Vocabulary is More than Morphology

So often, we hear of trainings or see literacy programs that cover vocabulary solely by teaching morphology.

Let’s break this down a little bit.

What is Morphology?

Morphology is the study of how our words form and change.

When we think about the English language, many words are made up of prefixes, suffixes, and Greek/Latin Roots. It is critical for students to understand what many of these mean for them to truly understand our language.

Think about suffixes like -ing, and -ed. If a child didn’t recognize that these change the tense of our words, they wouldn’t fully be able to comprehend the nuances between things like “I’m hoping” and “I hoped.” If they don’t understand that re- means to “do something again,” they may have a hard time following directions.

Older students benefit from understanding that Latin Roots like “cent” means one hundred and “bi” means two. They may hear these and other roots used in class or in everyday conversations. Studying these components of words provides students with a strategy to break down words so that they can figure out what they mean.

Take nonrefundable for example. When students know that the prefix non- means “not/without” and the suffix -able means “able to,” you can see how they put together the pieces of the word to understand that nonrefundable means that you are not able to refund something.

This, however, is far from enough when it comes to vocabulary instruction.

Now, don’t get us wrong. We fully believe that morphology is important! In our program, we have two full levels devoted to morphology.

We need to recognize, however, that morphology is only a very small piece of vocabulary and we need to be explicitly teaching vocabulary to ALL of our students, regardless of age or level.

Think about it - we can spend all day long teaching students that -non means “not/without” and -able means “able to” but if the child doesn’t understand “refund” (or have the strategies in place to figure it out) then they still don’t understand the true meaning of the word.

What should vocabulary instruction include?

We incorporate vocabulary instruction into ALL lessons at ALL Levels. We target skills like…

Categorization

Can a student accurately name a category that three or four words/pictures fit into? If given a category can they accurately provide you with things that would go in that category?

For example - if given the words “alligator, dog, hamster” - can they name the category “animals?”

If asked to name three pets - can they give three animals that usually are pets (i.e. dog, cat, hamster?)

Words in Context

When reading, is a student able to define how a word is used in the context of the story/passage?

Definitions

Can students follow our vocabulary framework (more about that here) to define a word? In other words, can they provide an accurate category, function/purpose, synonym, and antonym/shade of meaning for the word?

Multiple Meanings

Can students recognize when a word has more than one meaning? Things like rock - it can be a stone, a motion/movement, or a type of music.

Synonyms/Antonyms

Are students able to identify synonyms/antonyms for words? When providing an antonym, does it make sense for the word? I cannot begin to tell you how many of my students will provide something completely out of the blue, saying something like “A ball is like a balloon but not like a dolphin.” Technically, they aren’t wrong - a ball is not like a dolphin but this does not demonstrate that they are actually understanding the word. Instead, we would look for a shade of meaning like “a ball is like a balloon but it doesn’t float.”

Subject/Predicate

When reading at the sentence level, are students able to understand the who/what (subject) of the sentence and the did what (predicate) of the sentence? If one is present, can they find the adverbial (we call this the “bonus”) that explains the “where/why/how/when” of the sentence?

and finally…

Parts of Speech

Can students sort words into nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs (and do they know what these categories actually mean)?

We need to start instructing students on EACH of these concepts from the beginning. We should be providing them the strategies to figure out words they don’t know AND to recognize when they come across a word they don’t recognize.

We know that this is a LOT of information - especially when there are so many other things to focus on in your intervention lessons! Luckily, layering vocabulary instruction into your lessons doesn’t have to be hard. You can find amazing vocabulary resources, and hundreds of other activities targeting all 5 core components of literacy, in the 5CCL Activity Library. Use the button to learn more!

Then, check out the video below for more information about vocabulary!