Morpheme Segmentation
Segment multimorphemic words: un-help-ful-ness. Uses Elkonin boxes for morphemes.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Use boxes, one per morpheme, the way Elkonin boxes work for phonemes. The physical separation is what makes an abstract analysis concrete, and a student who can fill four boxes for unhelpfulness has done something they can repeat on a word nobody taught them. Start with three-part words before four-part ones, and always identify the base first — the middle is the anchor and the affixes hang off it.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintStress the part of the sentence that changes, or point to the word ending.Log as cued
- Sentence starterSay the first half of the sentence and let the student finish it.Log as cued
- ModelSay the correct form in the whole sentence; the student repeats it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a sentence starter every time, and do fewer cards.
Ask for a new sentence of the student's own with the same form, with no card to lean on.
Matching IEP goal
Given sentence cards, Student will produce the target grammatical form in sentences in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve words shown as their morphemes: un, help, ful, ness; re, play, ing; dis, agree, ment; un, lock, ed; mis, understand, ing; care, less, ness; un, friend, ly; dis, respect, ful; in, complete, ly. Segmenting a word into meaning parts is the morphological equivalent of segmenting it into sounds, and it is what makes long words readable.
What to listen for
Watch whether the base is found first. A student who strips un from unhelpfulness and stalls has half the strategy; one who finds help in the middle can work outward in both directions. Notice misunderstanding, which has a base that is itself two morphemes historically — under and stand — and is worth not opening unless the student raises it.
Carrying it home
Long words in reading are the material. Asking what the base word is inside a long one takes five seconds and makes the word shorter, which is the whole benefit.
What's in this activity
- un | help | ful | ness
- re | play | ing
- dis | agree | ment
- un | lock | ed
- mis | understand | ing
- pre | view | ing
- care | less | ness
- help | ful | ly
- un | friend | ly
- re | build | ing
- dis | respect | ful
- in | complete | ly
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Fourth through eighth, as explicit morphology work.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve words play free.
- How is this different from syllable splitting?
- Syllables split by sound; morphemes split by meaning. Unhelpfulness has four syllables and four morphemes here, but they do not always line up — and the meaning parts are the ones that help with comprehension.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.