Pennington Publishing Blog

2018 Top 10 Quotes

Teachers… How well do you and your students know American culture? Current events? It’s quiz time!

For the last 13 years, Yale Law School librarian Shapiro adds 10 of the most popular and influential American quotes of the year to his collection of more than 12,000 well-known quotations by famous personalities, living or dead featured in his  2006 book, “The Yale Book of Quotations,” a collection of more than 12,000 well-known quotations by famous personalities, living or dead.

Let’s play a simple match game. I’ll provide the quote and the matching options. Now, not all matches will be quote to quoter; some of the matches will match quote to quotee, because some of the 2018 Top Quotes are about someone. You’ll understand as you make your guesses. Answers at bottom, so don’t scroll too far.

I read the Washington Post article, written by Kristine Phillips, who details the complete list, as published Tuesday by the Associated Press:

1. “Truth isn’t truth.”
2. “I liked beer. I still like beer.”
3. “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” — Sanofi drug company, in a tweet responding to this celeb’s blaming its product Ambien in a tweet.
4. “We gather to mourn the passing of American greatness, the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those that live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served.”
5. “We’re children. You guys, like, are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together, come over your politics and get something done.”
6. ”[I am] not smart, but genius . . . and a very stable genius at that!”
7. “You don’t have to agree with Trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone.”
8. “Our country is led by those who will lie about anything, backed by those who will believe anything, based on information from media sources that will say anything.”
9. “I have just signed your death warrant.”
10. “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd! And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

Elise Viebeck contributed to this article.

BONUS: Who said last year’s top quote: “alternative facts”?

NEED SOME HINTS?

TOP ROW: John McCain, Donald Trump, Larry Nassar, Brett Kavanaugh, David Hogg

BOTTOM ROW: Rudy Giuliani, Kanye West, Roseanne Barr, James Comey, Maxine Waters

*****

ANSWERS

1. “Truth isn’t truth.” — Rudolph W. Giuliani, interview on “Meet the Press,” Aug. 19.
2. “I liked beer. I still like beer.” — Brett M. Kavanaugh, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee testimony on his Supreme Court nomination, Sept. 27.
3. “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” — Sanofi drug company, in a tweet responding to Roseanne Barr’s blaming of its product Ambien in explaining a tweet that led ABC to cancel her show, May 30.
4. “We gather to mourn the passing of American greatness, the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those that live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served.” — Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain in a eulogy for her father, Sept. 1.
5. “We’re children. You guys, like, are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together, come over your politics and get something done.” — David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, in a CNN interview, Feb. 15.
6. ”[I am] not smart, but genius . . . and a very stable genius at that!” — President Trump, in a tweet, Jan. 6.
7. “You don’t have to agree with Trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone.” — Kanye West, in a tweet, April 25.
8. “Our country is led by those who will lie about anything, backed by those who will believe anything, based on information from media sources that will say anything.” — Former FBI director James B. Comey, in a tweet, May 23.
9. “I have just signed your death warrant.” — Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, addressing former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar upon sentencing him to up to 175 years in prison for sexual assault, Jan. 24.
10. “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd! And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.” — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), in remarks at a rally in Los Angeles, June 23.

BONUS: Kellyanne Conway

*****

The Pennington Publishing Blog is authored by Mark Pennington, English-language arts teacher and reading specialist. Mark’s assessment-based curriculum is featured at https://penningtonpublishing.com/. Each informative article (over 700) includes links and a teaching freebie. Here are three to choose from. Happy New Year! Let’s hope next year’s quotes are more hopeful and positive.

Get the 25 Greek and Latin Power Words FREE Resource:

Get the Simple Sentence Diagramming FREE Resource:

Get the SCRIP Comprehension Strategies FREE Resource:

Grammar/Mechanics, Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary, Study Skills, Writing 2018 quotes, 2018 Top 10 Quotes, Mark Pennnngton, pennington publishing, Shapiro 2018 quotes, Top 10 Quotes for 2018

Sentence diagramming can be a useful tool to make the abstract components of English grammar more concrete. Most students find that the visual image helps them better understand and remember grammatical terms, the parts of a sentence, and the basic rules of grammar. With practice, writers can use diagramming to diagnose their own grammatical errors and fix them.

Teaching Grammar and Mechanics

My Teaching Grammar and Mechanics Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and High School programs include a simple sentence diagram for each lesson (plus a mentor text, error analysis, practice in the writing context, and a formative assessment). The sentence diagrams are “simple,” because instead of requiring students to construct the entire diagram of a given sentence from scratch (takes too much class time), the simple sentence diagrams provide the drawing (the lines) and the words of the sentence that are not the focus of the grammar lesson.

Check out how much students can learn about grammar with these two simple sentence diagrams from my programs. Both examples focus on adverbs.

Simple Sentence Diagram Examples

Easy

Lesson Focus: An adverb can modify a verb and answer How? An adverb may be placed before or after the verb that it modifies. Modifies means to identify, define, describe, or limit. Examples: Carefully she answered. He walked slowly.

Complete the sentence diagram for this sentence: They happily played video games.

Compare your diagram to that on the display. Use a different color pen or pencil to place a √ above each correctly placed answer and change any errors.

Answer

Happily, they played video games. They happily played video games. They played video games happily.

Challenging

Lesson Focus: Today we are studying adverb order. Remember that an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and can be a word or a phrase. When using more than one adverb to modify the same part of speech, usually place adverbs in this functional order: 1. What degree 2. How 3. Where 4. When. Example: She sings more enthusiastically on the stage each night.

Revise and complete the sentence diagram for this mixed-up sentence: “The track star runs quickly now.”

Compare your diagram to that on the display. Use a different color pen or pencil to place a check mark √ above each correctly placed answer and revise any errors.

Answer

The track star runs quickly now.

*****

Pennington Publishing Grammar Programs

Teaching Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and High School) are full-year, traditional, grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics programs with plenty of remedial practice to help students catch up while they keep up with grade-level standards. Twice-per-week, 30-minute, no prep lessons in print or interactive Google slides with a fun secret agent theme. Simple sentence diagrams, mentor texts, video lessons, sentence dictations. Plenty of practice in the writing context. Includes biweekly tests and a final exam.

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Interactive Notebook (Grades 4‒8) is a full-year, no prep interactive notebook without all the mess. Twice-per-week, 30-minute, no prep grammar, usage, and mechanics lessons, formatted in Cornell Notes with cartoon response, writing application, 3D graphic organizers (easy cut and paste foldables), and great resource links. No need to create a teacher INB for student make-up work—it’s done for you! Plus, get remedial worksheets, biweekly tests, and a final exam.

Syntax in Reading and Writing is a function-based, sentence level syntax program, designed to build reading comprehension and increase writing sophistication. The 18 parts of speech, phrases, and clauses lessons are each leveled from basic (elementary) to advanced (middle and high school) and feature 5 lesson components (10–15 minutes each): 1. Learn It!  2. Identify It!  3. Explain It! (analysis of challenging sentences) 4. Revise It! (kernel sentences, sentence expansion, syntactic manipulation) 5. Create It! (Short writing application with the syntactic focus in different genre).

Get the Diagnostic Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Assessments, Matrix, and Final Exam FREE Resource:

Get the Simple Sentence Diagramming FREE Resource:

Grammar/Mechanics, Study Skills, Writing English grammar, grammar, how to teach grammar, Mark Pennington, parts of speech, sentence diagrams, syntax, Syntax in Writing and Reading, Syntax Matters, Teaching Grammar and Mechanics

How to Select Books

As a teacher-publisher, I write articles such as this to inform, advocate, cajole, and sell my English-language arts and reading intervention programs to teachers. I’ve been doing so for quite awhile and have written over 700 articles. Of these articles, one is near the top in popularity and is certainly the most controversial: The 18 Reasons Not to Use Accelerated Reader. When I wrote the article, I had recently transitioned back into the classroom (middle school ELA) from my position as a district reading specialist.

The site level reading specialist provided a pre-service day staff development in which she mentioned AR as our schoolwide reading program. She stressed the importance of using leveled books to match the reading levels of our students. She demonstrated how the AR program did just that. I chose to ignore the remark and put off scheduling my classes for their AR testing in the computer lab. When I got the final “you have to” mandate, I decided to provide a list of reasons why I would not be using Accelerated Reader as my reading program. So much for being a team-player. To her credit, the site level reading specialist did not snitch on me to the principal, or if she did I never knew it.

I decided to post what I had written on my blog.

Wow. The reader response was immediate and contentious. Teachers, parents, and students contributed to the discussion. Parents and students provided cogent comments and examples of “AR abuse” from their own experiences. But, it has been the teacher-response that has both baffled and informed my subsequent writing.

As a publisher, my audience is primarily teachers. Parents and students are not huge markets for my  reading intervention program 🙂 Teachers have taken this article criticizing AR quite personally. Although many have been supportive of the points I made in the article; other teachers have perceived my comments as being negative judgments upon their professional expertise. The only comments I have trashed have been those filled with expletives or those which would embarrass teachers the next day after posting a response following one too many glasses of wine.

One such response came this morning regarding book levels. The teacher claimed that in my article I advocate dumping all means of matching the levels of books to the reading levels of students. What? 

In re-reading my article, I don’t see that at all. Secondly, I want to be clear that I do support a common sense approach to leveling books to match the reading levels of readers.

Two approaches to how to level books and match them to readers are in general practice today:

1. Quantitative Measures: Lexiles, the DRA, F&P/GRL, and even the ATOS (AR testing). My Take? The quantitative measurements are cumbersome to apply to books and developing readers. So many factors go into the levels of books. Although authors certainly consider these factors (their publishers require them to do so) in writing and editing their books, the variables are endless: subject matter, prior knowledge, cultural context, etc. Additionally, the reader’s Lexile range (or other measures) is quite a limited measure (syllables, sentence length, syntax, etc.) and does not factor in maturity, prior knowledge, motivation, etc.
2. Qualitative Measures: On the other side of the reading philosophical spectrum, I would argue that a Lucy Calkin or guided reading re-tell is subject to just as many arbitrary judgments as the quantitative measures and is time-consuming, to say the least.

The first problem with both approaches is that they are teacher-dependent. They essentially leave parents and the readers themselves (the students) out of the book selection process. The second problem is that both methods over-reach. Selecting a book to match the reading level of a reader is just as much art as it is science. And, it’s not that big of a deal which level a reader reads (with some common sense limitations). Thirdly, the pre-determined levels of books should not be straitjackets for readers.

A Quick and Simple Approach to Book Selection

Much better to affirm parental judgment in terms of which books are challenging for their own children. Even much better to equip students with self-selection of books with simple word recognition techniques. As a reading specialist, I still buy in to the useful categorizations of independent (98%), instructional (90–97%), and frustrational (less than 90%) levels of word recognition. Call me simplistic, but it’s the words they know and the ones they don’t which should be the primary means of book selection.

The old “five finger” for primary and intermediate elementary and “ten finger” for upper elementary and secondary readers works much better and is far more simple to use as a book selection guide than the tests and re-tells levels. Each finger represents a word on the page which the student could not adequately define by meaning, example, etc. Too few fingers, too easy; too many fingers, too hard. Simple, but effective. Parents can easily assess and train their children to apply the same guidelines to selecting their own books. My own experience using this technique is that the finger counting is equivalent to about 5% unknown words. Perfect for independent reading with just a bit of instructional level vocabulary thrown in to help grow a reader’s word knowledge. Additionally, I’ve found that this method highly correlates with the quantitative level assessments and weeds out some of the inaccuracies of those tests. The difference in terms of selecting books is minimal.

Plus, let’s not forget a dose of good old-fashioned common sense and the role of motivation for a developing reader. If the kid is interested (as long as the book has some challenging vocabulary), even though a random page is 17 fingers for the reader, let the child select it. A personal anecdote may help: My slightly above grade-level fourth grader, Kenny, was dying to read the last Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when it first came out. Clearly, the quantitative measures ATOS 6.9 (34 AR points), Lexile 880, DRA, F&P/GRL Z, GLE 7.4 should have prevented his MA reading specialist father (me) from purchasing this “frustration level” book. However, I ignored the quantitative data and waited in line for the midnight release of this treasured book. Kenny plowed through the book and enjoyed it immensely. By the end of fourth grade, Kenny was significantly above grade level and a confident reader. Thanks to his teacher and J.K. Rowling. Conversely, if the book is only five fingers for a middle school student, let her read it if she wants to, with a promise to read a more challenging book the next time. The easier word recognition book will provide its own benefits.

*****

The Science of Reading Intervention Program

The Science of Reading Intervention Program: Word Recognition includes explicit, scripted, sounds to print instruction and practice with the 5 Daily Google Slide Activities every grades 4-adult reading intervention student needs: 1. Phonemic Awareness and Morphology 2. Blending, Segmenting, and Spelling 3. Sounds and Spellings (including handwriting) 4. Heart Words Practice 5. Sam and Friends Phonics Books (decodables). Plus, digital and printable sound wall cards, speech articulation songs, sounds to print games, and morphology walls. Print versions are available for all activities. First Half of the Year Program (55 minutes-per-day, 18 weeks)

The Science of Reading Intervention Program: Language Comprehension resources are designed for students who have completed the word recognition program or have demonstrated basic mastery of the alphabetic code and can read with some degree of fluency. The program features the 5 Weekly Language Comprehension Activities: 1. Background Knowledge Mentor Texts 2. Academic Language, Greek and Latin Morphology, Figures of Speech, Connotations, Multiple Meaning Words 3. Syntax in Reading 4. Reading Comprehension Strategies 5. Literacy Knowledge (Narrative and Expository). Second Half of the Year Program (30 minutes-per-day, 18 weeks)

The Science of Reading Intervention Program: Assessment-based Instruction provides diagnostically-based “second chance” instructional resources. The program includes 13 comprehensive assessments and matching instructional resources to fill in the yet-to-be-mastered gaps in phonemic awareness, alphabetic awareness, phonics, fluency (with YouTube modeled readings), Heart Words and Phonics Games, spelling patterns, grammar, usage, and mechanics, syllabication and morphology, executive function shills. Second Half of the Year Program (25 minutes-per-day, 18 weeks)

The Science of Reading Intervention Program BUNDLE  includes all 3 program components for the comprehensive, state-of-the-art (and science) grades 4-adult full-year program. Scripted, easy-to-teach, no prep, no need for time-consuming (albeit valuable) LETRS training or O-G certification… Learn as you teach and get results NOW for your students. Print to speech with plenty of speech to print instructional components.

Click the SCIENCE OF READING INTERVENTION PROGRAM RESOURCES for detailed program description, sample lessons, and video overviews. Click the links to get these ready-to-use resources, developed by a teacher (Mark Pennington, MA reading specialist) for teachers and their students.

Get the SCRIP Comprehension Cues FREE Resource:

Get the Diagnostic ELA and Reading Assessments FREE Resource:

*****

Literacy Centers, Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary, Study Skills accelerated reader, AR book levels, ATOS, book levels, DRA, Fountas and Pinnell levels, guided reading levels, Mark Pennington, Pinnell, re-tell, reading comprehension, reading recovery book levels, Teaching Reading Strategies, word recognition

Diagnostic Reading and Spelling Assessments

Elementary, secondary, and adult English language-arts and reading intervention teachers need comprehensive literacy assessments to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses for individual students and their classes. Following are reliable and valid reading and spelling assessments which perform the dual function of placement and diagnosis.

The diagnostic design of the assessments does not simply indicate that a student has reading problems. Instead, the test items are specific and teachable. Additionally, the assessments are not mere random samples, but are comprehensive. For example, rather than using simply one long /a/ item to determine whether the student has mastered vowel sound phonics and the spelling pattern, all long /a/ sound-spelling patterns are assessed. Thus, the teacher can target instruction to what the student needs and eliminate instruction for that which the student has already mastered.

The assessments may be administered individually or whole class. Two recording matrices are included: one for reading and one for spelling. The recording matrices provide the teacher with simple one-look progress monitoring.

Most of the assessments also include an audio file to standardize test administration and to permit the teacher to monitor students during the assessment session. The audio flies are helpful to assess new students and for make-ups due to student absences.

The author, Mark Pennington, is a MA reading specialist, author, and publisher. His Teaching Reading Strategies and Sam and Friends Guided Reading Phonics Books BUNDLE include instructional resources targeted to each assessment item. Perfect for assessment-based learning. Note that the author also provides the same resources keyed to the literacy assessments in the literacy centers (stations) instructional design. See product description below and also download the FREE instructional resource from the program.

Phonemic Awareness and Alphabetic Awareness 

Use these five phonemic awareness (syllable awareness, syllable rhyming, phonemic isolation, phonemic blending, phonemic segmenting) and two awareness assessments (upper and lower case identification and application) to determine reading readiness. Each of the seven assessments is administered whole class. The author’s reading intervention program includes corresponding phonemic awareness and alphabetic awareness activities to remediate all deficits indicated by the assessments.

• Syllable Awareness Assessment (5:48 Audio File)
• Syllable Rhyming Assessment (5:38 Audio File)
• Phonemic Isolation Assessment (5:54 Audio File)
• Phonemic Blending Assessment (5:53 Audio File)
• Phonemic Segmenting Assessment (5:21 Audio File)

Vowel Sounds Phonics Assessment *

Use this comprehensive 52 item whole class assessment to determine your students’ mastery of short vowels, long vowels, silent final e, vowel digraphs, vowel diphthongs, and r-controlled vowels. The assessment uses nonsense words to test students’ knowledge of the sound-spellings to isolate the variable of sight word recognition. Unlike other phonics assessments, this assessment is not a random sample of phonics knowledge. The Vowel Sounds Phonics Assessment includes every common vowel sound-spelling. Thus, the results of the assessment permit targeted instruction in any vowel sound phonics deficits. The author’s reading intervention program includes corresponding worksheets and small group activities to remediate all deficits indicated by this assessment.

• Vowel Sounds Phonics Assessment (10:42 Audio File)

Consonant Sounds Phonics Assessment *

Use this comprehensive 50 item whole class assessment to determine your students’ mastery of consonant digraphs, beginning consonant blends, and ending consonant blends. The assessment uses nonsense words to test students’ knowledge of the sound-spellings to isolate the variable of sight word recognition. Unlike other phonics assessments, this assessment is not a random sample of phonics knowledge. The Consonant Sounds Phonics Assessment includes every common sound-spelling. Thus, the results of the assessment permit targeted instruction in any consonant sound phonics deficits. The author’s reading intervention program includes corresponding worksheets and small group activities to remediate all deficits indicated by this assessment.

• Consonant Sounds Phonics Assessment (12:07 Audio File)

Sight Words (Outlaw Words) Assessment 

Use this 99 item whole class assessment to determine your students’ mastery of the most common non-phonetic English words. The author’s The author’s reading intervention program includes small group activities to remediate all deficits indicated by this 15-minute assessment. The program includes an Outlaw Words fluency article which uses all assessment sight words. The program also provides sight word game card masters and individual sets of business card size game cards in the accompanying Reading and Spelling Game Cards.

Rimes (Word Families) Assessment 

Use this comprehensive 79 item whole class assessment to determine your students’ mastery of the most common English rimes. Memorization and practice of these word families such as ack, eck, ick, ock, and uck can supplement an explicit and systematic phonics program, such as found in the author’s reading intervention program. Experienced reading teachers know that different students respond differently to reading instruction and some remedial students especially benefit from learning onsets (such as consonant blends) and rimes. The program includes small group activities to remediate all deficits indicated by this 15-minute assessment. The program also provides rimes game card masters and individual sets of business card size game cards in the accompanying Reading and Spelling Game Cards.

Sight Syllables Assessment 

Use this 49 item whole class assessment to determine your students’ mastery of the most common Greek and Latin prefixes and suffixes. Memorization and practice of these high utility affixes will assist with syllabication, spelling, and vocabulary development. The author’s reading intervention program provides Greek and Latin prefix and suffix game card masters and individual sets of business card size game cards in the accompanying Reading and Spelling Game Cards.

The Pets Fluency Assessment *

The “Pets” expository fluency passage is leveled in a unique pyramid design: the first paragraph is at the first grade (Fleish-Kincaid) reading level; the second paragraph is at the second grade level; the third paragraph is at the third grade level; the fourth paragraph is at the fourth grade level; the fifth paragraph is at the fifth grade level; the sixth paragraph is at the sixth grade level; and the seventh paragraph is at the seventh grade level. Thus, the reader begins practice at an easier level to build confidence and then moves to more difficult academic language. As the student reads the fluency passage, the teacher will be able to note the reading levels at which the student has a high degree of accuracy and automaticity. Automaticity refers to the ability of the reader to read effortlessly without stumbling or sounding-out words. The 383 word passage permits the teacher to assess two-minute reading fluencies (a much better measurement than a one-minute timing). The author’s reading intervention program provides 43 expository animal fluency articles and 43 corresponding animal comprehension worksheets tiered st the third, fifth, and seventh grade reading levels along with links to YouTube modeled readings, recorded at three different reading speeds.

Reading Assessments Recording Matrix

Diagnostic Spelling Assessment *

Use this comprehensive diagnostic assessment to pinpoint all sound-spelling patterns learned from kindergarten through eighth grade. This 102 item eighth grade test pinpoints spelling deficits and equips the teacher to individualize instruction according to the assessment-data. The author’s program provides 102 targeted worksheets to remediate each unknown assessment sound-spelling. Each worksheet includes a spelling sort and formative assessment.

• Diagnostic Spelling Assessment (22:38 Audio File)
• Spelling Patterns Assessment Matrix

* Placement Assessments

The Science of Reading Intervention Program

The Science of Reading Intervention Program: Word Recognition includes explicit, scripted instruction and practice with the 5 Daily Google Slide Activities every reading intervention student needs: 1. Phonemic Awareness and Morphology 2. Blending, Segmenting, and Spelling 3. Sounds and Spellings (including handwriting) 4. Heart Words Practice 5. Sam and Friends Phonics Books (decodables). Plus, digital and printable sound wall cards and speech articulation songs. Print versions are available for all activities. First Half of the Year Program (55 minutes-per-day, 18 weeks)

The Science of Reading Intervention Program: Language Comprehension resources are designed for students who have completed the word recognition program or have demonstrated basic mastery of the alphabetic code and can read with some degree of fluency. The program features the 5 Weekly Language Comprehension Activities: 1. Background Knowledge Mentor Texts 2. Academic Language, Greek and Latin Morphology, Figures of Speech, Connotations, Multiple Meaning Words 3. Syntax in Reading 4. Reading Comprehension Strategies 5. Literacy Knowledge (Narrative and Expository). Second Half of the Year Program (30 minutes-per-day, 18 weeks)

The Science of Reading Intervention Program: Assessment-based Instruction provides diagnostically-based “second chance” instructional resources. The program includes 13 comprehensive assessments and matching instructional resources to fill in the yet-to-be-mastered gaps in phonemic awareness, alphabetic awareness, phonics, fluency (with YouTube modeled readings), Heart Words and Phonics Games, spelling patterns, grammar, usage, and mechanics, syllabication and morphology, executive function shills. Second Half of the Year Program (25 minutes-per-day, 18 weeks)

The Science of Reading Intervention Program BUNDLE  includes all 3 program components for the comprehensive, state-of-the-art (and science) grades 4-adult full-year program. Scripted, easy-to-teach, no prep, no need for time-consuming (albeit valuable) LETRS training or O-G certification… Learn as you teach and get results NOW for your students. Print to speech with plenty of speech to print instructional components.

Get the SCRIP Comprehension Strategies FREE Resource:

Get the Diagnostic ELA and Reading Assessments FREE Resource:

Literacy Centers, Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary, Study Skills alphabet assessment, diagnostic reading assessments, fluency assessment, Mark Pennington, phonemic awareness assessment, phonics assessments, reading literacy centers, reading tests, rimes assessment, rti assessment, Sam and Friends Guided Reading Phonics Books, sight word assessment, spelling assessment, spelling literacy centers, Teaching Reading Strategies

My purpose in this article is convince educators to teach morphemes, not just academic words as part of a balanced vocabulary program and to provide the FREE tools to teach them. Good vocabulary instruction includes structural analysis (how words are put together), not just a list of tough academic words or difficult words which your students will be reading in a story or in an article. And good vocabulary instruction does not include a weekly list of Greek and Latin-based SAT or ACT vocabulary words with the quiz on Friday.

To support my case, that teachers should “Teach Morphemes, Not Just Whole Words,” let’s get on the same page regarding what function these Greek and Latin word parts serve as English vocabulary-builders.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has its own meaning, either a word or a part of a word: “Worker” contains two morphemes: “work” and “-er”. Notice that the word part must be meaning-based to be a morpheme; not an inflection. An inflection is a change in the form of a word (usually the ending) which indicates a grammatical function or attribute such as person, number, case, gender, mood, or verb tense.

Of course, Greek and Latin are not the only foreign-based morphemes in English. We have plenty of other languages which provide their own morphological contributions. I do suggest including a brief lesson on English Language History to teach your students why we have so many words which have inconsistent spellings and pronunciations. However, it’s the Greek and Latin derivations which constitute the vast majority of words which you students are challenged by in difficult text. You may wish to prove this to your students by using the clear examples from this article: Greek and Latin “Dead” Languages.

Check out the Latin (in red) in this first sentence from the Federalist Papers #1 by Alexander Hamilton:

After an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting Federal Government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America.

“Government” was a Greek derivation through the French, by the way. Not to be outdone, let’s check out the Greek (in red) in this sentence about Hamilton’s arch rival, Thomas Jefferson:

Thomas Jefferson’s views on democracy were greeted with widespread cynicism, sarcasm, and even panic by European rulers.

Now, most teachers would agree that these are important Tier 2 (Beck in the Common Core Appendix A) academic words to master. I agree, but not by creating a list, having students look them up in the dictionary, and quizzing on Friday. Instead, teach the morphemes!

Let’s use the first word, unequivocal, to prove my point.

Let’s say you passed out the word list of the above red words on Monday and had students look each up in the dictionary. Students look up unequivocal. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English (3^rd Edition), they would find this definition:

“Unequivocal means “leaving no doubt; unambiguous.”

This definition does provide some clues to meaning; however, for most of your students, it doesn’t provide a complete understanding of the word. As is often the case, dictionary authors use difficult vocabulary in their definitions. For many of us, the word unambiguous in this definition is just as tough to understand as Hamilton’s word, unequivocal. Additionally, dictionaries provide multiple definitions for many words, so we’re often stuck with the old conundrum: You have to know the definition to learn the definition. Lastly, dictionaries only provide the denotative meanings of the words, not the connotative meanings. In other words, authors frequently select words which mean one thing, but may suggest something else. Does Hamilton’s word choice suggest the same meanings as modern dictionaries? We simply don’t know for sure.

My point is that learning the dictionary definitions of Greek and Latin-based English words is of some value, but this approach doesn’t completely solve the problem of finding out what a word means in the context in which the author uses it. Plus, memorizing the definitions of the key Greek and Latin words would take an inordinate amount of time.

A much better way to learn challenging English vocabulary is to memorize, practice, and apply the Greek and Latin word parts.

Let me show you how efficient and effective these short-cuts to meaning can be with Hamilton’s  word, unequivocal. Unequivocal has four Latin word parts:

You already know the first word part, un, which means not; equi means equal; voc means call; and al means relating to

Simply rearrange these definitions to make more sense in English.

Unequivocal means “relating to not calling equal.”

Compare the word parts definition: “relating to not calling equal” to the dictionary definition: “Unequivocal means “leaving no doubt; unambiguous.” Both are helpful, but looking up the word unequivocal in the dictionary helped your students learn one word and you probably had to translate that dictionary definition for them. Plus, think of all the wasted class time, looking up all those academic words!

Learning the four word parts in unequivocal not only helps your students learn the one word; think about how many other words include the word parts used in unequivocal. I did the research for you, because I’m sure you’re just dying to know. The un prefix is part of a whopping 3,876 words; equi is used in 196 words, including such useful words as equilibrium, equivalent, and equitable; voc is found in 167 words, such as these word gems: vocalize, evocative, and invocation; and the al suffix is in 3,544. Amazing! Learning the four Latin word parts in unequivocal is powerful. If you knew these word part definitions, you would have short-cut clues to the meaning of many more challenging words‒a total of 7,783 to be exact (morewords.com)!

Of course, beyond our single word example, unequivocal, the reading research overwhelmingly confirms the value of learning Greek and Latin word parts, not just whole words.

In a key vocabulary study, Nagy and Scott found that [Display] “Knowing Greek and Latin word parts helps students recognize and gain clues to understanding of other words that use known affixes and roots” (Nagy & Scott, 2000).

Comprehensive Vocabulary

Now, I don’t want to leave you the false impression that learning a bunch of new Greek and Latin word parts will solve all your students’ vocabulary challenges. And, just as with the whole-word definitions of important Greek and Latin words, it would be impractical to memorize all Greek and Latin word parts. But, some Greek and Latin word parts are used much more often than others. In fact, the 20 highest frequency Greek and Latin prefixes make up 97% of all Greek and Latin prefixes. With suffixes, the top four constitute 97%, as well.

Plus, although we got good clues regarding the meaning of unequivocal, it was not a perfect definition. This will be the case for many Greek and Latin-based English words. However, for other words, their Greek and Latin word parts will form perfect definitions, such as with distract. Dis means away from and tract means draw. To draw away from is a perfect definition for distract. The point I’m making about memorizing Greek and Latin word parts is that knowing some clues to the meaning of a challenging word are much better than having no clues, but when the Greek and Latin word parts form a perfect word definition, that’s a bonus!

*****

For full-year vocabulary programs which include multiple meaning words (L.4.a.), Greek and Latin morphology with Morphology Walls (L.4.a.), figures of speech (L.5.a.), words with special relationships (L.5.b.), words with connotative meanings (L.5.c.), and academic language words (L.6.0), check out the assessment-based grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Comprehensive Vocabulary.

Get the Grades 4,5,6,7,8 Vocabulary Sequence of Instruction FREE Resource:

Get the Greek and Latin Morphology Walls FREE Resource:

Get the Diagnostic Academic Language Assessment FREE Resource:

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Greek and Latin “Dead” Languages

Now, some of you might remember hearing that classical Greek and Latin are dead languages. Of corpse they aren’t! Sorry, I should have warned you in advance about my quirky sense of humor. Although it’s true that no one, other than scholars, speaks and writes in classical Greek or Latin today, both of the languages remain very much alive in their impact upon our culture and language.

In fact, these Greek and Latin zombies constitute more and more of our English language as new words in technology and the sciences are most often derivatives of these languages.

Let’s get started by proving to you that it’s the very-much-alive Greek and Latin that keeps you from understanding all the reading content in challenging texts.

You’re at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning with your phone and a cup of coffee. You’re in the middle of an interesting article, and the author quotes something from Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Papers Number 1. The quotation reminds you that you placed the Federalist Papers on your reading bucket list after seeing the musical, Hamilton, last summer.

With caffeine-inspired motivation, you walk into the den to see if the Federalist Papers are in that set of beautifully bound Harvard Classics, collecting dust on your bookshelf. Eureka!

You pull out the book and open to this collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. You take a deep breath and read Hamilton’s first sentence:

After an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting Federal Government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America (Hamilton, Federalist Number 1).

Now, most of us would stop right there after the first sentence and carefully place the Harvard Classic back on the bookshelf where it belongs. Why so? It’s not the order of the words that’s confusing; it’s not the phonics and sight words (you could, no doubt, pronounce all the words); it’s not a lack of knowledge about the historical context; it’s not that the words are archaic; and, most importantly, it’s not what the author means that’s hard to grasp. It’s the Greek and Latin that interferes with our understanding. In this sense, Greek and Latin are very much alive!

Read that sentence one more time, and pick out the words that are most challenging for you:

After an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting Federal Government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America (Hamilton, Federalist Number 1).

Hamilton was a self-educated man and he loved his Latin! Eight of the words in this single sentence are Latin derivations. I’ve highlighted them in red. And one, Government, derives from classical Greek through the French language.

Comprehensive Vocabulary

After an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting Federal Government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America (Hamilton, Federalist Number 1).

Let’s take a look at one more challenging sentence. This one is loaded with classical Greek. See if you can pick out the Greek words as you read. Hint: Pick out the tough words. Again, it’s the Greek and Latin derivations that make up most of the challenging English words.

Thomas Jefferson’s views on democracy were greeted with widespread cynicism, sarcasm, and even panic by European rulers.

Jefferson was fluent in both Classical (scholarly) and Koine (the common tongue) Greek! He even published his own translation of the New Testament (which was largely written in Koine Greek). Five of the words in this single sentence are Latin derivations. I’ve highlighted them in red.

Thomas Jefferson’s views on democracy were greeted with widespread cynicism, sarcasm, and even panic by European rulers.

So now that I’ve proved that Greek and Latin aren’t the “dead” languages they seem to be, what’s the best way to learn the Greek and Latin we need to read challenging English text?

Not by teaching lists of Greek and Latin SAT or ACT words; instead, Teach Morphemes, Not Academic Words, using my 25 Greek and Latin Power Words, and my DUAL Word Parts Worksheet to learn How to Memorize Greek and Latin Word Parts.

*****

For full-year vocabulary programs which include multiple meaning words (L.4.a.), Greek and Latin morphology with Morphology Walls (L.4.a.), figures of speech (L.5.a.), words with special relationships (L.5.b.), words with connotative meanings (L.5.c.), and academic language words (L.6.0), check out the assessment-based grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Comprehensive Vocabulary.

Get the Grades 4,5,6,7,8 Vocabulary Sequence of Instruction FREE Resource:

Get the Greek and Latin Morphology Walls FREE Resource:

Get the Diagnostic Academic Language Assessment FREE Resource:

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How to Memorize Greek and Latin Word Parts

In my related article, “Teach Morphemes, Not Academic Words,” I demonstrated why learning Greek and Latin morphemes (meaning-based word parts) is far more effective and efficient than learning whole words. However, the best way to learn the 60 highest frequency prefixes, roots, and suffixes is in the context of my 25 Greek and Latin Power Words. These 25 Power Words combine the 60 word parts into memorable associations.

To imprint these 60 word parts into our long-term memories, we need to take advantage of the way our brains are hard-wired. Our brains connect new input to previously learned input through a memory process we know as association.

You see, linking one thing to another can provide a memorable association. Once the association has been well-established, knowing one thing prompts the memory of the other.

That’s how we will learn the 60 Greek and Latin word parts‒through association. Each of the 25 Greek and Latin Power Words links two or three word parts to form a memorable association.

Let’s apply a few suggestions from memory research to help us create these associations.

4 Tips from Memory Research

1. Learn it right the first time. The better a word part is originally learned and the better the two or three word parts are associated within the word, the more you will store in your long-term memory.
2. People start forgetting immediately after learning, so make a conscious effort to rehearse the word parts and their definitions immediately after memorization. Information practiced immediately is retained. After the first few hours, the forgetting cycle kicks in.
3. People remember smaller chunks of information that are rehearsed frequently. Short study periods with small amounts of learning each day produces better retention than cramming.
4. People remember information best when that information is organized in a structured manner.

To memorize the 25 Greek and Latin Power Words in a structured manner, I’ve created a helpful FREE resource, titled the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet (at the end of this article), for you to download and print.

The DUAL Word Parts Worksheet

DUAL Word Parts Worksheet

The DUAL Word Parts Worksheet provides a structured approach to learning new vocabulary. Instead of rote memorization, which stores information only in the short-term memory, the worksheet will guide you with in-depth memorization, practice, and application to help you store this new vocabulary in your long-term memory. The DUAL Word Parts Worksheet serves a dual purpose: 1. To learn the 60 high frequency Greek and Latin word parts and 2. To associate these definitions with the 25 Greek and Latin Power Words in which they appear.

DUAL is an acronym, which stands for Define, Use, Apply, and Look.

I’ll teach you how to use the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet as we learn the first of our 25 Greek and Latin Power Words, unsubscribe. If you want the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet, it’s yours for FREE at the end of the article.

Our first step on the worksheet is the D, as in define. We need to define the word parts by memorizing each of their meanings.

Note that on your worksheet, the first column lists the Greek and Latin Power Word, unsubscribe; the second column lists the word parts, un, sub, and scrib(e); and the third column provides the word part definitions as not, under, and write.

By the way, both un and sub are prefixes and scrib(e) is a root. However, for our purposes we don’t need to identify which word parts are prefixes, roots, and suffixes, nor do we need to identify their parts of speech, nor do we need to know from which language each word part derives. Now, at this moment, classical scholars are all shaking their collective heads in dismay. But, as Winnie the Pooh might have said, “So much to remember rather muddles my thinking.”

Please note that the (e) at the end of scrib(e). The parentheses indicate a letter added to the word part to help with English pronunciation. In this case, the silent final e makes the preceding vowel a long /i/ sound. Sometimes a letter is dropped from a Greek and Latin word part to connect to another word part. Also, notice that there is no suffix in unsubscribe.

Take a moment to study the content in the first three columns: unsubscribe… un, sub, scribe… not, under, and write.

Now, let’s use the power of association to link the word parts together.

• Linking un and sub into “unsub” means not under in unsubscribe.”
• Linking sub and scribe into “subscribe means under write in unsubscribe.”
• Linking these paired word parts joins un, sub, and scribe into “unsubscribe,” which means not under write in unsubscribe.”

Now, that’s a memorable chain of word part associations! As our memory tip suggested, “We’ve learned it right the first time.”

Our second step on the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet is the U, as in use. We need to use the word parts and their definitions in memorable contexts.

Use each memorized word part in a simple, memorable, and concrete anchor word, and write this word in the fourth column of your worksheet. A good anchor word for the un word part is untie. It’s simple, memorable, and concrete, not abstract. For un, write the anchor word, untie, in the space provided.

Next, use that anchor word in a brief context clue sentence with surrounding word clues which show the meaning of that anchor word. Use my SALE Context Clues acronym (S for synonym, A for antonym, L for logic, or E for example) to prompt your use of surrounding word clues.

Write the following context clue sentence for the first anchor word, untie, in the fifth column: “I had to untie my shoelaces to slip off my shoes.”

Now provide your own anchor words and context clue sentences for sub and scribe in the fourth and fifth columns.

Comprehensive Vocabulary

Our third step on the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet is the A, as in associate. We need to associate our anchor words to Related Words we already know, which feature our focus word parts.

For my untie anchor word, I might write these Related Words: unworthy and unmarried in the sixth column.

Now write a few Related Words you already known for your sub and scribe anchor words in that sixth column.

Our fourth and last step on the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet is the L, as in look. We need to look for the newly learned word parts in everything we hear and in everything we read. Also, look for ways to use these word parts in your speech and writing. Remember our memory tip: “People remember smaller chunks of information that are rehearsed frequently.”

Dr. Kevin Flanigan, contributing author to Vocabulary Their Way calls this look step, “Turning on your morphological radar.” Dr. Flanigan suggests that the more we look at challenging words, by their structural components, rather than as whole words, the more attuned we will become to identifying the morphemes, which are the meaning-based word parts we are learning.

So, turn on your “morphological radar” and start looking for the word parts: un, sub, and scribe in everything you listen to and read.

Whew! It’s time to pat yourself on the back. You’ve just placed the three word parts: un, sub, and scribe into your long-term memory. You won’t forget these short-cuts which unlock the meanings of challenging words. And what’s more… these three word parts are found in 5,083 words. That’s 5,083 words. Awesome!

Plus, you’ve learned how to use the four steps of the the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet to memorize, practice, and apply the rest of the 25 Greek and Latin Power Words. I suggest you tackle one per day. Teachers may wish to tackle one or two per week with their students. Remember our memory tip: “Short study periods with small amounts of learning each day produces better retention than cramming.” And keep rehearsing the old word parts as you learn the new ones.

*****

For full-year vocabulary programs which include multiple meaning words (L.4.a.), Greek and Latin morphology with Morphology Walls (L.4.a.), figures of speech (L.5.a.), words with special relationships (L.5.b.), words with connotative meanings (L.5.c.), and academic language words (L.6.0), check out the assessment-based grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Comprehensive Vocabulary.

Get the Grades 4,5,6,7,8 Vocabulary Sequence of Instruction FREE Resource:

Get the Greek and Latin Morphology Walls FREE Resource:

Get the Diagnostic Academic Language Assessment FREE Resource:

Get the DUAL Word Parts Worksheet FREE Resource:

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Despite universal consensus among reading-researchers regarding the effectiveness of teaching and learning Greek and Latin morphology (the phonological, semantic, and orthographic connections of affixes (prefixes and suffixes) and roots, some of the existing research regarding which to teach and which not to teach has never trickled down into the classroom. The following article will explore why this may be the case and will remedy this deficit with two resources: 1. The latest and greatest Greek and Latin word parts lists 2. My carefully crafted 25 Greek and Latin Power Words, which include the 60 highest frequency Greek and Latin word parts according to these research-based lists.

Of course, this is only one example of the disconnect between academia and teachers in terms of educational research; however, by taking a look at the one, perhaps the many can also be addressed. My take is that both institutional and cultural norms and biases share equal responsibility for this failure.

Why Relevant Educational Research Does Not Show up in the Classroom: Who’s to Blame?

Google

A quick Google search for “Greek and Latin word lists” brings 18,700,000 search results. Each list varies greatly and, because the Internet remains the Wild, Wild, West, no quality control in the search rankings differentiates among Ms. Peabody’s favorite word parts list, a paid ad for a list used to promote a commercial product, and a research-based list. It’s overly simplistic to expect teachers to have the crap detector expertise and time to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Here, the Google algorithms fail us. Older, established websites and articles with popularity come up higher in the search rankings. Newer articles, such as this one, will be fortunate to crack the Google Top 50. Even diligent educators will wind up with commercially purposed Greek and Latin word part lists or sources based upon old research, for example Thorndike’s 1941 suffix word list.

Teachers and School Districts

Teachers and their school districts share some of the blame as well. Although the former are generally exposed to some educational research in teacher credential programs, little decision-making in the classroom is based upon objective research studies. Teachers are busy, generally adverse to change, and peer-pressured. If they have a hard copy class set list of Greek and Latin word parts or a PDF of such in their vocabulary folder, it would take a rare teacher to take the time to get to search ranking #65 to find the best resource for her students. Additionally, teachers all succumb to a herd mentality. If their grade-level or department colleagues agreed to each a certain vocabulary list years ago, it would take an act of God to change that same list. Greek and Latin word lists. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is the widely-accepted teacher mantra. Strike out on your own and you might receive the death penalty label: “She’s not a team player.”

School district leaders crave uniformity and exert various degrees of control over curriculum. Many Google searches with “district” added into the search bar, provide consensus lists of Greek and Latin prefixes, bases, and suffixes, all neatly divided into grade level expectations. I’ve yet to find any district lists which are based upon the best and most recent research on Greek and Latin word part utility and frequency.

Publishers

Comprehensive Vocabulary

I must start with the disclaimer. I am one: a teacher-publisher. Publishers and their authors have diverse motivations for what they produce. Despite many good intentions, both are limited by one factor: their paying audiences. Supply is driven by demand and not the converse. The status quo, if it is profitable, is the decision-making benchmark.

University Professors

In the educational hierarchy, university professors are perceived to have the expertise and access to the latest and greatest educational research. They should know better, but often choose not to know. Unlike teachers and school district leaders, ignorance is not a valid excuse for these folks.

Why do American university professors tend to cherry pick certain Greek and Latin morphological research studies and avoid others? I won’t pretend to provide a comprehensive answer, and many professors will not fit the following generalization. However, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it just might be…

Ethnocentrism

Why don’t American teachers get the latest and greatest research to guide their instruction? I fear that ethnocentrism rears its ugly head. I will cite three examples in the field of vocabulary research.

Dr. Averil Coxhead, senior lecturer at the Victoria University of Wellington School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies developed and evaluated The Academic Word List (AWL) for her MA thesis. The list has 570 word families (roots) which were selected according to an exacting research criteria. Her thesis was published in 2000, but is just now gaining acceptance and traction among English-language arts and reading intervention teachers interested in teaching Tier 2 academic words. My take? Her study has taken so long to get into the hands of teachers because Dr. Coxhead teaches in an Australian University. By the way, I’ll put on my publisher’s hat for a moment. If you want Dr. Coxhead’s word families list of academic words, divided into grade levels by frequency, read Common Core Academic Language Words and download these grade level lists for free.

As a second example, Dr. Zheng Wei (Yes, she’s Chinese) contributed her carefully designed and implemented study on the efficacy of teaching and learning Greek and Latin word parts, including a useful high utility and high frequency bases list, for her 2012 doctoral thesis at the same University of Wellington as Dr. Coxhead. A Chinese professor publishing her groundbreaking work at an Australian university? The odds are stacked against this research filtering its way down to teachers.

My last example includes the 2015 research study regarding knowledge of prefixes and suffixes. “The Word Part Levels Test (WPLT) was developed to measure three aspects of affix knowledge: form (recognition of written affix forms), meaning (knowledge of affix meanings), and use (knowledge of the syntactic properties of affixes)” as cited in the 2017 SAGE Journals Language Teaching Research abstract. You guessed it: Researchers Dr. Yosuke Sasao of Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan and Dr. Stuart Webb of the University of Western Ontario, Canada contributed this study with the British corpus used as the source for their affixes.

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Now that I’ve wagged my finger across the educational spectrum, it’s time to share what I perceive to be the most useful educational research in providing the resources teachers need to teach Greek and Latin word parts to their students.

• • Wei, Z. (2011). Word roots in English – Learning English words through form and meaning similarity. PhD Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
  • Honig, Diamond, and Gutlohn (2000). Teaching Reading Sourcebook: For Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade © 2000 by CORE.
  • Stahl, S.A. and Shiel, T.G. (1992). Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Disabilities, 8, 223-241; “Commonly Occurring Greek and Latin Roots.”
  • White, Sowell, and Yanagihara (1989) Ranked by Carroll et al (1971). The Reading Teacher, 42, p. 306; “Most Common Prefixes and Suffixes in Academic Texts.”
  • More Words (Word Counts)

25 Greek and Latin Power Words © 2018 Pennington Publishing

If you are still teaching from the same old Greek and Latin word part list, it’s time to update your instruction with the latest computer-generated word lists aggregated from the most recent and highest regarded Greek and Latin word part studies. Download the FREE 25 Greek and Latin Power Words list and forward this article to your colleagues.

*****

For full-year vocabulary programs which include multiple meaning words (L.4.a.), Greek and Latin morphology with Morphology Walls (L.4.a.), figures of speech (L.5.a.), words with special relationships (L.5.b.), words with connotative meanings (L.5.c.), and academic language words (L.6.0), check out the assessment-based grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Comprehensive Vocabulary.

Get the Grades 4,5,6,7,8 Vocabulary Sequence of Instruction FREE Resource:

Get the Greek and Latin Morphology Walls FREE Resource:

Get the Diagnostic Academic Language Assessment FREE Resource:

Get the 25 Greek and Latin Power Words FREE Resource:

Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary, Study Skills, Writing Common Core Vocabulary, Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit, Greek and Latin, Greek and Latin prefixes, Greek and Latin roots, Greek and Latin suffixes, Greek and Latin vocabulary, Greek and Latin vocabulary research, high frequency word parts, Mark Pennington, research-based vocabulary word lists