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ELA 09.10.24 - Skill: Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots

Last updated about 1 year ago
13 questions
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Directions:
  • Read the passage below. Then answer questions about errors in the passage.

My name is Jacqueline. I am 1) a clerk at the Dave’s Grocery Store. Sometimes I work at a cash register. When 2) I no working there I work 3) in the service counter. The grocery store has a 4) bank a flower shop, and a pharmacy. 5) There are an ATM 6) between the entrance. The store is on Main Street. 7) All most everybody in town shops 8) to Dave’s.
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**CER Response Rubric** Claim (3 pt)
  • The Claim answers the question.(1pt)
  • The Claim uses important words from the question (including the subject). (1pt)
  • The Claim is a complete sentence (with a capital letter at the beginning and a period at the end). (1pt)
Part 1/3
Identification and Application:
To use common Greek or Latin roots or affixes as clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word:
  • Break an unfamiliar word into its parts: root or base word and its affixes (prefixes and suffixes).
  • Identify the meaning of each word part. If necessary, consult print or digital reference materials such as dictionaries or other specialized reference sources. However, it is best to memorize the meaning of common roots and affixes.
  • In addition, understand that common roots or bases form word families or related words that share the same roots or bases and therefore share similar meanings.
  • Think about how the meaning of the root or base and the affixes work together to create a possible definition and a part of speech for the word. Context clues within a sentence or paragraph may help here as well.
  • Then use a dictionary to verify the meaning of the word.
Model: In comparison to the over 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, the more than one million words in the English language may seem small. Nonetheless, astronauts and readers alike may encounter unfamiliar territory in the line of duty. Fortunately, for readers, learning the meaning of common Greek and Latin affixes and roots will help them determine the meaning of many unfamiliar words. In this excerpt from paragraph 2 of “Apollo 13: Mission Highlights, ”the author uses a word that may be unfamiliar to some readers: “inspection.” To begin, readers should divide the word into its parts and then define each word part: in/spec/tion. A quick check in the dictionary reveals that the Latin root -spec- means “to see.” Notice that the suffix –tion, meaning “the act of, ”changes the verb “inspect” to a noun. The prefix in- means “into.” “Inspection” means “the act of seeing into or looking at something.” In this case, the crew is going to look at the parts of the lunar module (the LM) to make sure that everything is functioning properly.
  • “This is the crew of Apollo 13 wishing everybody there a nice evening, and we’re just about ready to close out our inspection of Aquarius (the LM) and get back for a pleasant evening in the Odyssey (the CM). Good night.”
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Question:
  • How do the parts of the word "inspection" work together to give the word its definition?

Part 2/3
In paragraphs 7 and 10, the author’s word choice draws comparisons between sea and space travel. The following chart will help readers break the words “submarine” and “navigation” into their word parts:

Root or Affix | Origin | Meaning
  • sub- (prefix) | Latin | “under” or “below”
  • -mar- (root) | Latin | “sea”
  • -ine (suffix) | Latin | “of”; “relating to ”; “made of”; “like”
  • -nav- (root) | Latin | “ship”
  • -agere- (root) | Latin | “to lead”

Consider paragraph 7:
  • The first thing the crew did, even before discovering the oxygen leak, was to try to close the hatch between the CM and the LM. They reacted spontaneously, like submarine crews, closing the hatches to limit the amount of flooding.
Now read paragraph 10:
  • Ground controllers in Houston faced a formidable task. Completely new procedures had to be written and tested in the simulator before being passed to the crew. The navigation problem had to be solved; essentially how, when, and in what altitude to burn the LM descent engine to provide a quick return home.
Here, the words emphasize similarities between sailing a ship on the ocean and flying in space. A dictionary confirms that the word “submarine,” which is made up of the prefix sub- and the root –mar-, means “below the sea.” The suffix -ine means “of or relating to” so that the word “submarine” means “relating to below the sea.” The word “navigation,” made up of the roots –nav- and –agere- and used“ here as an adjective, and the suffix -tion, means “the act of leading a ship.” Readers should consider the crossover of these words by thinking about the ways in which space and its vehicles are like the sea and its ships.
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Question:
  • How does understanding the meaning of words "submarine" and "navigation" help the reader better understand the text?

Part 3/3
In paragraphs 13 and 14, the author introduces some scientific or technical language that may be unfamiliar to readers. The following chart will help readers break the words “dehydrated” and “dioxide” into their word parts:

Root or Affix | Origin | Meaning
  • de- (prefix) | Latin | “without”
  • -hydr- or -hydro- (root) | Greek | “water”

  • The crew conserved water. They cut down to six ounces each per day, a fifth of normal intake …The crew became dehydrated throughout the flight and set a record that stood up throughout Apollo …
The word “dehydrated” is built from the Greek root (or combining form) –hydr- or -hydro-, meaning “water.” The Latin prefix de- means “without.” The crew becomes dehydrated when they do not have enough water to drink. The dictionary confirms that “dehydrated” means “had removed water from” or “without water,” a substance essential for life. The loss of water from body cells threatens the survival of the crew. By becoming familiar with common Greek and Latin affixes and roots, readers empower themselves to decipher English words, including scientific or technical language that may be unfamiliar. For example, when a reader recalls that the Greek root (or combining form) -hydr- or -hydro- means “water,” the reader is able to understand not only the word “dehydrated” but other words in the same word family, such as “hydroelectric,” meaning “producing electricity by water power.”
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Question:
  • How does the Model suggest that readers can understand the meaning of unfamiliar scientific and technical terms?

Read these passages from paragraphs 15 and 17 of “Apollo 13:Mission Highlights” to determine the  meaning of an unfamiliar word, based on your knowledge of Greek roots. Then answer the follow-up questions. One of the big questions was, “How to get back safely to Earth.” The LM navigation system wasn’t designed to help us in this situation. Before the explosion, at 30 hours and 40 minutes, Apollo 13 had made the normal midcourse correction, which would take it out of a free-return-to-Earth trajectory and put it on a lunar landing course. Now the task was to get back on a free-return course. … The Command Module was cold and clammy at the start of power up. The walls, ceiling, floor, wire harnesses, and panels were all covered with droplets of water. …The chances of short circuits caused apprehension, but thanks to the safeguards built into the command module … no arcing took place. The droplets furnished one sensation as we decelerated in the atmosphere: it rained inside the CM.

Root | Origin | Meaning
1. -atmos- (root) | Greek | “vapor”
2. -sphaira- (root) | Greek | “relating to the air or gases surrounding Earth”
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Part A

Based on its Greek roots, what is the definition of the word “atmosphere” as the author uses it in the text?

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Part B

Given what you now know about Greek roots, what is the meaning of the scientific term “hydrosphere”?