How To: Introduce a New Morphology Concept

• Lesson Objective: Use inquiry to develop shared definitions of key terms.

• Grouping:  Whole-group

• Methodology: Students look for morphology patterns within a set list of words.

• Duration: Entire 45-minute period

Laying the Foundation: Morphemes as Building Blocks of Meaning

This is the only unit in which this activity is included in order to introduce foundational terms. Students uncover the meanings of morpheme, base, prefix, and suffix through guided exploration. Inquiry and pattern recognition are powerful instructional methods because they tap into how the brain naturally learns—by making connections. Inquiry-based learning promotes curiosity and engagement. When students ask questions and explore answers themselves, they become active participants in learning rather than passive recipients. It encourages critical thinking by pushing students to evaluate evidence, justify their thinking, and consider alternative explanations.

Pattern recognition supports memory and retention, since our brains are wired to seek and remember patterns. Recognizing patterns reduces cognitive load by organizing information into meaningful chunks. Additionally, identifying patterns helps students develop problem-solving skills by enabling them to make predictions and generalize rules across new contexts.

Together, inquiry and pattern recognition foster deep understanding rather than surface-level memorization. They help students think like scientists, linguists, or historians—encouraging exploration, reasoning, and meaningful connections.

🖍 How the Routine Works

I project the activity on the document camera while students remain at their seats with highlighters and pencils. Early in the year, I anticipate the need for significant scaffolding, as this may be the first time students are asked to look for patterns in this way. I guide them by

asking questions like, “What do you notice?” “What do these have in common?” “How are these parts similar or different?” and “Have you ever heard this before?” I might also say, “Highlight this part,” to draw attention to key elements. After posing questions aloud, I give students quiet think time before inviting discussion. My co-teacher and I circulate the room, offering additional support through scaffolded questioning. Students are allowed to turn and talk, though early in the year they’re often hesitant to do so. With the right amount of prompting and support, we’re almost always able to arrive at a working definition or close to one. Once we form a hypothesis, we jot it down and test it against additional examples. Finally, we complete the vocabulary square to solidify understanding.

I repeat this process for the remaining vocabulary terms. Typically, by the final term—suffix—students are able to generate a hypothesis more quickly, now that they understand the inquiry process and are familiar with the other terms.

For the last part of the lesson, students sort morphemes into three categories: prefix, base, and suffix. We complete a few examples together first, and I guide them toward recognizing that the placement of the hyphen—or lack thereof—is a key clue in identifying the type of morpheme. Once the task is clear, students work independently while my co-teacher and I circulate to offer support.

Check out the Interactive Unit Guide for the lessons that follow. Here's the direct link to the handout. After this lesson, I'm ready to hang my morpheme posters on the wall.