Task Title
Grade Level
CCSS
Description
Materials
Considerations
for Planning
Time Allotment
Group Size
Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots
6
LACC.6.L.3.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content,
choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
 LACC.6.L.3.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes
and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory,
audible).
The student will separate words into their Greek and Latin roots and affixes.
The student will define the words based on knowledge of the roots and
affixes. The student will write sentences using the words to demonstrate
understanding of the meanings.
 Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots graphic organizer (one per student
and one to display)
 Pencils (one per student)
 Projector, scanned-image LCD projector, document camera, or overhead
projector
 Students will have prior knowledge of common Greek or Latin affixes and
roots.
 Students will have had direct instruction on separating words into roots
and affixes.
 Students will have had direct instruction in the meanings of some
common Greek or Latin affixes and roots.
 Students will have had direct instruction on using the meanings of
common Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to determine the
meanings of words.
 Students will have had direct instruction on writing sentences to
demonstrate understanding of the meanings and application of academic
vocabulary words.
English Language Learner Considerations:
 Probe for understanding thorough questioning about key words or
phrases.
 Brainstorm features of language.
 Provide short passages in native language to analyze the vocabulary and
make connections to vocabulary used in English passages.
 Allow ELLs to use a word-to-word translation dictionary whenever
needed.
40 minutes
English Language Learner Considerations:
ELLs may require extended time to complete the task.
Whole class
Pairs (for ELLs)
English Language Learner Considerations:
If necessary, strategically place ELLs with higher-level ELLs or native
English speakers.
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
1
Task Directions
1. Teacher introduces the activity and states overall purpose, expectations for students, and
explains why this important importance of the task. Teacher says, “You are going to take a list of
words and separate them into their Greek and Latin roots and affixes. You will use your
knowledge of those roots and affixes to provide definitions for the words. Finally, you will write a
sentence for each word that shows you understand the meaning of the word. Using common
Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to determine the meanings of words is an important
skill in order to achieve higher reading levels and to understand the meaning of unknown
words.”
2. Teacher distributes the materials and displays the Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots graphic
organizer.
3. Teacher models how to separate a word into its affix(es) and root, using the first word on the
list, “astronomy.” Teacher can elicit student responses or provide the answer. Teacher then
elicits student responses or provides answers for what each component means (“Astro” means
“star” and “-nomy” means “knowledge or study about”). Teacher models using those meanings
to create a workable definition of the word, saying something like, “Using our knowledge about
those parts of the word, we can conclude that ‘astronomy’ means knowledge about stars or
study of stars.”
4. Teacher models how to write a sentence using “astronomy.” Teacher can elicit student
responses or simply write something like, “Because she showed an interest in astronomy,
Jenny’s parents gave her a telescope to look at the stars.”
5. Students work independently to complete the rest of the graphic organizer.
Note: Teacher may add scaffolding as needed (whole class, small groups, pairs) before
independent work.
6. While students engage in the task, teacher observes, asks questions, and assists students.
Teacher utilizes rubric to determine student performance based on common
misconceptions/errors, identify appropriate questions to ask students to elicit evidence of
student thinking, and determine next steps for instruction.
TEACHER NOTE: Throughout the school year, systematically teach the meanings of Greek and
Latin affixes and roots as they appear in words from texts that students are expected to engage in
reading as part of their instruction. This instructional routine builds students’ academic
vocabulary and supports reading comprehension.
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
2
Rubric: Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots
Level 1: The student demonstrates a beginning understanding of using common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin
affixes and roots to determine the meaning of words.
Misconception/Error
Questions for Eliciting Thinking
Instructional Implications
Student is unable to accurately
“Which other words use the same part Reteach how to identify Greek or Latin
complete the following:
of this word?”
affixes and roots.
 separate the words into their
“In your own words, what does this
Reteach the meanings of Greek or Latin
roots and affixes.
affixes and roots.
 identify the meanings of roots word mean?”
and affixes.
Model how to use roots and affixes as
 use word part meanings as
English
Language
Learner
clues to to determine word meanings.
clues to define the words.
Considerations:
 write sentences that
Reteach and model how to apply and write
demonstrate an
sentences containing words with Greek and
“What are the parts of the word
understanding of word
biology? What does bio- mean? What Latin affixes and roots.
meanings and their
does -logy mean? When you put them
application.
English Language Learner
together, what do they mean? What
Considerations:
other
words
do
you
know
that
look
like
English Language Learner
biology?
For
example,
what
does
Misconceptions:
psychology mean? What are the parts Provide a complete list of whole words
and the words broken apart by affix and
of the word?”
ELLs may be unable to discern the
root. Scaffold the task by writing an
meaning of Greek or Latin affixes and
example on sentence strips.
“Which
of
these
words
have
you
seen
roots based on their background
Revisit words that are used in
before?
What
can
you
figure
out
by
knowledge.
looking at the words and their
definitions. Ask question to guide
students in separating words.
meanings? What does ____ mean?”
ELLs may be unable to separate
words into their constituent parts.
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
Make a list of the vocabulary words
using common Greek or Latin affixes
and roots with their meanings to use as
a reference page.
3
Level 2: The student demonstrates some understanding of using common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes
and roots to determine the meaning of words.
Misconception/Error
Questions for Eliciting Thinking
Instructional Implications
Student is able to separate some
“What do you need to provide in a
Re-examine Greek and Latin affixes
words into their roots and affixes.
sentence to let readers know what a and roots and their meanings.
word means?”
Student is able to identify the
Model how to use the meanings of
meanings of some roots and affixes.
“Which affixes are still not clear?”
Greek and Latin affixes and roots as
clues to the meanings of a word.
Student is able to use some word
part meanings as clues to provide
Model how to write a sentence using a
definitions.
word that demonstrates its meaning.
Student is able to write sentences
that partially demonstrate an
understanding of word meanings and
their application.
English Language Learner
Misconceptions:
ELLs may be unable to define the
words.
English Language Learner
Considerations:
“How are the words psychology and
psychiatry (or two other related
words) related to each other? What
is the relationship? What do you
know about the meaning of these
words? What can you lean by
thinking about the meaning of the
affix psych? In what way are the
endings of the words different?
What do you know about the
difference? What will you write as
the definition?”
“What does the word mean? What is
an idea of a sentence you might
write? How would that sentence
help a reader know that you really
understand that word?”
ELLs may be unable to write
sentences using the words.
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
English Language Learner
Considerations:
Provide a complete list of whole words.
Pronounce words for ELLs. (Some
ELLs may recognize the words when
they hear them.) Ask guiding questions
about the words.
Establish that the ELLs understand the
word. Elicit some possible sentences
from ELLs.
4
Level 3: The student demonstrates a complete understanding of using common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin
affixes and roots to determine the meaning of words.
Misconception/Error
Questions for Eliciting Thinking
Instructional Implications
Student accurately completes the
“Name another word that has a Greek or
Provide opportunities for students to
following:
Latin affix or root and give its meaning.”
make a list of words with Greek or
Latin affixes and roots.
 separates words into their
roots and affixes.
 identifies the meanings of
roots and affixes.
 uses word part meanings as
clues to provide definitions.
 writes sentences that
demonstrate an
understanding of word
meanings and their
application.
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
5
Level 4: The student demonstrates an advanced understanding of using common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin
affixes and roots to determine the meaning of words.
Misconception/Error
Questions for Eliciting Thinking
Instructional Implications
Student has no misconceptions or
“What are some other forms of the
Provide opportunities for students to
errors and can determine meanings of
words on this list?”
perform the same operations on
words with Greek or Latin affixes in
different forms of the words on the list
complex texts that are above grade
(e.g., astronomer, astronomical).
level.
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
6
Student Name
Q1
Q2
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
Q4
Observation notes
Q3
Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, or Level 4
Q4 Does the student appropriately
apply the words in a sentence?
Writes sentences using the words
appropriately
Q3 Does the student use word
part meanings as clues to
define words?
Defines the words using meanings of
word parts as clues
Q2 Does the student accurately
identify the meanings of
affixes and roots?
Identifies accurate meanings of
affixes and roots
Q1 Does the student accurately
separate the roots from the
affixes?
Separates the roots from the affixes
accurately
Teacher Checklist for
Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots
7
Name: ______________________________________
Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots
Directions: Draw a vertical line in each word listed in the first column below to separate roots from affixes. In the
second column, write the meaning of each known affix and root. Then use your knowledge of these word parts as
clues to define the meaning of the word. Finally, write a sentence using each word.
Word
EXAMPLE:
astro/nomy
Affix or Root Meanings
astro = “star”
nomy = “knowledge or study
about”
Word Definition
Word Applied in Sentence
Knowledge about stars or
study of the stars.
Because she showed an interest in
astronomy, Jenny’s parents gave
her a telescope to look at the stars.
contradict
biology
geography
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
8
Word
Affix or Root Meanings
Word Definition
Sentence
intersection
megaphone
thermometer
transport
microscope
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
9
Word
Affix or Root Meanings
Word Definition
Sentence
pentagon
uniform
FL ELFAS Task and Rubric -Pearson Confidential – Revised Version
10