Vocabulary Building with Roots & Affixes - Latin & Greek III
In this 10-hour course, part of a series, Dr. Karen Wieland teaches middle-grades students to identify, understand, & apply knowledge of 75+ advanced Latin roots & affixes and signaling core meanings of English, French, Italian, & Spanish words, + new Greek roots.
Class experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Intermediate Level
In this 10-hour course, part of a series, I (Dr. Karen Wieland) teach middle-grades students to identify, understand, and apply knowledge of 75+ advanced Latin roots and affixes, which signal the core meanings of English, French, Italian, and Spanish words.The roots and affixes studied will not be redundant with those studied in other courses in the Vocabulary Building series. The derived vocabulary will tend to be more sophisticated and appear less frequently in print English than the...
1. Students will discuss many hundreds of English words derived from roughly 75 Latin roots not previously researched in Levels 1-4 of this course sequence. 2. Students will engage in independent and collaborative research of English word etymologies using provided online sources as well as sources they identify on their own. 3. Students will also explore Spanish, French, and Italian words (and if desired, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from these same Latin roots. 4. Students will engage in word hunts while reading independently in order to find examples of English derivatives of targeted Latin roots. 5. Students will complete several crossword puzzles and play online games to reinforce studied materials. 6. Students will reorganize their mental lexicons (word stores) to reflect the word elements studied and discussed.
WHY ME? I am a dedicated and creative literacy specialist with 25+ years experience working with students of all ages. I hold permanent certification from New York State in Reading (grades K-12). I am also a certified Wilson Reading System dyslexia practitioner. I have extensive experience with Orton-Gow methods for literacy re/mediation; the foundation for that work was the introductory training I received through the Gow Teacher Training Institute. I taught Orton-Gow (Reconstructive Language) at the Gow School and the Gow School Summer Program for several years. Across the past decade, as a teacher educator and university reading center director, I helped to prepare several hundred reading teachers and literacy specialists in NY and PA. I completed my undergraduate degree at The Catholic University of America School of Music. My doctoral and master’s degrees were earned at the University at Buffalo School of Education, under the advisement of Dr. Michael W. Kibby, a nationally known literacy diagnostician and scholar. I have presented my research at several national and international conferences, including Literacy Research Association, International Reading Association, and International Dyslexia Association.
Homework Offered
Each week, students select Latin word elements to research, using provided web resources and any other sources they find on their own. They create lists of words (English, plus a few from Romance languages) derived from their target Latin elements, and type these words along with their simple definitions into the class Google Slides file. They share back their findings with each other in class so we can build on them as a team. Periodically, students are asked to complete crossword puzzles or other summative learning activities for homework.1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
This is an ungraded course. Student work is shared publically and collectively discussed in a manner that is elaborative, not evaluative. The instructor adjusts pace and provides direct instruction, modeling, and scaffolding as needed.Grades Offered
Many of the students who take my Vocabulary Building courses experience literacy-based learning difficulties. I scaffold students and modify my procedures and small assignments so that every student has an opportunity to participate.
Ideally, students in this section should have taken at least one of the other courses in my Vocabulary Building series before enrolling in this one.
MATERIALS Class handouts (think-sheets, notes, learning activities) will be provided by the instructor. Students should have pencils and looseleaf paper handy during class, for occasional note-taking or brainstorming. Students or parents should also have Google accounts and gmail addresses, in order to access shared Google Slides files during classes.
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
I use the Google Slides app during my sessions as a shared space to present new content to students, prompt their thinking, and capture this thinking in writing. The Google Slides app allows multiple users to read and write simultaneously on slides. The links to these files are sent to the students via the Zoom chat feature and posted on the classroom page. Students are not required to create Google accounts and they can write in shared files anonymously. However, if they want those files to be saved long-term in their Google Drives or in their parents’ Google Drives, they will need to request file access from the instructor. The Quizlet app is used occasionally in class and between classes to study root and affixes meanings and derived vocabulary and to practice spelling. The instructor has a professional subscription and makes study sets. Links to those study sets are provided to students. During class, students sometimes play QuizletLive using game links shared during class. Students are not required to create Quizlet accounts and they can play Quizlet games under pseudonyms if they choose.
Hello! My name is Dr. Karen Wieland. I am a NYS-certified teacher (Reading K-12) and a former high-school teacher and college professor with 25+ years of teaching experience. I currently run a thriving independent practice as a dyslexia/literacy...
Group Class
$150
for 10 classes1x per week, 10 weeks
60 min
Completed by 17 learners
Live video meetings
Ages 11-14
5-7 learners per class