Literacy Activities

Latin Roots Activity- 8th grade

May,2012 

Name:___________________Date:______

LATIN ROOTS ACTIVITY

Name:___________________Date:______

DICT Meaning:	FLEX/FLECT Meaning:	RUPT Meaning:	SCRIB/SCRIPT Meaning:
FORM                    Meaning:	STRUCT          Meaning:	PORT Meaning:	CRED Meaning:

Lesson plan

Standards:

GLE 3.3.5 - Applies usage rules:

-Applies usage rules from previous grades.

-Identifies and corrects past grammar and usage issues.

GLE 3.3.2- Uses multiple strategies to spell.

Examples:

- Affixes (e.g., dis-, ir-, -ist -ism)

-Greek and Latin roots (e.g., circus, spiral, vision)

-words from other languages (e.g., arena, buffet, souffle, lariat)

Theme: Grammatical Writing Strategies with Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes

Lesson Topic: Writers’ Craft: Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes- breaking words apart to explore meaning.

Objectives:

Language- Students will be able to understand English words by exploring the meanings of the word roots, prefixes, and suffixes

Content- Students will be able to break English words apart into roots and affixes.

Learning Strategies:

Integration of multi-modal activities including paper flashcards, graphic organizers, cooperative learning, large group discussion, individual hands-on exploration of words, and the use of visual aid/ mnemonic (the tree with big roots to illustrate the word roots).

Key vocabulary:

Suffixes, prefixes, roots, meaning, breaking apart

Materials:

Latin roots worksheet, sentence pocket chart with examples, bags with cards containing the root of a word, multiple prefixes and suffixes.

Motivation:

Making connections with the MSP and MAP standardized Exams taken periodically in class to show improvement and learning, students were exposed to 8 different roots of words and their meanings. Students were asked to make a connection with words they knew or were similar to those in Spanish. In small interactive groups, students explored the formation of new words using the roots learned with the pocket chart.

Presentation:

1-      Language and content objectives were stated in the beginning of the lesson.

2-      Building background knowledge: Students were asked to make connections with words in Spanish that were similar to the ones formed during the oral examples.  

3-      Comprehensible input: Students filled out their worksheet with the roots and the new words formed with the cards given in their groups. Small group time was given when rotating groups. Students were expected to go to all 8 tables and fill out their worksheets with the words created with their peers.

4-      Strategies: Whole group and small group instruction were provided. Groups rotated with examples that illustrated the explanation provided by the teacher. Teacher support was provided as students rotated tables. Students wrote down the words formed with their cards in the graphic organized provided. Learners could scaffold while interacting with peers as they formed words using the root and the prefixes and suffixes given.

5-      Interaction: Students interacted as a whole class, in small groups, and individually through taking their own notes and writing the words formed.

6-      Feedback: Oral feedback was given through the discussion as a whole-class and as a small group while the teacher checked the students’ work in the individual groups that were exploring the cards. The language and content objectives were not restated and reviewed at the end of the lesson due to lack of time. Students needed to leave to their following class and the objectives were restated on the following day when they finally explored all the ‘stations’ forming words with the 8 roots given.

Practice/ Application:

 The integration of a popular song as a way of using text in a more creative way was meaningful to students since they could relate to it. The fact that they could rely on and interact with their partners to check for understanding helped ELLs feel more comfortable and successful along the lesson. Strategies such as using whole group, small group, and individual work provided students with multiple opportunities to be successful. Students were given explicit examples on how to use the grammatical rules and relate those to previously learned adjectives. Feedback was provided throughout the lesson while checking answers and also when the objectives of the lesson were restated.

Review/Assessment:

Students had the opportunity to review the objectives at the end of the lesson on the second day of instruction, including the main vocabulary and the words formed comparing answers with other groups. Learning was assessed by the groups’ words that were formed during the card exploration activity. A discussion about how they can use the suffixes and prefixes with different roots took place on the following day. By breaking other words apart, students could make the connection between the examples they had on their graphic organizer and the words they came up with.  Further assessment could be having students explore new roots using the same prefixes and suffixes given to ensure understanding.

Extension: Students can come up with their own cards as a group and have them go around the room exploring cards from other tables. That way, students would be thinking about how to establish the appropriate prefixes and suffixes for the root that they chose and could experience the activity one more time, interacting with peers. The student-generated materials could then be used in other classes, or in subsequent lessons in the same class.

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February 17, 2012

Yesterday, the 3rd hour 8th grade students worked on reviewing vocabulary words from the book we are reading. (Disgusting Digestion by Nick Arnold)The students used a pocket chart to put words from the Disgusting Digestion book in order to make sentences that would review the story and another one to preview the following chapter. The students had a lot of fun! This group that I recorded decided to rap it for 5000 points! Way to go! Check the video out! I can`t wait to see what the other groups will come up with!

Mrs. Johnson