Morphological Awareness: An avenue for improving vocabulary, word recognition, spelling and reading comprehension

Learning requires the integration of many skills, with language development being a crucial foundational aspect. Language development across five domains-phonology (the sounds within a language), morphology (word structure/formation), semantics (word meaning), syntax (sentence structure/grammar), and pragmatics (use in varying contexts)-unequivocally supports the acquisition of reading and writing skills. Specifically, morphological knowledge is vital for improving vocabulary, word recognition, spelling and reading comprehension.  This practice brief provides an overview of morphological awareness and derived words, provides a rationale for teaching morphological awareness, and instructional strategies supported by science.

Morphological awareness defined

Morphological awareness is the ability to understand and use word formation rules. Learners must 1) understand the smallest parts of words that carry meaning in spoked and written form (morphemes), 2) understand the meaning of prefixes and suffixes (i.e., affixes), 3) understand that adding affixes to words can change the meaning and grammatical class of the base word,  4) know which affixes can be added to certain words and which ones cannot, and 5) understand the relationship between the base/root word and the derived or inflected forms (Apel, 2014).  

English words…Did you know?

Many words in the English language are derived from other languages such as Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Old French (Norman), Latin and Greek.  Spelling patterns are influenced by the language of origin; however, they may be modified for visual appearance or to make pronunciation easier. As English words undergo these types of transformations and new words are derived, the ease in which they can be spelled and read varies. Derived words can be classified as transparent, opaque, neutral or non-neutral (Tyler & Nagy, 1989; Windsor,2000) and level of difficulty can be assessed based on this classification. Knowing this information will help teachers better understand why some words are more difficult than others. Read the definitions and say the example words. Listen for the difference in the vowel sounds.

• In transparent words, the base is pronounced the same in the derived word as it is when pronounced without a suffix (e.g., kind; kindness).
• In opaque words, the base undergoes stress and/or vowel changes when pronounced as part of the derived word (e.g., reduce; reduction).
• A neutral suffix attaches to independent words and does not change the stress or vowel quality of the word (e.g., teach; teacher). When a word has a neutral suffix added, the meaning of the derived word is directly related to the stem.
• A non-neutral suffix often attaches to bound morphemes and may change the stress pattern or vowel sound when added to a root (e.g., solid, solidify).

English has a high number of derived words that are morphologically complex. Some morphologically complex words can be described as phonologically transparent, where the base is pronounced the same in the derived word as it is when pronounced without a suffix (e.g., care- careless; Windsor, 2000). There is no vowel sound change.

Some morphologically complex words are phonologically opaque. That means the base undergoes stress and/or vowel changes when pronounced as part of the derived word (e.g., present– presentation; Windsor, 2000).

Morphologically complex words in English can be orthographically transparent, where the base word is spelled the same in the derived word as it is when spelled without a suffix (e.g., play; playful), or they can be orthographically opaque, where spelling changes occur at the end of the word before adding the suffix (e.g., happy; happiness).

Some morphologically complex words undergo both phonological (sound) and orthographic (spelling) changes (e.g., explain; explanation). Words with phonological shifts (e.g., produce; production) tend to be more difficult to learn than words without phonological shifts (e.g., care; careless).

Considering this information when providing instruction in reading and spelling can help teachers understand why learners may be having difficulty with certain words and not others.

Why teach morphological awareness?

Learners who do not have sufficient language skills are at risk of being left behind their peers in the development of vocabulary, word reading, spelling and comprehension without instruction in morphological awareness (Carlisle, 2003). Studies show that instruction in morphological awareness has resulted in positive literacy outcomes for children with and without reading difficulties (see Loudermill et al., 2021 for a review). Using the practical strategies listed below to teach morphology can be beneficial for all learners.

Practical strategies for teaching morphology

When selecting target words to use during morphology instruction, it is important for teachers to consider the how transparent words are. Words that are transparent and stable should be taught before those with obscure meaning. Teachers should also consider how morphemes can be combined to create meaningful words. Those that are used more frequently should be introduced early. Teachers should also consider how complex morphemes are and introduce derived forms that do not shift phonologically or orthographically first (see continuum below). Claravall (2016) and Henry (2017) provided a summary of practical strategies for morphology instruction, some of which are summarized below.

Provide explicit instruction in morphemes.  Explicit instruction in morphemes should consist of the specific word part, classification (affix type), the letters, how it sounds when read aloud and the meaning. Instruction should also include what happens when affixes are added to a base word and word origin when necessary. After gradually introducing morphemes through explicit instruction, questioning can be used to reinforce learning until students have reached the desired level of proficiency . When students read words incorrectly, asking questions based on what they know to help them get to the correct answer provides support for students to connect known information to newly learned information. This method is known as the Socratic method and facilitates critical thinking.  Questions may address letter names, sounds, pronunciation, affix type (prefix or suffix) and meaning or any combination thereof depending on the level of the learner. Some reading curricula provide a scope and sequence that includes commonly used affixes and suggestions for when to introduce them. One such tool is the Purdue LEaPP Scope and Sequence.

Provide opportunities for morphological analysis. Learners should be provided opportunities to deconstruct (break words apart), construct (build words), define (tell what words mean) and use (generate sentences containing targets) morphologically complex words. Such tasks provide opportunities for explicit, systematic reading and spelling practice. Morphological analysis also provides opportunities for learners to identify part of speech and discuss changes in word class. Instruction in morphological analysis should be fun and engaging for learners. Suggestions to support morphological analysis include creating a morphology journal for students to monitor their progress and engaging students in an engaging activity such as Mucho Morpho. Morphological analysis can occur as early as first grade. Below are examples of morphological analysis tasks by grade level.

First Grade: Teach plurals such as adding s. Example: car + s = cars

Second Grade: Introduce orthographic constraints and shifts. Example: party à parties

Third Grade: Teach more affixes and use in combination. Example: unmatched

Fourth Grade: Teach syntactic constraints. Pre- can only attach to verbs, adjectives, and adverbs

Fifth Grade: Teach advanced derivational morphology. Greek and Latin bases such as ject, dict, bio, tri

Situate morphology instruction in subject matter content. Instruction in morphology can be provided using content from any curriculum. Eighty percent of words children encounter in school are morphologically complex (Anglin, 1993). Therefore, using relevant curriculum-based materials allows authentic reading and writing tasks to serve as a proxy for meaningful morphology instruction. Activities such as word hunts for target morphological concepts within short stories, poems, and reading passages provides one avenue to practice/reinforce morphological awareness. Writing activities requiring learners to use target morphologically complex words in sentences and discussing word origin of base and root words support increasing morphological knowledge. Using www.etymonline.com can provide support for such discussions.

Make use of technology. Using digital technologies can support independent practice and carryover and serve as another means to deliver instruction. Sites such as Reading A-Z and Vocabulary A-Z can offer additional resources to support instruction. It is important for teachers to critically evaluate the content found on sites for appropriateness and to not rely on technology to be the primary mode of instruction.

Additional examples of activities to support morphology instruction for primary and upper grades are listed below.

Example activities for primary grade instruction. Have students to

• Listen for morphologically complex words during oral readings
• Make compound words using familiar single words
• Take words apart; remove inflections and simple suffixes from base words
• Sort past tense and/or plural words by the sound of their ending (e.g., /s/ vs /z/, and the three sounds of -ed)
• Categorize inflected words by meaning and/or class
• Categorize words by form: compound word, contractions, and other
• Establish awareness of the syllables, phonemes, and morphemes in the word

Example activities for upper grade instruction. Have students to

• Learn about schwa developing a foundation for learning about syllable shift in derived word forms and for syllable tracking
• Identify prefixes, roots, and suffixes in words
• Define affixed words
• Proofread and correct misspellings
• Practice word building with one root or combining form
• Build word webs or diagrams that show families of words built from a root (e.g., morpheme matrix)
• Complete cloze passages (fill-in-the-blank) using morphologically complex words (e.g., madlibs)
• Build families of derived words by forming compound suffixes from a base
• Combine base words, prefixes, and suffixes and use the new words

Conclusion

Bowers et al., (2010) provided the quote…

“The ultimate goal of morphological awareness instruction, however, is not for children to learn about [all] morphemes. Rather, it is hoped that explicit morphological instruction will increase understanding about oral and written features of morphology at the sublexical level that, in turn, will influence literacy skills at the lexical level (e.g., word reading, spelling, and vocabulary) and the supralexical level (e.g., reading comprehension).”

To accomplish this goal, it is beneficial for teachers to have a deeper understanding of morphology, derived words, how morphological awareness impacts literacy development and how to structure activities to facilitate understanding of how words work. With this deeper understanding, teachers can critically evaluate curricula, more adequately plan instruction/activities and provide proper scaffolding for learners as they develop skills in vocabulary, word reading, spelling, and reading comprehension.

References

Anglin, J. M. (1993). Vocabulary Development: A Morphological analysis. (cover story). Monographs Of The Society For Research In Child Development, 58(10), 1-166. doi:10.1111/1540-5834.ep9410280902

Apel, K. (2014). A comprehensive definition of morphological awareness. Topics in Language Disorders, 34(3),197–209. https://doi.org/10.1097/tld.0000000000000019

Bowers, P. N., Kirby, J. R., & Deacon, S. H. (2010). The effects of morphological instruction on literacy skills: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 144-179.

Carlisle, J. F. (2003). Morphology matters in learning to read: A commentary. Reading Psychology, 24, 291-322. doi: 10.1080/02702710390227369

Claravall, E. B. (2016). Integrating Morphological Knowledge in Literacy Instruction: Framework and Principles to Guide Special Education Teachers. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 48(4), 195–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059915623526

Deacon, s. H., Kirby, J. R., & Bell-casselman, M. (2009). How robust is the contribution of morphological awareness to general spelling outcomes? Reading psychology, 30, 301–318.

Loudermill, C., Greenwell, T., & Brosseau-Lapré, F. (2021). A Comprehensive Treatment Approach to Address Speech Production and Literacy Skills in School-Age Children with Speech Sound Disorders. Seminars in speech and language, 42(2), 136–146. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1723840

Henry, M.K. (Spring, 2017). Morphemes matter: A framework for instruction.  Perspectives on Language and Literacy. Baltimore, MD: The International Dyslexia Association (pp. 23-26).

Tyler, A. & Nagy, W. (1989). The acquisition of English derivational morphology. Journal of Memory and Language, 28(6), 649-667. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(89)90002-8

Windsor, J. (2000). The role of phonological opacity in reading achievement. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43(1), 50–61. https://doi.org/10.1044/jslhr.4301.50