Morphology
What is Morphology?
Morphology is the study of how words form. Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in language.
How can I help my students?
*Focus on the meanings of affixes and root words
*Find words in texts (such as using a word hunt) and sort by likeness: Help students create lexical categories
*Word sorts with common prefixes/suffixes/spelling patterns
*Use a word wall in the classroom
*Place labels and words around the room
*Chart spelling patterns
*Directly teach regular and irregular spelling patterns
*Teach and practice reading and spelling sight words
*Play games such as "affix concentration" or other games to help find patterns in words
WHY IS MORPHOLOGY IMPORTANT FOR ELL STUDENTS?
Think about how a word is formed changes its meaning.
Hunter walks the dog. Hunter walked the dog. A few letters can make a big difference in the English language. It is very important for ELL teachers and content teachers to keep this in mind while working with ELL's.
Interesting Fact:
Morphological rules are not universal between languages. This means ELLs may need longer to fully understand the many rules and irregularities of English.
Morphology Websites:
A Deeper look into the nuts and bolts of morphology
Morphology Exercises
Example Lesson Plan on Morphology
Research on Morphology
Morphology is the study of how words form. Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in language.
How can I help my students?
*Focus on the meanings of affixes and root words
*Find words in texts (such as using a word hunt) and sort by likeness: Help students create lexical categories
*Word sorts with common prefixes/suffixes/spelling patterns
*Use a word wall in the classroom
*Place labels and words around the room
*Chart spelling patterns
*Directly teach regular and irregular spelling patterns
*Teach and practice reading and spelling sight words
*Play games such as "affix concentration" or other games to help find patterns in words
WHY IS MORPHOLOGY IMPORTANT FOR ELL STUDENTS?
Think about how a word is formed changes its meaning.
Hunter walks the dog. Hunter walked the dog. A few letters can make a big difference in the English language. It is very important for ELL teachers and content teachers to keep this in mind while working with ELL's.
Interesting Fact:
Morphological rules are not universal between languages. This means ELLs may need longer to fully understand the many rules and irregularities of English.
Morphology Websites:
A Deeper look into the nuts and bolts of morphology
Morphology Exercises
Example Lesson Plan on Morphology
Research on Morphology
"English is an analytic language that depends on word order for sentence structure and meaning. " (Curzan & Adams)