Week Ten

Etymology- The study of the origin and historical development of words. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Studying the origin of words is important to vocabulary development.  Knowing the historical development of words creates an interest in words and allows students to dive deeper into the origins and make connections to other words.








Stem- This usually refers to a base or word root together with any derivational affixes that have been added, and to which inflectional endings may be added. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

This is another word for a base word and is important to development because it helps students understand words and their meanings.  They need to have this knowledge before moving on to affixes because they have to understand what they are adding the affixes to.









Free Morpheme- Meaning units of language (morphemes) that stand alone as words. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)
Workshop has two morphemes, work and shop.

These are simple words that stand alone.  It is important for students to understand free morphemes so they are able to understand bound morphemes.










Bound Morpheme- Meaning units of language (morphemes) that cannot stand alone as a word. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)
Respected has three bound morphemes, re-spect-ed

It is important for students to understand that a bound morphemes cannot stand alone and they need to understand the difference in a free morpheme versus a bound morpheme. 


Concept Sorts- A categorization task in which pictures, objects, or words are grouped by shared attributes or meanings to develop concepts and vocabulary. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Concepts sorts are extremely important to vocabulary development.  Students are able to make connections to words and between words. Concept sorts are also a great way to integrate different subject areas into phonics.









Absorbed or Assimilated Prefix- Prefix in which the spelling and sound of the consonant has been absorbed into the spelling and sound at the beginning of the base or root to which the prefix is affixed. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

These types of prefixes are important because they seem and feel awkward to students.  They need to know the meaning of these prefixes in order to use them correctly when speaking and writing.







Reduced Vowel- A vowel occurring in an unstressed syllable. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)



A reduced vowel is similar to the schwa and tends to sound like /uh/.

Week Nine

Affixes- Most commonly a suffix or prefix attached to a base word, stem, or root. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)
Knowing and understanding affixes is important to understanding word meaning. You can add to or take away affixes to change the meaning of words.









Morphemic Analysis- The process of analyzing or breaking down a word in terms of its meaning units or morphemes. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Example: In-struct-or


Morphemic analysis is important for understanding the meaning of words.








Inflectional Endings- Suffixes that change the verb tense or number of a word. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Tense Changes- Walk, Walks, Walked, Walking
Number (singular, plural)- Dog, Dogs or Box, Boxes

These types of endings are important to teach so students understand so that can read and write in the correct tense, as well as understanding singular and plural words.




Domain Specific Academic Vocabulary- Vocabulary found in content area, specialized, disciplinary texts. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Examples: Math vocabulary- equilateral, coordinate plane, addend, factor

This vocabulary is specific to certain subjects. It is important for students to learn and understand domain specific vocabulary in order to better understand each subject area they are taught in school.




General Academic Vocabulary- Vocabulary used across content areas and disciplines. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

General Academic Vocabulary is important because it is used year after year in school across all subject areas.  As students grow and learn, their vocabulary knowledge should grow with them.








Syllable Juncture- The transition from one syllable to the next. Sometimes the transition involves a spelling change such as consonant doubling or dropping the final -e before adding -ing. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

This is an important spelling "rule" for students to know so they can correctly segment words and add inflectional endings.









Accented Syllables- The syllable in a word that receives more emphasis when spoken and usually has a clearly pronounced vowel sound. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Accented syllables are important to pronouncing words when speaking.











Unaccented Final Syllables- The syllable in a word that gets little emphasis and may have an indistinct vowel sound, such as the first syllable in about, the second syllable in definition, or the final syllables in doctor or table. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Like accented syllables, unaccented syllables are important for pronouncing words when speaking.

Week 8

Word Consciousness- An attitude of curiosity and attention to words critical for vocabulary development. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Developing curiosity about words is important to development because students are interested in new words and this with help to enhance their vocabulary knowledge.







Diphthongs- A complex speech sound beginning with one vowel sound and moving to another within the same syllable. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Examples: oy in boy, ou in cloud

Knowing and understanding diphthongs helps with pronunciation of words.




Ambiguous Vowels- A vowel sound represented by a variety of different spelling patterns, or vowel patterns that represent a wide range of sounds. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Examples: ou in cough, through, and could

Ambiguous vowels are important to spelling and pronunciation when reading.








Homophones- Words that sound alike, are spelled differently, and have different meanings. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Examples: bare and bear, to, too, two, pane and pain, forth and fourth

Homophones are important to eliminate confusion. These words sound the same, but have different meanings.  Understanding how the meaning and spelling go together is critical to comprehension.








Homographs- Words that are spelled alike but have different pronunciations and different meanings. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)

Example: tear (to tear a piece of paper OR to shed a tear)

Homographs can also cause confusion because they are spelled the same.  These are best taught in context to better understand the meaning.






Homonyms- Words that share the same spelling but have different meanings. (Words Their Way, 6th Ed.)
Homonyms can cause confusion for students, especially in writing and knowing which word to use.