Playing with roots to build vocabulary

Want a painless activity that can improve working vocabulary, reading comprehension, spelling proficiency, and future SAT scores, all at the same time?  Here you go!

One of the quickest ways to build English vocabulary is to learn how root words, prefixes and suffixes work together to build words.  A child who knows the word mutation, for example, can more easily remember the meaning of immutable if he recognizes the part of the Latin root "mutare" in both words, and knows the function of the prefix "im" (as in possible/impossible).

(Note: A root is the basic part of the word from which its main meaning comes.  In English, many of our word roots come from Latin or Greek.  An affix is a piece of a word that can be placed before or after a root to modify its meaning.  A prefix comes before, a suffix after.  In the word removable,  re is the prefix, move is the root, and able is the suffix.)

Building a collection of word parts is an easy hands-on method to study roots and affixes.  It's kind of like Legos for literacy.  All it takes is some index cards, colored markers or pencils, and a notebook.   The cards are color coded to make them easer to use.

1. Write (or have students write) prefixes and suffixes on index cards, one affix per card, using one color for prefixes and a different color for suffixes.  For example, orange for prefixes,  blue for suffixes. Here's a list.  Prefixes should be written against the right side of the card, and suffixes up against the left, so they can build words more easily.  At the bottom of each card, students should write the meaning of the affix.

2.  Have students make cards for common Latin and Greek roots. Here's a list of roots.  Red may be used for Latin, and green for Greek.  The meaning of the root should be written at the bottom of the card.   Just do a few at a time.  You might want to focus on roots that appear in words he will encounter in his studies, or just pick some that you think he might hear or read frequently.

3.  Give the student a short list of words that can be made by combining the roots and affixes that they have written.  At first, you may want to start with pairs: for example, predict, encrypt, and decorate can all be made from two cards each.  Three cards are required to make predictable, misanthropy, encryption, and redecorate.  Have him find the pieces of the word in his card collection and assemble the words from the list.  The object of this activity is to help the student recognize both the root and the affix in a word.

4. Tell the student that the meanings on the cards are only clues to help figure out the actual definition of the word.   "Redecorate" does not mean "again ornament process," but it might be thought of as a process of ornamenting a place again.  Still, that's awkward!  Ask the student how each clue helps figure out the word.  Perhaps you might use an ornament of some sort to decorate. "Encryption" might be "a process of causing something to be hidden," as long as the thing being hidden is information, such as encrypting a message in code. Let the student try to guess what the word might mean based on the clues, and then look it up in the dictionary and see how the ideas compare.

5. Continue to add to the student's vocabulary base by giving him new roots to use.  Be sure to have a list of actual words that he can make with them!  Otherwise he'll end up making nonsense words like "precrypty." (Granted, some kids might get a kick out of making up nonsense words, and that can be great as long as they also make up a logical definition, matching the meanings of the roots and affixes, to go with it.  Perhaps "precrypty" could describe the expression on somebody's face when they're about to tell a lie -- i.e., hide the truth:  Mary's eyes became suspiciously precrypty when her mother asked her how the lamp had broken.  But this word play might only be confusing to some students.  You probably know whether your child would enjoy it or not.)

6. Later, when a student learns a new word in his regular studies, have him look it up in a dictionary that includes the etymology, or history of the words.   An online dictionary would generally include the word origins.   Some may be from other languages, such as German.

You may need to help the student find the root.  In the example at left, the root is that part of mutabilis that is also found in immutable--  mutab.  (If you follow the link to mutable you would see that the main root is mutare, so the root could also be thought of as muta.   Muta is the same root in mutate and mutation.)  Use these new roots to make new cards.   Choose a new color for language origins other than Greek or Latin-- perhaps brown for German, and yellow, pink or black for somewhere else.

7. When the student discovers new affixes, have him add those to his collection.  He should check the dictionary to make sure it is a legitimate affix, and be able to give at least two examples.  For instance, "ex" can be found in "exchange," "exhaust" and "excommunicate," and each time the dictionary identifies it as meaning "out."

8.  Challenge the student to come up with as many real words as he can find in the dictionary that are made with the roots and affixes he has.  He may keep a running list in a notebook, organized alphabetically by the root.  So under "decor," he might list the derivatives decorate, redecorate, decorated, undecorated, decorative, etc.   Perhaps he could set a goal and get a reward for the first 25, 50, or 100 words.  But the words have to be found in the dictionary-- "exdecorate" doesn't count!

Want a similar experience, without having to do so much work?  Read on:

There are some great vocabulary-building workbooks that use roots, but for hands-on fun, nothing beats a good game.  One that we used in our homeschooling days was Rummy Roots.  It's a card game that introduces both Latin and Greek roots, and gives students practice in forming new words.

A  more comprehensive vocabulary curriculum is  Vocabulary Vine, which has students specifically studying the roots and related words, and then provides several games the students can play to reinforce their new knowledge.

Whatever way you go, learning to use roots and affixes provides a huge boost to academic success. The student begins to build new vocabulary words by recognizing familiar parts in newer, perhaps longer, words.  Spelling improves because the student can see the patterns of the roots and affixes used over and over again.  Comprehension improves because the student is making idea connections between words that are related, and SAT scores improve because the student's verbal skills are greatly enhanced.