Many English words come from Latin roots, so becoming familiar with these roots will naturally make reading and spelling easier. But studying word roots is really boring, right?
No! At least, it doesn’t have to be. And Word Trees are my favorite way to teach words derived from Latin roots—and make it engaging to boot!
Check out this 30-second Word Tree demo.
Download your free Word Trees and list of Latin Roots, and then read on for some tips for using them.
Think about the Latin root scrib/script, which means to write. When you add prefixes and suffixes to the root, you can create many new words that all have something to do with writing, such as subscriber, scripture, inscribed, description, postscript, prescription, scribbling, and unscripted.
It’s like an 8-for-1 deal: you learn one Latin root, and you get eight words in return. And when you come across a less familiar word like scriptorium, you can recognize the root script, which in turn gives you a head start on understanding the word’s meaning and spelling.
(In case you are wondering, a scriptorium is a room set aside for writing. That makes sense, given that script means to write and -orium is a suffix meaning a place for.)
So it’s probably easy for you to see why I’m such a huge fan of learning Latin roots!
If you can answer yes to these three questions, your child is at the right stage to benefit from Word Tree activities:
While Word Trees can be interesting for younger children, they are most effective with children who have already mastered these three spelling skills.
The free download contains five prepared Word Trees, plus one blank one.
If you can only think of a few words at first, keep the Word Tree available and add to it over the next few days. Perhaps family members, a neighbor, or a friend can think of words to add, or maybe your child will run across more words in his private reading time.
In the photo above, Jimmy created twelve words with the root port, including export, supportive, and reporter. How many words can you come up with?
There are hundreds of possible root words to choose from, but two guidelines will make it easy for you to choose effective root words for beginners.
Experience a sample Latin roots lesson from All About Spelling Level 7.
Download this Lesson plan for Level 7, Lesson 17.
In the lesson, we start out using letter tiles to demonstrate how prefixes and suffixes can be added to Latin roots.
Then we move on to building four Word Trees. Ten words are assigned for further study, including supportive, distraction, contractor, and inspector.
Next, students write several sentences from dictation, including “Those gnus in the living room are a real distraction!” Finally, students randomly choose four slips of paper from the Writing Station to generate an interesting writing prompt, and they write several unique sentences using at least one of the new Latin-derived spelling words.
It’s important to keep in mind that we can’t take the meanings of Latin root words too literally. In many cases, the meaning of the root is just a clue to the meaning of the word. For example, the word introspection comes from the prefix intro (meaning inward) and the root spect (meaning to look). We can’t literally translate the word to inward look, but we can get the gist of the real meaning, which is an examination of thoughts and feelings.
Also, for this particular activity, your student doesn’t need to memorize the meaning of the root words or recite them back. As long as he becomes familiar with the meanings, he will be able to recognize the root in other words, and spelling will become easier.
My hope is that as your child actively explores words in this unusual way, he will develop a positive attitude and curiosity about the words around him … and hopefully increase his motivation to learn more!
Would you like step-by-step lessons that help you teach spelling in a hands-on way? All About Spelling was written for parents and teachers like you!
Do you think your child would like the Word Trees approach?
Amanda Kaye King
says:What a great idea!
Jessica
says:This is such a fantastic idea! My oldest struggles with spelling, and I’m sure the roots are one of the main issues. This is something I need to try.
Jennifer
says:This is such a neat tool! Thank you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Jennifer! Thank you.
Chae D
says:Love all you do! Would love to see an All About Vocabulary one day 🫶
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’ll pass the suggestion on, Chae! But in the meantime, check out How to Build Your Child’s Vocabulary.
Jenny
says:I remember learning Latin roots when I was a child, and they have always been helpful when reading more complex texts. Thanks for this handy teaching resource!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Jenny! I find having knowledge of Latin (and Greek) roots to be especially helpful for science. Homeostasis is a lot easier to understand when you have an idea of what homeo means and what statis means!
Georgette H.
says:How timely! I was telling my husband last night that I wanted to work on Latin roots with some of our kids soon. Thank you for highlighting this lesson!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this was timely for you, Georgette! I hope you and your kids have a lot of fun learning Latin roots with these!
Candice Layfield
says:My daughter is learning Latin and it has helped her become a great speller!
Candice Layfield
says:Love this!
Candice Layfield
says:Love this!😍
Crystal McKnight
says:Thank you for this resource I’m always looking for ways to supplement my spelling lessons, especially since learning your technique!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Crystal! I’m glad this will be a good supplement for your lessons.
Jennifer
says:WOW! I have never thought of teaching this! I will have to check it out and try it out
Thank you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Jennifer!
Faaida James
says:Hello, I am interested in using this curriculum for SEN students. My kidos are from 3+ to 18 years. I service 1 Early childhood center, 6 government elementary schools and 3 high schools. How would I know which level to begin with? Thank you for your assistance.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceFaaida,
Our placement tests are back up and working! Here is the link to them.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you for your interest and your work helping students, Faaida!
We have an online placement test, but it experiencing difficulties and our IT Department says it will be a while before it is functioning correctly again. Instead, we have downloadable and printable placement tests. If you would like them, please email us at support@allaboutlearningpress.com or reply to this and let me know.
Sarah Straley
says:Excited to learn more about using Latin roots as I teach word work to students. Thank you for this article!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Sarah!
Jennifer Campbell
says:I have been looking for a resource like this! Thank you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re so welcome, Jennifer!
Beth C.
says:I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. Great idea to start.
Chelsea P
says:This is such a great method!
Ashley
says:Love the trees for learning root words!
Marie
says:This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Marie!
Chantel
says:So helpful!
Heidi
says:This looks wonderful!
Karissa
says:This is so great! We aren’t quite ready for it but now I am excited for when we are! I realize that Latin understanding is important, but the thought of teaching something I don’t know has been a daunting one. Thank you for the simple breakdown, again!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re so welcome, Karissa!
Michelle Clark
says:This is so helpful. It’s keeps my kids engaged and in a way that helps them remember what they are learning.
Samantha Martinez
says:How cool!
Erica
says:This is great! Thanks for the tips on when and how to go about this.
Jennifer
says:Knowing Latin root words will help on many standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, and GRE.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYes, great point, Jennifer! Thank you.
Denise
says:This is great! I’ll be printing this. Thank you!
Cherith
says:This is very interesting!
Carol
says:Sounds fun! Thank you!
Lisa
says:Love this and how it introduces Latin!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Lisa!
Katie GINDIN
says:Great ideas!