Words Their Way
Chapter 8: Word Study for Advanced Readers and Writers: The Derivational Relations Stage
o The term derivational relations is used to describe the type of word knowledge that
more advanced readers and writer possess. The term emphasizes how spelling and
vocabulary knowledge at this stage grow primarily through processes of derivation—
from a single base word or word root, a number of related words are derived
through the addition of prefixes and suffixes.
o The word sorts in which students are engaged at this level, together with their
exploration of words more generally, have more to do with vocabulary development
than simply spelling development.
o Students in the derivational relations stage will be found in upper elementary, middle
school, high school, and into adulthood. Students at this level are fairly competent
spellers, so the errors they make are “high level,” requiring a more advanced
foundation of spelling and vocabulary.
o The type of word knowledge that underlies advanced reading and writing includes an
ever-expanding conceptual foundation and the addition of words that represent
these concepts. Advanced readers are able to explore the Greek and Latin word
elements that are the important morphemes out of which thousands of words are
constructed.
o Growth in core academic as well as content-specific vocabulary accelerates
dramatically at the derivational relations stage.
o Developing students’ generative understanding is like the old saying “Give someone
a fish, they eat for a day. Teach them to fish, they eat for a lifetime.” Word-specific
instruction gives our students the fish; generative instruction teaches them how to
fish.
o Word sorts continue to provide a very effective context in which meaning and
structure may be explored.
o An excellent framework for developing word specific knowledge as well as
relationships among the concepts that the words represent, concept sorts help to
activate background knowledge and generate interest in and questions about the
topic.
o Dictionaries are very important and children should be taught how to use them.
o Etymology- the study of word origins
o Errors occur at the syllable juncture and with the vowel in unaccented or unstressed
syllables.
o Specific spelling errors characteristic of this stage fall into three main categories:
o Polysyllabic words often have unstressed syllable in which the vowel is
reduced to the schwa sound. Remembering the root from which the word is
derived will often help the speller choose the correct vowel.
o Several suffixes have different spellings despite similar pronunciations.
o Other errors occur in the feature known as an absorbed or assimilated prefix.
o The spelling-meaning connection is another way of referring to the generative
understanding of words—the significant role that morphology plays in the spelling
system.
o Words that are related in meaning are often related in spelling as well, despite the
change in pronunciation.
o In order to spell the /shun/suffix, the ending of the base word must be considered.
The following list provides a summary of the generalizations about this suffix and the
order they can be introduced:
o Base words that end in –ct or –ss just add –ion (traction, expression)
o Base words that end in –ic add –ian (magician)
o Base words that end in –te drop the e and add –ion (translation)
o Base words than end in –ce drop the e and add –tion (reduce/reduction)
o Base words that end in –de and –it drop those letters and add –sion or –ssion
(decide/decision) (admit/admission)
o Sometimes –ation is added to the base word (transport/transportation)
o Consonant alteration- consonant that are silent in one word are sometimes
“sounded” in a related word, such as sign, signal, and signature.
o Vowel alteration occurs in many related words in which the spelling of the word
remains the same despite an alternate or change in the sound represented by the
spelling.
o If the suffix is attached to a base word that can stand alone (depend), it is usually
spelled –able (dependable); if it is attached to a word root (cred), it is usually spelled
–ible (credible).
o Absorbed or assimilated prefixes – a group of prefixes that are somewhat disguised,
as in the word illegal. The only clue to the prefix is the doubled letters.
o At the intermediate level, word study for advanced readers emphasizes active
exploration of words and the application of word knowledge to spelling vocabulary
development, and the analysis of unknown words encountered in reading.
o Word Study Instruction
o Early/Middle: students have mastered most syllable juncture conventions,
including the spellings of most prefixes and suffixes and what happens when
they are affixed to bases.
o Late: You may find that a few students in the upper elementary grades are in
the late derivational relations stage, but most will not reach this stage.
Learners in the phase are able to spell most new academic vocabulary words
correctly when first encountering them.
o There are several ways to assess:
o Ask students to spell the words studied that week.
o Ask students to both spell and define words.
o Give students a base word and ask them to add suffixes. Give them words
they have not sorted to test for generalizations.
o Ask students to generate words given a prefix, suffix, or root.
o Ask students to generate a related word in which a consonant or vowel sound
is heard.
o
o
o
o
o
o Ask students to match elements to meaning, such as matching post- and preto the meanings ‘before’ and ‘after’
o Ask students to spell a word and then underline a prefix, suffix, or root and
also define the element.
o Provide a sentence and ask students to supply or select the target word, as in
the following: He loved to learn magic and wanted to become a __________.
Students should be involved in monitoring their own progress.
The study of cognates is particularly useful in this stage and can also benefit native
English speakers who are learning another language. Cognates are words in different
languages that share similar structures and similar meanings because they share
similar origins.
There are three basic points to keep in mind regarding students’ word study at this
level:
o Words and word elements selected for study should be generative, which
means that when possible, we teach about words in “meaning families.”
o The words that we initially select for exploration by our students should be
based on how obvious their relationship is.
o There should be a balance of teacher-directed instruction with students’
exploration and discussion.
Word study should take place all day long and in all content areas as teachers pause
to examine words, talk about unusual spellings, search for clues to meaning in the
word and in context, and look up and discuss words in the dictionary.
Word study notebooks are an integral part of students’ word learning at this stage
and should be divided as follows:
o Word Study – a weekly record of sorts, reflections, and homework
o Looking into language – records of whole group word study of related words,
concept sorts, interesting word collections, investigations, and theme study
words.
o New and Interesting words – golden words: teach the following steps to
facilitate older students in collecting “golden words:”
 Collect the word
 Record the word and sentence
 Look at the word parts and think about their meaning \s
 Record related words
 Use the dictionary
 Review the words