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Language and most of its bits!
Contents
Page
introduction
3
Spelling
a
Spelling Does Matter!
Assessment
Impoftant Spelling Issues
Decision trees for spelling rules
Word Marking Code
Syllabification Rules
Examples of Word Study Teacher Preparation Sheets
Grammar
Overview of Parts of Speech
Noun
Pronouns
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
Prepositions and Conjunctions
Parsing
Language Study
a
Vocabulary
Morphology
Contextual Analysis
Dictionary Usage
Etymology
Synonyms, antonyms and homonyms
Sayings and Expressions
Punctuation
6
t2
22
24
29
JU
J1
34
35
36
43
5z
o.+
B3
B9
92
93
94
95
99
702
104
106
107
108
Phrases, Clauses, Sentences (Syntax)
113
A FinalThought!
119
References and BibliograPhy
t20
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Morphemic Analysis
Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning within words.
'One of the most powerful word-attack skills is morphemic analysis. Morphemic analysis is
the ability to determine a word's meaning through examination of it its prefix, root,
and/or suffix.' (Gunning, 2000, p. I74).
.
There are tvvo kinds of morphemes:
.
.
.
free/unbound (pafts that can stand alone)
e.g. sun-shine,free-way,
lip-stick
bound (affixes that cannot stand alone)
unbearable 'un' means 'not'
'il' means 'not'
e.g.
illegal
sweetness
wooden
Tom's
jumped
jumping
she plays
torches
'ness' means 'a quality or state'
'en'means'made of'
's is the possessive case
'ed'refers to the past tense
'ing'refers to the continuous tense / participle
's'agrees with'she'(the subject of the verb)
'es'is the plural form for'torch'
Benefits of Morphemic Analysis
One of the major sub-skills for good comprehension is the development of a wide
and varied vocabulary. Teaching students to break a word into its morphemes, to
analyse those meaning units, and then to derive a meaning for the whole word is a
strong and informed method of vocabulary instruction.
Skilled readers '...are readers who cope effectively with words that are new to
them.' (Irvin, 1998 in Carnine et al, 2004, p.211) Teaching students the meanings
of prefixes and suffixes gives them a strategy for working out the meaning of
unknown words. This skill is particularly important in subject-specific areas (as
opposed to narratives) such as Science and Technology, H.S.I.E., etc.
examples
s
ubma
riner
sub
morphemes
manne
er
meantnqs
u nder
sea
somethinq or someone
= someone under the sea = a person who works on a submarine
psychologist
that
-
psych
morDnemes
ology
isf
meanrnqs
mind
science or knowledqe
someone
= someone who knows about the mind = a person who treats and/or counsels
people who have mental problems
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Etymology
Definition: The study of historical linguistic change,
especially as applied to individual wo(ds, (The Macquarie Dictionary)
"English as a language is rather like the magpie of folklore. It picks up bits of whatever
draws its interest, and it is interested in nearly everything everywhere. English also likes
to turn the names of people and places, famous or obscure in their own right, into
everyday words, e.g. silhouette and denim. And it delights in creating new words by
transforming old ones, e.g. umpire and penthouse. The meanings of English words never
seem to be at rest, because we who speak and write the language simply won't let it rest.
We keep applying old words to new things and new situations, and we have done so as
long as there has been an English language. Studying the origins of words allows the
reader to glimpse social, cultural and religious history of the English speaking peoples and
of the peoples we have borrowed from as well." (Webster's Dictionary of Word Origins,
Smithmark Publishers, 1995)
Umpire
Derived from the Middle French nonper'not equal'. Nonper came into the English
language in the fourteenth century as noarmpere, meaning an impartial arbitrator 'not
equal' to the disputing parties. The 'n' disappeared when it was misunderstood in speech
as belonging to the indefinite afticle'an': 'a noumpere'became'an offirpetC.
Penthouse
In Middle English pentis meant primarily'a shed or roof attached to, and sloping from, a
wall or building'. It was widely thought that pentls related to the French word pente
(slope). As pente is the first syllable, '-is' (the second syllable) was altered by folklore
etymology to'house';'sloping house'.
Silhouette
Etienne de Silhouette was French Controller General of Finances in the mid-eighteenth
century. When he was first placed in office he enjoyed the complete confidence of the
coutt. But this lasted only until the direction of his financial policies became apparent. He
was extremely close with the state's money as well as his own, so close that 'a /a
Silhouette'came to mean 'on the cheap'. He imposed great taxes on the nobility. His
methods became treated with ridicule. Outline drawings, as stingy of detail as Silhouette
was of money, were given his name.
Denim
The name of many fabrics is derived from the name of the place in which the fabric
originated or in which it was manufactured. Denim comes from the French'de Nimesi
meaning'of Nimes'.
Infantry
The term comes from the word 'infant' since this part of the army was originally made up
of the page boys of the knights.
Dandelion
The name comes from the jagged edge of the dandelion leaves. They were supposed to
look like the teeth of a lion. The French is dent de llon. that is 'tooth of the lion.'
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Synonyms, Antonyms, Homonyms, Eponyms,
Toponyms and Contranyms
Synonym:
A word having the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another in the language.
exam)les:
joyful
brush
jump
elated, glad
broom, carpet-sweeper, mop, comb
bound, leap, spring, buck, hurdle, vault
Antonymt
A word having the opposite meaning to another in the language.
examples.
sane, rational, lucid, normal
sad, depressed, unhappy, morbid
lazy, idle, purposeless, slow
mad
happy
busy
Homonym:
homonym
A word like another in
sound, and perhaps in
spelling, but different in
meaning 'fare'/'fai(
homophone
homograph
A word pronounced the
same as another, whether
spelled the same or not
A word of the same
written form as another,
but of different origin and
meaning
'timbeil'timbre'
'fare':
food/busticket
Eponym:
A word that originates from the name of a person, real o1
lqraglng ry. examples:
Down's Syndrome An abnormality of chromosomes. Anei f.l.f . Oown.
Teddy bear
A woolly toy bear. After T. Roosevelt
Pavolva
A dessert of meringue, cream and fruit. After A. pavlova
Toponym:
A word that originates from the name of a place. examples:
champagne
A wine-growing district in France.
hamburger
A type of sandwich originating in Hamburg, Germany.
bikini
A group of islands in the Pacific contains a tiny island called
Bikini Atoll.
Contranym:
A word
bolt
to>L
that has two diametrically opposed meanings, examples:
If you shoot a bolt, you stop movement, but if a horse bolts, it
moves quickly.
You can run fast, but if you are 'stuck fast' you cannot move at
all.
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