Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ® Why Morphology Matters for Word Reading and More with Melissa Orkin and Alex Osburn
Oct 24, 2025
Melissa Orkin, a literacy expert, and Alex Osburn, a literacy specialist, dive deep into the world of morphology and its crucial role in enhancing reading skills for upper elementary students. They share practical strategies for teaching morphemes, connecting vocabulary with content-area texts. Listeners learn about the seven-step integrated morphology routine, effective ways to introduce morphemes, and the benefits of dictation in spelling instruction. This insightful discussion emphasizes the power of morphology in bridging word meaning and comprehension.
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Morphology Bridges Sound And Meaning
- Morphology links decoding and comprehension by teaching pronunciation and meaning together.
- Teaching morphemes helps students read unfamiliar multisyllabic words and boosts fluency and comprehension.
Problem Solving Needs Explicit Support
- Pure morphological problem solving alone often fails because students miss nuanced meanings or pronunciations of morphemes.
- Explicit instruction plus application to text produces stronger generalization than discovery alone.
Backward Plan From Connected Text
- Backward plan from a connected text and select morphemes that appear in that passage.
- Preview words, sentences, and vocabulary before reading so students practice the elements they'll meet in the text.