Unit Plan 9 (Grade 6 ELA): Morphology & Vocabulary Power
Grade 6 vocabulary unit: students decode words using Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes, apply context clues to infer meaning, and confirm with dictionaries or glossaries. They build word-solving strategies and use new academic vocabulary accurately in writing and speech.
Focus: Greek/Latin roots & affixes; context clues; reference materials
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Language—Vocabulary & Word Study)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Words are built, not just memorized. This week students learn to break unfamiliar words into roots and affixes, use context clues to infer meanings, and confirm/clarify with print/digital references. They’ll build a durable toolkit that turns unknown words into solvable puzzles, then apply new vocabulary accurately in speaking and writing.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Use context clues (definition, contrast, example, cause/effect, comparison) to infer word meanings (L.6.4a).
- Decode unfamiliar words by analyzing Greek/Latin roots and prefixes/suffixes (L.6.4b).
- Consult reference materials (dictionary, glossary, thesaurus) to determine pronunciation, part of speech, and precise meaning (L.6.4c).
- Verify or adjust a preliminary meaning by checking context and references (L.6.4d).
- Acquire and use grade-appropriate academic and domain-specific words precisely in speech and writing (L.6.6).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 6
- Language 6.4a–d (L.6.4a–d): Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies, including:
- a. Use context as a clue to meaning.
- b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues.
- c. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find pronunciation or determine/clarify precise meaning.
- d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase.
- Language 6.6 (L.6.6): Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can infer a word’s meaning from context and explain the clue type I used.
- I can segment a word into root + affixes and use those parts to predict meaning.
- I can use a dictionary/glossary/thesaurus to confirm meaning, pronunciation, and part of speech.
- I can verify or adjust my first guess with evidence.
- I can correctly use new academic/domain words in my own sentences or short writing.