Today it’s #morphememonday but more importantly, November 11th is a day to remember all those men and women wounded by war and those who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up their lives. Any war is a traumatizing experience for those affected by it and there will always be scars, even if you can’t see them. The least we can do is observe a moment of silence for those who have been affected by war.
Origin: Greek
Definition: ten
Examples: December, decathlon, decahedron, decameter, decalitre, decathlete
<deca> + <gon> = decagon
<deca> + <gram> = decagram
<deca> + <ade> = decade
<deca> + <pod> = decapod
<deca> + <style> = decastyle
- Technically speaking, <deca> is a Greek combining form that is often taught as a prefix
- Other forms of <deca> include:
- <dec> -> when affixed to a base beginning with a vowel
- <deka>, <dek>
- This combining form is an important one for students to learn because once they understand what it means, it will allow them to deconstruct words they don’t know to create a hypothesis for their meaning
- I think it would be great for teachers in the intermediate grades and higher to include an etymological lesson at the beginning of each new month. So, in the month of December, teachers would discuss how in the Roman calendar, December was the tenth month of the year hence the name December. At this point, they can brainstorm other words that contain <deca> and discuss their meaning.
- When teaching this combining form in math and science it would be a good idea to discuss <deci> at the same time because it means one-tenth
Origin: Latin
Definition: to break or burst
Examples: eruption, corrupt, irrupt, rupture, bankruptcy
<inter> + <rupt> + <ion> = interruption
<dis> + <rupt> = disrupt
<ab> + <rupt> + <ly> = abruptly
<ir> + <rupt> + <ive> = irruptive
<rupt> + <ure> = rupture
- This root is one that can easily be taught to younger students in context when they are being taught about volcanos.
- When this root is taught to older students, it will be possible to have a deeper conversation about how the meaning of rupt fits the word.
Origin: Greek
Definition: one who
Examples: humorist, copyist, violinist, socialist, scientist, florist
<geo> + <ology> + <ist> = geologist
<type> + <ist> = typist
<tour> + <ist> = tourist
<violin> + <ist> = violinist
<novel> + <ist> = novelist
- This suffix is noun forming.
- When adding this suffix to base words ending in ‘e’ or ‘y’, the ‘e’ or ‘y’ is dropped before the suffix is added.
- Younger students can grasp this suffix fairly easily and they will often enjoy coming up with words containing <ist>.
- The suffix <ist> is related to the suffixes <ism> and <ize>. These suffixes can often be added to the same base elements to make nouns. There are some base elements that will work with all three suffixes (social: socialist, socialize and socialism), some that work with only two of the suffixes (tour: tourism and tourist) while others will only have one that will work. With older students, they can be asked to come up with a group of examples of base words that work for all three suffixes, just two of the suffixes and only one.
Last week, November 4, 2019, the morphemes were the prefix <geo>, the root <serv> and the suffix <en>.
Next week, November 18, 2019, the morphemes will be the prefix <super>, the root <aqua> and the suffix <less>.
Be sure to check out more graphics for these morphemes on our Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter pages.
If there is anything we can do or post to help you learn more about the importance of morphological awareness (or any other topic for that matter) please send an email to blog@garfortheducation.com
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