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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 "crat / cracy" mean? (as in bureaucracy, aristocrat, autocrat) (fear / human / rule, power / many) → rule, powerPrompt: What do the example words have in common?
  2. Which word contains a Greek root that means "fear"? (claustrophobia / polygon / empathy / monologue) → claustrophobiaPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "fear"?
  3. These words share a Greek root that means "star". Type it. astronomy, asterisk, astronaut → astrPrompt: 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 "gen" mean? (as in genre, genetic, generation) (colour / poison / birth, origin, kind / hidden) → birth, origin, kindPrompt: What do the example words have in common?
  2. Which word contains a Greek root that means "birth, origin, kind"? (theology / lithium / orthodox / genesis) → genesisPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "birth, origin, kind"?

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. These words share a Greek root that means "movement". Type it. cinema, kinetic, kinesiology → kinePrompt: Look for the letters that appear in every word.
  2. Which word contains a Greek root that means "wisdom"? (genetic / toxic / cryptic / philosophy) → philosophyPrompt: Split each word into parts. Which part could mean "wisdom"?

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

eurekami

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

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

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

    • A. agnostic
    • B. lithium
    • C. hypodermic
    • D. genetic

  2. Question 2

    These words share a Greek root that means "god". Type it. theology, theocracy, atheist

    Answer

  3. Question 3

    What does the Greek root "soph" mean? (as in sophisticated, philosophy, sophomore)

    • A. stone
    • B. rule, chief
    • C. wisdom
    • D. hidden

  4. Question 4

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

    • A. chromosome
    • B. neon
    • C. encrypt
    • D. agnostic

  5. Question 5

    These words share a Greek root that means "know". Type it. prognosis, diagnosis, agnostic

    Answer

  6. Question 6

    What does the Greek root "derm" mean? (as in hypodermic, dermatologist, epidermis)

    • A. wisdom
    • B. skin
    • C. movement
    • D. birth, origin, kind

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

  1. 1. C. hypodermic

  2. 2. theo

  3. 3. C. wisdom

  4. 4. C. encrypt

  5. 5. gnos

  6. 6. B. skin