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English lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 30 minutes

Greek roots: arch, crypt, gen, chrom, derm, tox and more

Vocabulary

CCSS L.8.4.BEngland: KS3 English (vocabulary and etymology)England: GCSE Combined Science (scientific vocabulary)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Greek roots: arch, crypt, gen, chrom, derm, tox and more.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Greek roots: path, phil, phob, psych, poly and more

Leads to: Decoding advanced words from their roots

Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Greek roots: path, phil, phob, psych, poly and more). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What does the Greek root "morph" mean? (as in amorphous, morph, metamorphosis) (shape, form / circle, wheel / fear / star) → shape, formPrompt: What do the example words have in common?
  2. Which word contains a Greek root that means "rule, power"? (psychology / bureaucracy / claustrophobia / monorail) → bureaucracyPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "rule, power"?
  3. These words share a Greek root that means "circle, wheel". Type it. encyclopedia, bicycle, cyclone → cyclPrompt: Look for the letters that appear in every word.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
  • Share the objective: Greek roots: arch, crypt, gen, chrom, derm, tox and more. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: What does the Greek root "derm" mean? (as in epidermis, dermatologist, hypodermic)
  • Step 1: Knowing what a Greek root means helps you work out unfamiliar words that contain it.
  • Step 2: derm means "skin", as in dermatologist, epidermis, hypodermic.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: skin
  • Answer: skin
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. What does the Greek root "kine / cine" mean? (as in cinema, kinetic, kinesiology) (god / belief, opinion / movement / all) → movementPrompt: What do the example words have in common?
  2. Which word contains a Greek root that means "stone"? (kinetic / orthodox / genre / monolith) → monolithPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "stone"?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which word contains a Greek root that means "new"? (neoclassical / philosophy / toxic / prognosis) → neoclassicalPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "new"?
  2. What does the Greek root "crypt" mean? (as in cryptocurrency, encrypt, cryptic) (movement / poison / know / hidden) → hiddenPrompt: What do the example words have in common?

Watch out for

  • Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
  • Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Greek roots: path, phil, phob, psych, poly and more.
  • Use concrete materials: word cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Decoding advanced words from their roots.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-8.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Greek roots: arch, crypt, gen, chrom, derm, tox and more

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    What does the Greek root "dox" mean? (as in orthodox, unorthodox, paradox)

    • A. colour
    • B. stone
    • C. poison
    • D. belief, opinion

  2. Question 2

    Which word contains a Greek root that means "colour"?

    • A. pandemonium
    • B. chromosome
    • C. detox
    • D. orthodox

  3. Question 3

    These words share a Greek root that means "skin". Type it. epidermis, dermatologist, hypodermic

    Answer

  4. Question 4

    What does the Greek root "tox" mean? (as in toxin, detox, toxic)

    • A. rule, chief
    • B. poison
    • C. all
    • D. know

  5. Question 5

    Which word contains a Greek root that means "god"?

    • A. toxin
    • B. sophomore
    • C. panorama
    • D. theocracy

  6. Question 6

    These words share a Greek root that means "movement". Type it. cinema, kinesiology, kinetic

    Answer

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Answer key: Greek roots: arch, crypt, gen, chrom, derm, tox and more

  1. 1. D. belief, opinion

  2. 2. B. chromosome

  3. 3. derm

  4. 4. B. poison

  5. 5. D. theocracy

  6. 6. kine