Morphology Games: What making up words reveals

Tue, 03/25/2008 - 7:26pm christinagaleano

Subject:
Morphology
Grammar/Syntax
Grade Level:
Grades 3-5
Overview:
The purpose of this lesson is to raise awareness of morphemes, specifically suffixes. It should get the
students to recognize that suffixes carry meaning, and that they can use this meaning to give them
clues about about unknown words that they encounter.
Lesson Plan:
1. I write the sentence The girl was langiful because of the flartity on the board then cover it up
before the students see it. We will use this for the assessment at the end. I will number off the
students so that they form nine groups of 2 to 4 students.
2. I give each group of students a plastic bag with cards in it. Each card has one word of a sentence
written on it. The kids need to put the words in order to form a correct sentence. I ask the students to
begin the sentence with the girl was
a. In the sentence there will be an adjective and a noun that are invented. The kids will not know what
the invented words mean, but they will recognize where to place them because of their suffix endings.
They will eventually learn that the endings they recognize are suffixes that denote a category
(adjective and noun), and thats why they implicitly understood where to put each word.
b. The kids will all form a sentence that goes The girl was_______-ous because of the _______-ion
(the list of invented words with -ous and -ion is below).
Invented adjectivesgragous tiganous
livanous baltous
nalous charous
valgous larous
pulous beluterous
Invented nounsnirition taltation pirition lintion
tigation palgaation
tulation pretation
calation

3. The first group will read their sentence, and I will fill in the blanks with the correct words, minus the
unknown adjective and noun. I will ask a member of each group to come up and stick the unknown
noun and adjective on the board where they think it fits. It will look something like this:
1. The girl was beluterous because of the nirition
2. Galgous calation
3. Valgous tulation
4. etc. etc.
4. I will ask the kids how they knew where to put the words they didnt know in an effort to raise
their awareness of the suffixes. The kids usually see the pattern right away when they are listed in
columns like this. They usually realize that the common suffix is giving them a clue to the meaning,
and I will talk about this further. I will tell them that the suffixes they see in the patterns make the
words adjectives and nouns, respectively, and I will talk about what an adjective and a noun is.
Ask them if they can think of any other words that end in ous and ion.
5. Comprehension check: I give the kids a bunch of real stems, and have them sort them into two
categories: Those that go with the noun ending (-ion), and those that go with the adjective ending (ous).
Stems:
informat
confus
act
organizat
Fabul
Gener
Victori
Seri
Mysteri
6. I have a stem on a card that has velcro next to it. I use this stem as an example to show that I can
stick the correct suffix on the stem to make a recognizable word.
7. Each group gets another bag of stems (listed below), and the velcro suffixes ion and ous. The
kids will repeat what Ive done in number 6, combining stems with suffixes. This time, however, they
have to decide which stem-suffix combinations (at least one for the noun and one for the adjective)
work in the original sentence. Once they figure out the correct suffix-root combination, they can insert
the real adjective and noun back into the original frame to make a real sentence. With the stems that
they are given, there are only a few possible sentences that the students can make.
New stems:
Beauti

lov
Nerv
Fam
Atent
Conform
Investigat
Goal sentences: The girl was nervous because of the attention
The girl was famous because of the attention
The girl was nervous because of the investigation
Other possibility that is not as strong: The girl was famous because of the investigation
8. Assessment: I uncover the sentence on the board listed under #1. This is to see if students can
apply their awareness of suffixes to a new set of suffixes. I ask the students if they can identify the
adjective and noun, respectively, and what it is that lets them know that each one is an adjective and
a noun. The students should answer that it is the suffix that allows them to know that the unknown
words are a noun and an adjective, respectively. Ask them if they can think of any more ful
(adjective) and ity (noun) words. The children might say something like city, at which point it would
be a good idea to discuss the difference between city and generosity. You should talk about
morphemes, that ity adds meaning to the word generous. They will see that generosity contains a
separate morpheme, the suffix ity, which is different from the ity on the end of city. Ask them to
take off ity from the word city. If they are left with the letter c, they will realize that the ity in
city is not a separate morpheme, as c has no meaning by itself. In contrast, show them that they
can take the ity off of generosity, and they get the word generous.
Class Time Needed:
1 hour

Morphology Games: What making up words reveals

Tue, 03/25/2008 - 7:26pm christinagaleano

Subject:
Morphology
Grammar/Syntax
Grade Level:
Grades 3-5
Overview:
The purpose of this lesson is to raise awareness of morphemes, specifically suffixes. It should get the
students to recognize that suffixes carry meaning, and that they can use this meaning to give them
clues about about unknown words that they encounter.
Lesson Plan:

1. I write the sentence The girl was langiful because of the flartity on the board then cover it up
before the students see it. We will use this for the assessment at the end. I will number off the
students so that they form nine groups of 2 to 4 students.
2. I give each group of students a plastic bag with cards in it. Each card has one word of a sentence
written on it. The kids need to put the words in order to form a correct sentence. I ask the students to
begin the sentence with the girl was
a. In the sentence there will be an adjective and a noun that are invented. The kids will not know what
the invented words mean, but they will recognize where to place them because of their suffix endings.
They will eventually learn that the endings they recognize are suffixes that denote a category
(adjective and noun), and thats why they implicitly understood where to put each word.
b. The kids will all form a sentence that goes The girl was_______-ous because of the _______-ion
(the list of invented words with -ous and -ion is below).
Invented adjectivesgragous tiganous
livanous baltous
nalous charous
valgous larous
pulous beluterous
Invented nounsnirition taltation pirition lintion
tigation palgaation
tulation pretation
calation
3. The first group will read their sentence, and I will fill in the blanks with the correct words, minus the
unknown adjective and noun. I will ask a member of each group to come up and stick the unknown
noun and adjective on the board where they think it fits. It will look something like this:
1. The girl was beluterous because of the nirition
2. Galgous calation
3. Valgous tulation
4. etc. etc.
4. I will ask the kids how they knew where to put the words they didnt know in an effort to raise
their awareness of the suffixes. The kids usually see the pattern right away when they are listed in
columns like this. They usually realize that the common suffix is giving them a clue to the meaning,
and I will talk about this further. I will tell them that the suffixes they see in the patterns make the
words adjectives and nouns, respectively, and I will talk about what an adjective and a noun is.
Ask them if they can think of any other words that end in ous and ion.
5. Comprehension check: I give the kids a bunch of real stems, and have them sort them into two

categories: Those that go with the noun ending (-ion), and those that go with the adjective ending (ous).
Stems:
informat
confus
act
organizat
Fabul
Gener
Victori
Seri
Mysteri
6. I have a stem on a card that has velcro next to it. I use this stem as an example to show that I can
stick the correct suffix on the stem to make a recognizable word.
7. Each group gets another bag of stems (listed below), and the velcro suffixes ion and ous. The
kids will repeat what Ive done in number 6, combining stems with suffixes. This time, however, they
have to decide which stem-suffix combinations (at least one for the noun and one for the adjective)
work in the original sentence. Once they figure out the correct suffix-root combination, they can insert
the real adjective and noun back into the original frame to make a real sentence. With the stems that
they are given, there are only a few possible sentences that the students can make.
New stems:
Beauti
lov
Nerv
Fam
Atent
Conform
Investigat
Goal sentences: The girl was nervous because of the attention
The girl was famous because of the attention
The girl was nervous because of the investigation
Other possibility that is not as strong: The girl was famous because of the investigation
8. Assessment: I uncover the sentence on the board listed under #1. This is to see if students can
apply their awareness of suffixes to a new set of suffixes. I ask the students if they can identify the
adjective and noun, respectively, and what it is that lets them know that each one is an adjective and
a noun. The students should answer that it is the suffix that allows them to know that the unknown

words are a noun and an adjective, respectively. Ask them if they can think of any more ful
(adjective) and ity (noun) words. The children might say something like city, at which point it would
be a good idea to discuss the difference between city and generosity. You should talk about
morphemes, that ity adds meaning to the word generous. They will see that generosity contains a
separate morpheme, the suffix ity, which is different from the ity on the end of city. Ask them to
take off ity from the word city. If they are left with the letter c, they will realize that the ity in
city is not a separate morpheme, as c has no meaning by itself. In contrast, show them that they
can take the ity off of generosity, and they get the word generous.
Class Time Needed:
1 hour

What are your favorite inspirational Bible verses? Yours may differ from mine but here
are 10 of my most inspirational Bible verses and why I chose them.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor
angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
These verses are not only inspirational but the entire chapter of Romans 8 is. Right
after we see how Paul struggled with sin in Romans 7, we see that the victory is assured
in Christ Jesus in chapter 8. How inspiring to know that nothing can separate us
from Gods love. This includes earthly or heavenly (evil spirits) powers, angels (fallen
ones) or rulers (any one in authority), nothing present today, nothing in the future (nor
things to come), not height (success) nor depth (dark nights of the soul), not in this life
or even our death. In case Paul left anything out he says nor anything else in all
creation. That covers everything, including ourselves. God has no aborted children!

Second Corinthians 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though

our outer man is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed
day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us
an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not
to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For
the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are
unseen are eternal.
This may be hard for a young Christian to identify with unless they live in nations that
are persecuting and killing believers for their faith. The older I get, the more I
appreciate these Scriptures. My body is indeed wasting away. All believers will face

affliction for their beliefs but this is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond
all comparison (and beyond description). We should not be looking at the things that
are seen (all the bad around us) but to the things that are unseen, which is the place
that Jesus is preparing for us (John14:2-3). This earth is transient or passing away but
Jesus promises a room in the mansions of heaven that we do not yet see. If we embrace
these verses then we will not lose heart.

Second Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those
whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in
this, for from now on you will have wars.
This might seem like a strange verse that I singled out as inspirational but let me
explain. Just picture in your mind that the eyes of God are scanning the entire earth
(throughout the whole earth) and His eyes are looking for those who are blameless
toward him. He is doing this so that He can give strong support to such men and
women. The second part of this verse is a rebuke for Israels King Asa as he depended
upon the king of Syria instead of relying on God. He trusted in his own resources and
leaned upon his own strength instead of trusting in the God Who could have won the
victory. As a result, Asa did foolishly and God told him that from now on you will have
wars. Even today God is looking for those who are fully dependent upon Him with a
blameless heart (1 John 1:9, 2 Cor 5:21) so that He can give them strong support in
their time of need.

Hebrews 13:5c-6 I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we

can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what
can man do to me?
This reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:16-17 where Paul said that at his first defense, no one
stood by him and everyone had abandoned him but only the Lord stood by him. Even
when believers abandon us at our time of need, the Lord will not ever leave us and never
will He forsake us. Some Christians in other nations where persecution is severe, even
to the point of death, may forsake their faith or they deny the Lord but the Lord will not
forsake His own even if theyre the last one standing.
For another list of 22 Inspirational Bible verses check out this article on What Christians
Want To Know.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who

strengthens me.

If we look at the context of this entire 4 th chapter we can see that Paul is not saying that
we can do anything we want or that God will grant us every request. Paul was saying that
he can persevere in the faith because it is Christ who will strengthen him. Why did he
need strengthening? It was because Paul had been enduring tortures, beatings, hunger,
cold, and all kinds of sufferings. In all these things he learned to be content (Phil 4:11).
Jesus said that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5) but through Christ, we
can do all things because He Himself will strengthen us if it is for His glory.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the
Lord, plans for welfare [literally peace] and not for evil, to give
you a future and a hope.
God knows the plans that He has for us but it does not say that we have to know. God
declares that His plans are for our best (welfare) and they are not for bad (evil). These
plans are for our future hope. If we believe this, we can pillow our head on the
sovereignty of God. Knowing that God is in control should give us peace of mind. I saw
a license plate that said God is my co-pilot. I would rather it read that God is my
pilot and I am the co-pilot.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all
things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.
This seems close to Jeremiah 29:11 except for the fact that even bad things work out for
our best. The Bible has a history where God uses evil for His purpose. That means that
everythingall thingswork together for our ultimate good. It doesnt say that all things
are good but that all things, good or bad, work to our benefit. These all things do not
work out for the best for those who are not called by God. The opposite is true for nonbelievers; all things will work out for their worse.

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Taken from The Lord is My Shepherd, this last verse has David looking forward and
seeing with the eyes of faith, a future that is full of hope. David is certain that he will
dwell with the Lord forever or for time without end. This is clearly a reference to
eternal life. Gods goodness and mercy is going to follow [him] all the days of [his] life
meaning that even after his death on this earth, Gods mercy and goodness will follow

him to his eternal dwelling place with God. This eternal dwelling place is the coming
Kingdom of Heaven.

John 10:28-29 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish,
and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch
them out of the Fathers hand.
This is one of the first verses that I committed to memory. Why? Its because so many
feel that they are unworthy to be saved. Some days they feel saved and the next they feel
lost. They are not sure if they are saved or not from day to day. How unsettling that
must be but these verses give us a mental picture that we are secure and held firm but
the mighty hands of Jesus and the Father. When my children were young I tried to see
if they could snatch a marble out of my hand when it was clinched tight. Even a strong
man has difficulty opening a clinched hand. How impossible it is to snatch someone out
of the mighty hands of God! Jesus reassures us that no one is able to snatch them out
of His hand or the Fathers hand. What an inspirational image and promise this is!

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and
whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
The gospel of John is my favorite because John writes so much about the security that is
in Christ Jesus. This verse is somewhat like John 10:28-29 with the exception of this
precious statement of Jesus; whoever comes to me I will never cast out. Wow! What
unconditional love this reveals. Jesus will not ever turn anyone away, or cast them out,
once they come to Him.no matter what!

Conclusion
You can claim these same promises by trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If
you have not already done so, why not repent of your sins, confess them to God, see the
sinfulness of your sins, apologize to God for these offenses, and put your trust in Jesus
to save you? Romans 8:1 could be another inspirational verse as it says that There is
therefore no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you are not in
Christ, you stand condemned already (John 3:18). There is no other way to heaven
except by Jesus redemptive work on the cross (Acts 16:30-31) and there is no other way
to the heavenly kingdom except through a relationship with Christ (Acts 4:12).