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There are many things I loved about being a high school English language arts teacher, but one of my secret passions was teaching students about the history of words. If I could change careers and become an etymologist (someone who studies where words come from and how they change over time), that\u2019s probably what I\u2019d do.<\/p>\n
Every year, at least one student gave me a book about etymology as an end\u2011of\u2011year gift. When I\u2019d ask why, they\u2019d usually say something like, \u201cBecause it\u2019s clear you really love this stuff.\u201d So much for pretending my fascination with word origins was a secret.<\/p>\n
For me, this passion for word meanings was more than just a hobby. It became a core part of how I approached reading instruction. Over time, I realized that when students are immersed in a complex, grade-level text, teaching them how words work\u2014how they\u2019re constructed, how they evolve, and how they connect\u2014helps build vocabulary and <\/em>strengthen reading comprehension. I also learned that teaching morphology, or how word parts combine to create meaning, is an effective way to help students unlock meaning in those same complex texts.<\/p>\n Fortunately, a strong body of research<\/a> supports the idea that teaching students how words work also improves their reading comprehension. Reading researcher Michael Graves<\/a> identifies four key approaches to building students\u2019 vocabulary, with each one contributing in a meaningful way to future reading success:<\/p>\n Where possible, Graves suggests using all four approaches to instruction. Building students\u2019 vocabulary works best when instruction is integrated, intentional, and connected to real reading.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s break the four approaches down before I share some vocabulary-building tips you can try in upper elementary grades and with middle and high schoolers.<\/p>\n Graves emphasizes that vocabulary learning thrives in classrooms where students are encouraged to wonder about language. Beyond teaching students how words work, this type of instruction includes:<\/p>\n Vocabulary instruction is far more than giving students a list of words to memorize. It\u2019s about developing a mindset that encourages students to examine word patterns, connections, and possibilities for meaning. As Graves notes, it\u2019s really about fostering word consciousness<\/a>\u2014the habit of noticing, wondering about, and playing with words in everyday reading and conversation.<\/p>\n Teaching students word-solving strategies makes my etymology\u2011loving heart beat a little faster. That\u2019s because these strategies give students multiple ways of figuring out what words mean<\/a>. Some of my favorites include:<\/p>\n Studying morphology is an especially important strategy because students who understand the building blocks of language are better able to unlock unfamiliar words independently.<\/p>\n Research also shows<\/a> that embedding vocabulary instruction in meaningful contexts gives students many more opportunities to process words deeply, connect them to concepts, and revisit them over time. This method also gives students greater access to complex texts. According to the research, it\u2019s much easier to do this if your school uses a knowledge\u2011building curriculum<\/a>. That\u2019s because vocabulary acquisition and content knowledge are mutually reinforcing<\/a>: When students build content knowledge, they build vocabulary. And when they build vocabulary, they can access content knowledge more easily.<\/p>\n Emerging work suggests that artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) can serve as a helpful starting point for identifying high\u2011utility words in a text<\/a> and generating student\u2011friendly definitions, often with visuals. When used thoughtfully and<\/em> curated by teachers, AI can find and flag the individual words that matter most for reading comprehension.<\/p>\n Of course, students can learn the greatest number of words simply by reading a variety of texts. Wide reading exposes us to new vocabulary, reinforces words we already know, and shows us how the same word can function differently, or have a different meaning, across contexts.<\/p>\n Given my interests, it won\u2019t surprise you that I\u2019d like to dig a little deeper into why etymology and morphology matter.<\/p>\n Etymology and morphology are closely related, but etymology explains a word\u2019s history while morphology explains its structure. Etymology fueled my passion for words, but morphology fueled my instruction\u2014an approach that research strongly supports.<\/p>\n Reading researcher Elfrieda Hiebert<\/a> focuses on the idea that proficient reading comprehension depends heavily on students\u2019 knowledge of a relatively small core vocabulary<\/a>. Many of these core words belong to what she calls \u201cmorphological word families,\u201d that is, groups of words built from the same base or root and expanded through prefixes and suffixes. For example:<\/p>\n Once students know that the root word \u201cform\u201d means \u201cshape,\u201d they can unlock the meaning of dozens of related words. And if they get stuck, etymology can step in to save the day.<\/p>\n Hiebert notes that roughly 2,500 morphological word families account for the vast majority of words students will encounter in academic texts. That\u2019s why she recommends prioritizing instruction of word families rather than spending a lot of time teaching rare or isolated words.<\/p>\n Hiebert has found that when students understand core words deeply, they\u2019re better equipped to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words because they can use context clues more effectively. Students also benefit from encountering word families repeatedly across texts. This gives them multiple exposures to the same roots and affixes in different contexts, and such repeated contact helps improve both vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension.<\/p>\n So how does this look in practice with younger readers? Reading researcher Jessica Toste<\/a> points out that multisyllabic words dominate academic texts<\/a> in upper elementary school. For example, she estimates that students may encounter more than 20,000 instances of multisyllabic words per year. What\u2019s more, these words often carry the bulk of a text\u2019s meaning. That\u2019s why Toste recommends a multistep approach for teaching morphology:<\/p>\n Through this method, Toste finds that students gain confidence with longer, more complex words.<\/p>\n As students move from elementary school to middle and high school, the reading demands increase dramatically. And as the texts become denser and the vocabulary more specialized, the same tools scale to more complex words and concepts.<\/p>\n Reading researchers Katie Wilburn and Emily Solari explain why morphology instruction is especially powerful for adolescent and multilingual learners in their 2024 article, \u201cBrick by Brick: Landmark Studies on Using Morphology Instruction to Increase Academic Vocabulary Knowledge.\u201d<\/a> In short, morphology helps them:<\/p>\n Wilburn and Solari also emphasize that explicit, meaning\u2011focused instruction benefits all learners, but especially those who need additional support with reading or are learning English. For multilingual learners<\/a> in particular, explicit instruction can leverage their ability to connect English morphemes to cognates or familiar word parts in their home languages.<\/p>\n According to Wilburn and Solari, effective vocabulary instruction for adolescents includes:<\/p>\n The approaches remain the same; only the words and texts become more demanding as students progress in school. The outcome remains the same, too; knowing morphology supports independent meaning\u2011making at any age.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need a specialized curriculum to use these methods for building students\u2019 vocabulary. You can adopt an existing program (some are free!) or adapt one to meet your students\u2019 needs. Two excellent resources to consider are Word Connections<\/a>, a free multisyllabic word\u2011reading program developed by Toste, and Text Project<\/a>, a hub for free vocabulary and morphology materials created by Hiebert.<\/p>\n Another delightful example of how word love can come alive for kids is the introduction to the book The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels<\/em><\/a>. The entire premise of the novel revolves around etymology, with language itself becoming a character in the story. If you\u2019re looking for a light, fun, and kid\u2011friendly book to build curiosity about words, it\u2019s worth finding this one at your local library.<\/p>\n To further tailor your program, you can also collaborate with other educators at your school, such as math, science, social studies, and even PE teachers. Ask them which roots and affixes appear most frequently in the texts they teach and have students read. This collaboration will pay off when students start to find word connections across subjects, reinforcing the idea that morphology has real-world applications. In fact, this cross\u2011content approach was often a turning point for my students. Once they began noticing the same roots and affixes in other classes, their excitement and confidence grew.<\/p>\n As you build vocabulary through instruction, tools that measure students\u2019 knowledge can offer helpful insight. If your school uses MAP\u00ae Growth\u2122<\/a>, note that the reading test has a dedicated instructional area for vocabulary, so you can monitor how students\u2019 vocabulary knowledge develops over time. Research also shows<\/a> that general comprehension measures (like MAP Growth) can provide a more rigorous view of vocabulary\u2019s impact on reading than tests built around familiar passages. Tracking vocabulary growth from one administration to the next can surface the instructional impact of intentional changes you make at the class or unit level.<\/p>\nWhat the research says about building students\u2019 vocabulary<\/h2>\n
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Create a culture of curiosity about words<\/em><\/h2>\n
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Teach word\u2011solving strategies<\/em><\/h2>\n
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Strategically teach individual words<\/em><\/h2>\n
Engage in wide reading<\/em><\/h2>\n
Why etymology and morphology matter\u2014and not just to me!<\/h2>\n
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Tips for building students\u2019 vocabulary in upper elementary school<\/h2>\n
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Tips for building students\u2019 vocabulary in middle and high school<\/h2>\n
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What if your school doesn\u2019t have a morphology-focused vocabulary program?<\/h2>\n
How MAP Growth Reading and MAP Reading Fluency support vocabulary development<\/h2>\n