Vocabulary Development Through Word Building

This class maximizes our knowledge of how the brain learns best; by making meaningful connections. Rather than studying a random list of words and trying to memorize their definitions, this class takes learners through the process of building words together from a common base, and seeing how all the words that result share connections in meaning; connections that will make them easier to remember, recognize and understand. In line with the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy principles of learning. 

Each week, we will work with a different base and its prefixes and suffixes to build as many words as we can from that word family. Students will have some guided practice in building words and then have some time to work independently. Then as a class, we will share and discuss which words we have built, helping students develop a variety of skills including:

1. A fundamental understanding of how the English language works
2. The impact of prefixes on the meaning of the base (foreknowledge vs. acknowledge vs. unknowable)
3. The possible spelling impacts of adding suffixes to the base, including when to drop a silent 𝘦 and when to double a final consonant
4. How the meaning of the base carries over into the meanings of the new words that are built from it (𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦/𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴)
5. An understanding that spelling patterns and meaning are retained even when pronunciation shifts. (𝘢𝘤𝘵/𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭/𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯/𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭)
6. An understanding that suffixes can affect a word's part of speech and usage in a sentence. 
7. The difference between a bound base and a free base

Examples of some bases we may study together include: 

vise  (vision, revise, television, improvise, advising, etc.)
labor  (laborious, elaborate, laborers, etc.)
cycle  (bicycle, cycling, cyclone, cyclical, recycling, etc.)
ject  (rejected, subjects, objectively, etc.)
lege  (college, delegate, illegal, privileged, etc.)
cent  (percentage, centennial, centimeter, etc.)

This is an ongoing class that meets weekly. The content does not build and learners are welcome to join the class at any time! I will always make sure that new learners understand what to do.