The Iowa Reading Research Center is thrilled to announce the launch of our new Morpheme Lab starting Monday, April 13. This resource site is for educators across grade levels and includes a new eLearning module, morphology instruction app, and more. 

Morphemes are the smallest unit of meaning in language, and include roots (e.g., “auto”, “bio”), prefixes (e.g., “re”, “pre”), and suffixes (e.g., “logy”, “able”). Morphological ability, or the ability to use morphemes to produce or understand written and oral language, is a powerful tool for students to use when they encounter new and unfamiliar words.  

It's often assumed that morphology instruction is used exclusively to support new readers. However, advanced readers can benefit from explicit instruction in applying morphological ability to unfamiliar words, especially those found in content areas like social studies (e.g., “archaeology,” “geopolitics”) and science (e.g., “photosynthesis,” “paleontology”). Continued morphology instruction gives students the ability to read and comprehend complicated words.  

"Morphemes are rich sources of information that can support secondary students’ reading comprehension and content learning,” said IRRC Assistant Director Leah Zimmermann. “The IRRC is excited to release the Morpheme Lab to support teachers across content areas in implementing evidence-based morphology instruction.” 

The new eLearning module, Effective Morphology Instruction for Secondary Students Across Content Areas, explores the importance of morphology instruction for both literacy development and content-area learning through four lessons, from a “Morphology Overview” to “Generative Morphology Instruction.” The module aiowalso includes several resources to support educator learning and supplement instruction, including videos of classroom implementation, connections to research, interactive activities, and a variety of printable resources. The module will be available on the Morpheme Lab starting Friday, April 24. 

To accompany the module, the IRRC is releasing a new app: Word Dissector. 

“The Word Dissector web app gives educators a way to put the strategies provided in the eLearning module into practice,” said IRRC Application Developer Brian Cochran. 

Teachers can insert a word into the app to view its component morphemes and their meanings. The app pulls from a list of the most common morphemes across subject areas, so teachers can focus on content that will have the biggest impact on student learning. Students can use the app to study morpheme flashcards and play a matching game with morphemes and their definitions. 

To learn more about morphology instruction, visit the Morpheme Lab.