Vocabulary and Concept
Development
EDI
Standard:
1.4 Students will identify
common roots and affixes
derived from Greek and Latin
and use this knowledge to
analyze the meaning of complex
words (e.g., international).
Learning Objective
• I will know common roots derived from
Greek and Latin and use this knowledge
to analyze the meaning of complex
words.
Activating Prior Knowledge
• Have you heard the word basic?
• The root bas means “foundation” or
“low part.”
• Can you see the root pos in pose?
• The root pos means “placement.”
• Can you see the root pos in the
Spanish word “postura” or in the
English word posture?
Concept Development
• Root : The fundamental element of a word or form, exclusive of
all affixes and inflectional phonetic changes.
• Root: The root is the part of the word that
contains the basic meaning.
Concept Development
•
bas: From the Latin word bassus meaning “low” and the
Greek word basis meaning “pedestal” or “base.”
pos: From the Latin word positum meaning “to put” or “to
place.”
• bas: Latin root meaning “low” and Greek root
meaning “base.”
• pos: Latin root meaning “to put” or “to place.”
Tell your
partner what
bas means.
Bas is a Latin
root meaning
“low” and a
Greek root
meaning
“pedestal” or
“base.”
Tell your
partner what
pos means.
Pos is a Latin
root meaning
“to put” or “to
place.”
Read the following Latin roots.
bas
low
Latin
bas
pedestal, base
Greek
pos
to put, to place
Latin
Importance
• Have you ever been confused about a
word and have not been able to figure
out its meaning?
• Have you ever had to use knowledge of
word meaning to figure out the meaning
of a new or difficult word?
Skill Development
• Read these words:
basement
basis
bass
composition
dispose
exposure
position
positive
• Read these definitions / synonyms:
 the act or result of making
something in writing, art, or
music
 the lowest floor, partly or fully
below the ground
 to get rid of throw away; to take
care of or settle
 the foundation, the part that
supports something
 the result of being unprotected
outside; the act or result of putting in
open view
 having deep, low tones
 sure, certain, definite; good,
favorable, constructive
 place or placement; point of view,
way of thinking; job, rank, office
• Match the words with the correct definitions or
synonyms:
 the act or result of making
something in writing, art, or
music
basement
basis
bass
composition
dispose
exposure
 the lowest floor, partly or fully
below the ground
 to get rid of throw away; to take
care of or settle
 the foundation, the part that
supports something
 the result of being unprotected
outside; the act or result of putting in
open view
 having deep, low tones
position
positive
 sure, certain, definite; good,
favorable, constructive
 place or placement; point of view,
way of thinking; job, rank, office
Answer these questions:
1. What is a root?
2. Does bas as in basic mean “low” or “to
place”?
3. What does the root pos mean?
4. What is the root in posture?
5. What does the root mean?
Guided Practice
Identify the roots.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
positive
basement
position
basis
exposure
bass
dispose
composition
Meaning in Context
Use the words in the box to fill in the blanks in the following paragraph.
positive
position
basement
dispose
When Mom says it’s time for spring housecleaning, she
means the whole house from the attic to the (1) __________.
basement
She loves to have everything fresh and clean after winter.
She takes the (2) ________________ that everyone in the
family should help. Last week she handed me a pail of soapy
water. When I frowned, she said, “Look on the (3) _________
side of things; when we’re through, we won’t need to work
this hard until the fall.” In addition, she made me clean out my
closet and (4) _____________ of all the clothes that I’d
outgrown. I. too, like everything fresh and organized, but I’ll
be glad when spring housecleaning is over.
Closure
• A root is –
• the part of the word that contains the basic
meaning.
• bas means –
• bas is a Latin root meaning “low” and a Greek
root meaning “pedestal” or “base”
• pos means –
• pos is a Latin root meaning “to put” or “to
place”
Independent Practice
Match the bolded word with the best synonym:
1. her position in the line
a. place
b. lead
c. position
2. the basis for his idea
a. power
b. foundation
c. construction
3. composition of the paint
a. makeup
b. placement
c. odor
4. the bass drum
a. chorus
b. with low notes
c. with high notes
b. being bored
c. being revealed
5. hurt by exposure
a. being hidden
Extension
The key word exposure has three meaningful parts: ex- which can mean
“out,” pos which can mean “put,” and -ure which can mean “the result of
being.” So, one of the meanings of exposure is “the result of being put out
(outside).”
Use the words that end in the suffix –ure to match the following words with
their definitions.
b mixture
1. __
2.
3.
4.
5.
c pleasure
__
a
__
signature
e rupture
__
d fracture
__
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
the result of signing your name
the result of mixing
the result of being pleased
the result of breaking
the result of bursting