Vocabulary Building with Roots and Affixes - Anglo-Saxon Roots I
In this 10-hour course, part of a multi-course series, Dr. Karen Wieland teaches learners to identify, understand, & apply knowledge of 100+ high-utility Anglo-Saxon roots, which signal core meanings of thousands of contemporary English words.
Dr. Karen Wieland (Literacy/dyslexia & Latin)
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What's included
10 live meetings
10 in-class hoursClass Experience
In this 10-hour course, part of a multi-course series, I (Dr. Karen Wieland) teach learners to identify, understand, & apply knowledge of 100+ high-utility Anglo-Saxon roots, which signal core meanings of thousands of contemporary English words. The English language has the largest lexicon of any world language. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, about 172,000 basewords are current use, and roughly another 47,000 are still recorded by considered to be obsolete. Roughly twenty-six percent of the total English word stock can be traced back to the language’s Germanic origins. Did you know that the earliest form of English, Anglo-Saxon, was a mix and transformation of words from various Germanic languages? It’s true! Let me explain how that happened. In the middle of the first millennium, Celtic tribes inhabiting the part of the world we now call the British Isles. Early in the first millennium C.E., these islands were conquered and colonized by the Romans, who maintained their control until the end of the fourth century. When the Romans pulled out of Britannia, Celtic warlords hired mercenary swordsmen from Western Europe to help them battle each other for territorial control. Those Germanic fighters (known as Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, and Danes) ending up seizing power themselves and forming several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. These tribesmen and women all spoke languages that descended from Proto-Germanic (lOld German, Old Dutch, Old Frisian, Old Danish, etc.). There were enough morphemic similarities between all of these Germanic tongues for speakers to understand each other. From the melting pot of these Germanic variations, a new language, Anglo-Saxon, also known as Old English, was born. Soon the Anglo-Saxon language was enriched by the Old Norse dialects used by centuries of Viking invaders and settlers. Many of the first words English speakers learn are of Germanic derivation. These are words of home and family (e.g., father, mother, daughter, son, child, home), words of the heart (e.g., love, hope sorrow), words of everyday life (e.g., work, play, farm, plow, husband, wife, house, hearth, cook, eat, sleep, walk), words of the senses (e.g., speak, hear, smell, feel) and the names of objects and experiences known through the senses (e.g., sun, moon, fire, water, earth, star, heat, cold, ice). During the first of our 10 one-hour sessions, students will learn about the Anglo-Saxon language and the orthographic patterns characteristic of words of Germanic word origin. Then they will spend the bulk of the term working with several hundred high-utility Germanic roots and a few dozen affixes, organized into topical categories (as described in the previous paragraph). The roots and affixes will be studied using a range of approaches consistent in all the courses in this course series, including brainstorming, online research using reputable etymology dictionaries, student share-backs of their independently curated word lists, rich discussion about the meanings and usages if interesting derived words, and periodic study games and crossword puzzles. WEEKLY BREAKDOWN WEEK ONE - The birth and early history of the English language; course overview; defining terms root, affix, suffix, prefix; first group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; small-group work and share-backs WEEK TWO - Words of home and family; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK THREE - Words of the heart; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK FOUR - Words of everyday life; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK FIVE- - Words of everyday life; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK SIX - Words of the senses; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK SEVEN - Names of objects and experiences known through the senses; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK EIGHT - TBD; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK NINE - TBD; group brainstorms with teacher modeling; guided practice; individual share-backs; small-group work and share-backs; application of morphological knowledge via spelling dictation WEEK TEN - Game Day!! Today, the students will cement their knowledge of Germanic roots by playing a variety of online games on the QuizletLive platform, then play Germanic Roots Bingo.
Learning Goals
1. Learners will understand the history of the English language and how that history has affected the English lexicon.
2. Learners will discuss the size of the English lexicon and understand roughly what percentage of that lexicon can be traced back to which older languages.
3. Learners will understand the terms root (base, stem), affix, prefix, and suffix..
4. Learners will brainstorm about, research, and share back English derivatives of several hundred words of Germanic origin, organized into topical categories.
5. Learners will learn how to construct dictionary-like definitions of these derived words, based on these words’ morphemic and etymological elements.
6. Learners will work co-operatively in small groups.
7. Learners will create shared notes-packets in the Google Slides app.
8. Learners will share-back their findings in written and oral format.
9. Learners will develop lifelong curiosity about word origins and meanings.
10. Learners will apply their knowledge of studied Germanic word elements to their recognition and spelling of words.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
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.
Supply List
Class handouts (think-sheets, notes, learning activities) will be provided by the instructor. Please download the Google Slides app to your device(s) before class begins.
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
During class, I often guide students as they research the etymologies of words. The main sources we use for etymological research are the Oxford English Dictionary, Etymology Online, Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. I also provide students with pre-screen links to resources they can use to compile lists of words derived from specific word elements.
Joined September, 2017
5.0
466reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
New York Teaching Certificate
3 Degrees
Doctoral Degree from State University of New York at Buffalo
Master's Degree from State University of New York at Buffalo
Bachelor's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from The Catholic University of America
I am a dedicated and creative literacy specialist and language buff with 20+years experience working with students of all ages. I have been teaching on the Outschool platform for five years. In addition to this Vocabulary Building with Roots and Affixes five-course series, I also teach a nine-course Introduction to Latin series using the Latin for Children curricula, Primer A, B, and C and a 12-course series called Multisensory Phonics. I also work individually with literacy learners and Latin-language students on Outschool.
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. During the decade I spent 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.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$150
for 10 classes1x per week, 10 weeks
60 min
Completed by 9 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-15
4-5 learners per class
