English Language Arts and Reading.5.2.A.iv

The student is expected to

demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by:

 

decoding words using advanced knowledge of the influence of prefixes and suffixes on base words; and

beginning reading writing teks talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell.

Provide students with cards that have base words on the front and a new word with either a prefix or a suffix on the back. Have students read the base word first and then flip the card over and read the new word with the prefix or suffix applied.
 

Further Explanation

This assessment requires students to have phonetic knowledge of and experience with examining word parts (prefix + base word / base word + suffix) in order to correctly decode words with affixes. This knowledge is acquired through practice and experience with reading words with a variety of prefixes and suffixes. As students read, observe and document whether they are able to accurately decode the words. Word work can occur in all modalities to support all learning styles.

Prefixes and suffixes are groups of letters that are added to the beginning or end of a word to change the word's meaning. For example, the word enjoyable consists of the suffix -able (which means "can be done") combined with the base word enjoy. Thus, the word enjoyable means "able to be enjoyed." As students advance through grade levels, the complexity of prefixes and suffixes increases (e.g., -ment which means "the act or process," and super- which means "above or on top of"). Students must be able to decode words using more advanced prefixes and suffixes and understand how the use of more advanced or multiple affixes change the base word.
a linguistic unit, or word, that can stand on its own and have meaning and can be modified by adding prefixes and/or suffixes to form related words (e.g., teach in teacher; mark in remarking)
Decoding words means sounding them out according to letter-sound relationship conventions. In reading, this concept refers to word identification rather than word comprehension).
When students demonstrate phonetic knowledge, they are not creating written content that incorporates an understanding of phonetic principles, but rather reviewing content and determining how the principles have been applied. Students will do this when decoding (reading) words they encounter in various formats from activities in the classroom to stories they read for pleasure.
a word element added to the beginning of a base word or root that forms a new word with changed meaning (e.g., un- added to the adjective happy to make the word unhappy)
a word element added to the end of a base word or root that forms a new word with changed meaning or grammatical function (e.g., -or added to the verb instruct to make the noun instructor)

Research

1. Treiman, R. (2018). What research tells us about reading instruction. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 1–4. doi: 10.1177/1529100618772272

Summary: Treiman provides an overview of how reading develops. The primary purpose of this study is to inform educators, researchers, and parents on which strategies are the most effective in teaching reading. The author includes a discussion on the ongoing debate of whole language versus phonetics.

2. Pacheco, M.B., & Goodwin, A.P. (2013). Putting two and two together: Middle school students' morphological problem-solving strategies for unknown words. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(7), 541–553. doi:10.1002/JAAL.181

Summary: Pacheo and Goodwing discuss strategies that assist students in determining word meaning. One such strategy includes figuring out words by breaking the word down into its smallest parts, such as prefix, root word, and suffix. The recommendations suggests this approach as a means to learn unknown words.