisma, drama, chorus, muse, symphony, acoustics

Susan Ebbers 2005 27

photographpolygraphmimeographphonographtelegraphparagraph

telegrammammogramhistogramanagramcryptogrammonogramelectrocardiogram

photographercartographergeographercryptographerautobiographerxylographerpaleographerbiographer

graphitegraphemegraphologistgraphicgraphically

grammar schoolgrammar booksrules of grammargrammaticalgrammaticallyungrammaticalungrammaticallygrammatology

graph

grammar

gram, graphto write, writtenGreek

gram

Susan Ebbers 2005 28

Look Inside the Word and Look Outside

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

1. Look inside the word for known word parts: prefixes, roots or combining forms, suffixes.

2. 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.”

3. Look outside the word at context clues, visuals

The coal miners, coughing and wheezing, suffered from pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

Susan Ebbers 2005 29

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

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

weather

cold

windy wet

hot

nippyfrigid

snowyfreezing

turbulent

breezy

blustery

gusty

humid

swelteringsizzling

sultry

miasmic

stormy

rainy

wet

Coyne

MeteorologyInstruments:BarometerThermometerRain GaugeAnemomter

Precipitation:RainSnowFogHail

Patterns:FrontsHigh pressure Low pressure

Storms:ThunderstormsTornado, hurricaneTsunami

Let’s Prevent “The Matthew Effect”:

Unrewarding Reading Experiences That

Multiply Over Time and More Feelings of

Inadequacy.Stanovich, 1986

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Hypothetical “Matthew Effects”

Average Progression

Poor Reader

Grades

Special Resources• www.colorincolorado.org• www.corelearn.com• www.Interventioncentral.org• www.scoe.org (Kevin Feldman, Kate Kinsella)• Vocabulogic (Susan Ebbers)• WGBH: Martha Speaks• www.wordshift.com• www.leilenshelton.com• www.fcrr.org

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)

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.

Resources For Videos, Webinars, Articles, etc.

www.fcrr.org www.dibels@uoregon.edu www.aimsweb.com www.cast.org (for UDL)

www.interdys.org www.cec.org www.pals.virginia.eduwww.centeroninstruction.org www.rtinetwork.org

www.progressmonitor.org www.scoe.org www.readingrockets.org www.vocabulogic.org

www.adlit.org www.colorincolorado.orgwww.ncld.org

wwwneuhaus.org www.lingui.orgwww.rti4success.org www.nasdse.org

www.meadowscenter.org www.keystoliteracy.comwww.betterhighschools.org www.middleschoolmatters.org

Susan Ebbers 2005 39

Danke

Merci

Gratias ευχαριστώ /efharisto/

THANK YOU

Thank You!

Sally Grimes, Ed.M. – The Grimes Reading Institute – Consultation and Professional Development in Literacy

sallygrimes@comcast.netwww.grimesreadinginstitute.com

508-776-2553 (cell) / 978-546-2144 (office)