Glossary · Word parts and vocabulary
What is a latin root?
Definition
A Latin root is a word part from Latin that carries a core meaning in many English words, such as spect (look) in inspect, respect and spectator.
More than half of English academic words come from Latin or Greek, many of the Latin ones through French. So a few dozen Latin roots unlock thousands of words students meet in science, history and math.
Most Latin roots are bound: they can't stand alone. Spect, struct, rupt, dict, tract, port, form, ject and mit are common ones taught in upper elementary and middle school. Each one comes with prefixes and suffixes attached, so morphology work starts with prefixes and suffixes and moves to roots.
Root meanings drift over centuries. Inspect still means look into, but respect has moved further from its root. Students should use roots as clues to check against context, not as dictionary definitions.
In a lesson
Write predict, dictate and contradict. Ask what part they share and what it might mean. Then reveal that dict means say, and test it: predict means say before.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- predictp·r·e·d·i·c·t
- dictated·i·c·t·a_e·t
- inspecti·n·s·p·e·c·t
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Record roots with two words each that the student can explain. It shows real knowledge better than a matching quiz.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.