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Vocabulary Development Through Word Building

Using the Structured Word Inquiry approach to spelling, we will work with Greek and Latin bases, prefixes and suffixes to build new words. We will see how all the words we build share connections in meaning with the base.
Andrea Dalland, M.Ed, MLS
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5.0
Number of reviews:
(132)
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What's included

1 live meeting
30 mins in-class hours per week

Class Experience

This class maximizes our knowledge of how the brain learns best; by making meaningful connections. Rather than studying a rather 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.

Each week, we will work with a different base word 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 made. This word building and discussion will help students to practice and 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. A deep understanding that word families are linked by common bases
7. An understanding that suffixes can affect a word's part of speech and usage in a sentence. 
8. 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.
Learning Goals
In this class, students will gain a strong understanding of English morphology (the study of the forms of words: bases, prefixes and suffixes) that will broaden their vocabulary while improving spelling and decoding at the same time.
learning goal

Other Details

Learning Needs
Word Building from bases is an excellent strategy for learners with dyslexia; it lightens load on working memory and having to memorize the meaning of words in isolation. Instead, we look for relationships among a word familes.
Supply List
Learners are encouraged to have pencil and paper with them to do their word building, though learners are also welcome to use the chat feature, or type on a device for this if they prefer.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined July, 2022
5.0
132reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
North Carolina Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education
Master's Degree in Education from University of Missouri at Columbia
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Calvin College
I have had extensive professional development in the ideas presented in this class, and have seven years of experience teaching this content in a classroom setting, and two years' experience on Outschool. 

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Live Group Class
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$14

weekly
1x per week
30 min

Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-17
2-10 learners per class

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