Foundations of Morphology: Interactive Unit Guide

Let's jump in!

After analyzing the pre-assessment data, we’re ready to begin Unit 1: Foundations. This is

 the time to go slow to go fast in the long run. In the past, I’ve

made the mistake of rushing through this unit, assuming students would fill in the gaps later. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. Without a solid understanding of morphemes, prefixes, bases, and suffixes, it might as well be a foreign language to them. If you could use a quick refresher, feel free to check out my posters. 

As mentioned in The Lit Stop Routines, we generally follow the same sequence for each unit. Minor adjustments are made as needed. This unit is an outlier since it's the beginning of the year. I'm not ready yet to introduce every routine, although the vast majority are in the unit. Students also haven't learned any morphemes so the review activities are more for assessing prior knowledge. You can grab the printable Foundations Unit Plan here. You'll also want the Morphology Foundations Word Bank  for the capture sheets and brainstorming. While students work independently, I use this time to provide targeted phonemic awareness instruction. Below is the interactive Foundations Unit Plan where you can find tons of helpful links. Each blog post will include the typical grouping, methodology, suggested duration, and rationale. I included the objectives in the chart to give you a quick overview. The PDF column will take you to directly to TPT. Lastly, I noted how each objective applies specifically to this unit.

Morphology Foundations Mastery Goal: 

Define and identify  morpheme, prefix, base, suffix

& morphemes uni-, bi-, tri-, pre-, sub/suf-, phon(e).

Day	Blog Posts	The PDFs	Objectives	Unique to this Unit
tool	None	Morphology Foundations Word List	Provide the instructor with a bank of words for instruction.	Core vocabulary included.
1		None	Phonology Full Period
2	How To: Introduce a New Morphology Concept	Introduction to Foundations of Morphology	Use inquiry to develop shared definitions of key terms.	This is the only unit in which this activity is included in order to introduce foundational terms.
3	How To: Brainstorm & Flashcards	Brainstorm & Flashcards	Use inquiry to develop shared definitions of targeted morphemes.	You will want an organization system in place for flashcards. I use baggies. Students keep them in their folders.
4-6	How To: Vocabulary Capture Sheets	Vocabulary Capture Sheets	Identify, define, and analyze terms with targeted morphemes using morphemic segmentation.	Parts of speech have not been taught yet so this element isn't included. Suffixing rules haven't been introduced so correct application of these rules is not expected.
7-8	How To: Sort & Sum the Story	Sort & Sum the Story	Apply morphemic segmentation to identify, define, and analyze words with targeted morphemes as they appear in a passage.	N/A
9	How To: Morpheme Card Review	Morpheme Card Review	Review morphemes to build automaticity.	Going forward flashcards from previous units will be included.
10	How To: Match & Fill	Match & Fill	Review morphemes to build automaticity. Apply context clues and morphological knowledge to complete cloze sentences.	Going forward the matching sections will include previously taught morphemes.
11	How To: List, Opposite, Sentence (LOS)	List, Opposite, Sentence (LOS)	Enhance comprehension of key vocabulary with targeted morphemes through word generation, morphological comparison, and contextual application.	N/A
12	How To: Catch-Up Day	None	Allocate time for students to revisit, complete, or improve upon unfinished or unsatisfactory work.	N/A
13	None		Phonology Quiz
14	How To: How Many Do You Know?	How Many Do You Know?	Generate concise definitions (1–2 words) for vocabulary terms containing targeted morphemes	N/A
15	How To: Jeopardy Quiz Review	Jeopardy Quiz Review	Review content in preparation for the quiz.	N/A
15	How To: Morphology Quizzes	Quiz	Assess understanding of the unit objective.	N/A
Daily	How To: Phonemic Awareness	None	Develop phonemic awareness.	N/A
Any	How To: Bananagrams	None	Apply morphological knowledge to build words.	N/A