It is important to teach students a variety of strategies to help them understand longer words.
Teaching Greek and Latin roots provides a strong base for students to understand the meanings of longer words. This is useful in all classrooms. For example: In a science classroom students could be taught the Greek morpheme 'micro'. Write this word on a card that is posted on the wall. As students learn microscope and other words that build on this morpheme, they add to the word ladder. Students are provided with a visual representation of how words are built and have a better understand of the vocabulary of a scientist.
Teach the meanings of morphemes within the context of a sentence - It is important to teach morphemes across the content-area classes. Instruction should include not only the spelling, but also the role the morpheme has in changing the meaning of the word (National Institute for Literacy, 2007).
Teach different morpheme patterns - when teaching new words, teachers should explain the role of morphemes in changing the words meaning (National Institute for Literacy, 2007).