STR- Word Formation

A teacher provides a list of terms and asks students to add the suffixes -ship, -er, and -or to the words. For example fix + -er = fixer. Once students have added a suffix and created a new word, they discuss how the suffix has changed the meaning and part of speech of the original word. This activity is introducing students to:

• derivational affixes

• structural affixes

• morphological affixes

• inflectional affixes

Answer explanation

In this activity, the students are manipulating words to form new derivations changing the verb fix to the noun fixer. These students are working with derivational affixes to accomplish this goal.

Which of the following syllable types is the first syllable in "eating"?

• a vowel team syllable

• a closed syllable

• a vowel-consonant-e syllable

• the r-controlled syllable

Answer explanation

A vowel-team syllable is when two vowels work together to make one syllable. An example of a vowel-team syllable would be the "oa" syllable in the word "boat", or in this case "ea" using the long e sound.

The words trying, writing, happening, heating demonstrate which of the following principles?

• Depending on the ending letter of the root word, the addition of a suffix may impact the spelling of the root.

• The suffix -ing only affects the spelling of the root word when the root ends in a long /E/ sound.

• 
  The number of syllables in a root word determines whether the spelling is affected by the addition of a suffix.

• Depending on the spelling of the root word, the pronunciation of the suffix can vary.

Answer explanation

When -ing is added to the word write, the e is removed.

In the word unreliableness, the underlined part is the:

• prefix.

• suffix.

• 
  root.

• compound.

Answer explanation

A prefix is an affix that is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. Un- is a common prefix.

Mrs. Howes recognizes that a few of her first grade students are struggling to spell basic first grade words like "back", "but," or "pig". In what way(s) could she help her students develop phonemic awareness and improve spelling skills?

Select all answers that apply.

• Practice identifying phonemes one-on-one with the teacher.

• Have students generate a list of words in the same word family as their struggle word.

• Ask students to write a list of words that begin with a specific problem letter.

• 
  Give students a list of words and have them identify their problem letters.

Answer explanation

Students need to be able to hear and correctly identify phonemes before they can use those in spelling. Asking students to identify problem phonemes would help. Using word families would will help the students see repeat spellings and spelling patterns, which will help them correctly spell the words in the future.

A fourth-grade teacher writes the word "do" on the board and models for the class how adding "re" and "un" to the beginning of "do" impacts the word's meaning. She then provides her class with the following list:

• re

• un

• mis

• de

She asks the students to consider the list with a partner to see which examples from the list could be added to the beginning of the word "use" to create a new word.

What concept is the focus of this teacher's lesson?

• Affixes

• Compound words

• Vowel Patterns

• Word families

Answer explanation

This lesson helps demonstrate how prefixes can be added to a root word to change its meaning. A prefix is an example of an affix.

In what way does studying etymology benefit a student's spelling ability?

• A solid understanding of Greek and Latin roots and word families will allow students to apply familiar spelling patterns to unfamiliar words.

• 
  A strong understanding of letter sounds and the graphemes that represent them means students can sound out and spell most words correctly.

• Studying and working with commonly confused words will help students identify and choose the correct spelling and usage while writing.

• Learning the difference between words that sound the same will enable students to choose the correct spelling while writing.

Answer explanation

Students who have a strong understanding of root words can apply those spelling patterns to all words within that family, making it easier to spell unfamiliar words.

Which of the following syllable types is the last syllable in the word "rename"?

• a vowel-consonant-e syllable

• a closed syllable

• 
  a vowel team syllable

• the r-controlled syllable

Answer explanation

A vowel-consonant-e syllable has a vowel controlled by a silent "e". An example of a vowel-consonant-e syllable would be the last syllable in the word "wake." The syllable "ake" has a long vowel/a/ followed by a consonant and ending in a silent "e". Another example is found in the word "rename" in the question; the "ame" syllable has a long /because of the silent "e" at the end of the word.

Which of the following would be the best way to assess a student's knowledge of phonics?

• Evaluate the student's spelling when they write, especially when it includes unfamiliar words.

• Listen to the student read aloud from a list of sight words.

• Ask the student to provide examples of words that rhyme.

• Listen to the student read their own writing aloud.

Answer explanation

The mistakes a student makes, or the way he attempts to write a word that he does not know how to spell, can inform the teacher of the student's grasp of phonics.

A second-grade teacher is planning spelling instruction for the upcoming weeks. She refers to student writing samples to guide her word selections. This approach to spelling demonstrates the teacher's understanding that:

• spelling instruction should be differentiated to meet student needs when possible.

• most students develop spelling skills in a predictable way.

• whole class, systematic spelling approaches should be the primary factor when considering spelling words.

• encoding and decoding are related.

Answer explanation

By analyzing their witting, the teacher is determining spelling needs specific to individual students.