FORT Morphology and Word Study 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher asks students to sort words into groups by their Greek or Latin roots. What is the PRIMARY literacy goal of this activity?
- To improve students' handwriting and letter formation
- To build morphological awareness and deepen vocabulary knowledge (Correct answer)
- To practice alphabetical order for dictionary use
- To reinforce phonemic awareness of vowel sounds
Correct answer: To build morphological awareness and deepen vocabulary knowledge
Sorting by roots builds morphological awareness and helps students recognize meaning relationships among words, supporting vocabulary growth and reading comprehension.
Question 2: The Latin root 'port' means 'to carry.' Which set of words would BEST illustrate this root's family to students?
- portal, export, transport, portable (Correct answer)
- portrait, portion, porch, port wine
- poetry, poet, poem, poetry
- position, positive, possess, post
Correct answer: portal, export, transport, portable
Portal, export, transport, and portable all derive from the Latin root 'port' meaning 'to carry,' making them a coherent word family for instruction.
Question 3: Which instructional approach BEST supports students' morphological development in early elementary grades?
- Focusing exclusively on single-morpheme high-frequency words
- Teaching compound words, simple prefixes, and inflectional endings before moving to Latin and Greek roots (Correct answer)
- Delaying morphology instruction until middle school
- Teaching all morphemes simultaneously without regard to complexity
Correct answer: Teaching compound words, simple prefixes, and inflectional endings before moving to Latin and Greek roots
Research supports a developmental sequence beginning with compound words and inflectional endings in early grades, progressing to derivational suffixes and eventually Latin and Greek roots in later grades.
Question 4: What is the term for a morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word and must be attached to another morpheme?
- Free morpheme
- Open morpheme
- Bound morpheme (Correct answer)
- Root morpheme
Correct answer: Bound morpheme
A bound morpheme such as a prefix or suffix cannot stand alone and must be attached to a base or root word to convey meaning.
Question 5: A student reads 'The scientist made an incredible discovery.' The student does not know 'incredible.' Which morphological analysis correctly supports meaning construction?
- In- (not) + cred (believe) + -ible (able to be) = not able to be believed (Correct answer)
- In- (into) + cred (credit) + -ible (full of) = full of credit
- In- (inside) + cred (grow) + -ible (like) = growing inside
- In- (very) + cred (create) + -ible (action) = action of creating
Correct answer: In- (not) + cred (believe) + -ible (able to be) = not able to be believed
The prefix 'in-' means 'not,' the root 'cred' derives from Latin meaning 'believe,' and '-ible' means 'able to be,' yielding 'not able to be believed' — i.e., amazing.
Question 6: Which of the following words is a compound word?
- Unlikely
- Sandbox (Correct answer)
- Playful
- Rethink
Correct answer: Sandbox
'Sandbox' is formed by joining two independent free morphemes ('sand' and 'box'), making it a compound word, unlike the others which contain affixes attached to base words.
Question 7: Why is it important for reading teachers to understand the difference between a root word and a base word?
- Root words are always longer than base words, which affects syllabication instruction
- Base words can stand alone, while many roots (especially from Latin/Greek) cannot, which affects how teachers guide structural analysis (Correct answer)
- The distinction determines whether students use a dictionary or a thesaurus
- Root words are used only in mathematics and science, not literacy instruction
Correct answer: Base words can stand alone, while many roots (especially from Latin/Greek) cannot, which affects how teachers guide structural analysis
Base words are free morphemes that can stand alone (e.g., 'play'), whereas many Latin and Greek roots are bound morphemes (e.g., 'spect' in 'inspect') — this distinction shapes how teachers structure morphological analysis instruction.
FORT Morphology and Word Study 2
A teacher asks students to sort words into groups by their Greek or Latin roots.
What is the PRIMARY literacy goal of this activity?