📖 ReadingGrade 6Lesson 1
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Greek & Latin roots and affixes for academic terms

How to use: Download the PDF to print the worksheet. Then use this page to repeat activities and check answers.

Learning Objectives

  • 1Identify Greek and Latin roots and affixes in multi-syllable academic words
  • 2Match roots to their core meanings to decode unfamiliar vocabulary
  • 3Combine a root with a prefix or suffix to form a complete academic word
  • 4Apply root-and-affix analysis to infer the meaning of complex terms across subjects
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Mini Lesson

Academic English draws heavily on Greek and Latin. A root carries the core meaning of a word, while a prefix placed before it shifts that meaning and a suffix placed after it changes its grammatical role. Recognising these parts lets you decode multi-syllable words you have never seen before — a skill that becomes increasingly powerful in Grade 6 and beyond.

Greek roots — science, sound, and thought

  • graph (write / draw) — autograph, seismograph, choreography, paragraph
  • phon (sound) — phonics, polyphonic, cacophony, microphone
  • bio (life) — biology, biome, antibiotic, symbiosis
  • geo (earth) — geology, geothermal, geopolitics, geography
  • spect (look) — spectator, inspect, retrospect, perspective
  • chron (time) — chronology, synchronise, anachronism
  • log / logy (word / study) — biology, geology, dialogue, prologue

Latin roots — action, law, and communication

  • port (carry) — transport, deport, portable, import
  • dict (say / tell) — predict, contradict, verdict, dictate
  • rupt (break) — interrupt, erupt, disrupt, bankrupt
  • aud (hear) — audience, auditorium, audible, audition
  • scrib / script (write) — describe, transcript, manuscript, prescription
  • vid / vis (see) — video, visible, evidence, supervise
  • mit / miss (send) — transmit, dismiss, omit, admission

Common prefixes and suffixes

  • Prefixes: trans- (across), re- (again), pre- (before), con- (together), mis- (wrongly), in-/im- (not)
  • Suffixes: -tion / -ion (act of), -able / -ible (can be), -ology (study of), -ist (person who), -ify (make)
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Strategy: strip the prefix, strip the suffix, and read the bare root. The root almost always contains the central meaning clue. Then rebuild from root outward.

Worked example

Analyse the word "geothermal" into its parts.

What does geothermal literally mean?

Answer:"Of or relating to earth’s heat" — root geo (earth) + root therm (heat) + suffix -al (relating to).

Now apply the same method to "chronological": chron (time) + log (order/word) + -ical (relating to) = "arranged in time order."

Anatomy of a Word: AUDITORIUMAnatomy of a Word: AUDITORIUMauditoriumroothearconnectorsuffixagentsuffixplacea place for listeners — an audience hallroot + connectors + suffixes = whole-word meaning
Roots Family Wheel: PHONRoots Family WheelPHONsoundphonicsmicrophonepolyphoniccacophonysymphonymegaphoneOne root, many academic words.
Vocabulary
root
The base unit of a word that carries its core meaning across many derivations.e.g. The Latin root "dict" means say or speak: dictate, predict, contradiction.
affix
A morpheme attached to a root — either a prefix or a suffix.e.g. In "unbreakable", "un-" and "-able" are affixes.
prefix
An affix attached to the front of a root that modifies meaning.e.g. "Trans-" in "transparent" means across or through.
suffix
An affix attached to the end of a root, often signalling part of speech.e.g. "-ology" turns a root into the noun for a study, as in biology.
morphology
The study of how words are formed from their meaningful parts.e.g. Morphology helps you decode "misanthropic" by analyzing its parts.
academic register
The formal vocabulary used in textbooks and scholarly writing.e.g. Words like "hypothesis" and "infer" belong to academic register.
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Guided Practice

Read the passage. As you read, notice which academic words the students decode and how they use root meanings. What strategy do they use, and can you apply it yourself?

Mini-book

The Root Detectives

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Cover

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Exercises

Match each Greek or Latin root to its meaning.

Use the root and affix clues to write the complete academic word.

1
A scientist who studies living things — root bio (life) + suffix -logy — works in the field of .
2
A device that records earthquakes — root graph (write) + prefix seismo- — is called a .
3
A handwritten book — root script (write) + prefix manu- (hand) — is called a .
4
When a speaker says the opposite — root dict (say) + prefix contra- — they the other person.
5
The science of the earth’s structure — root geo (earth) + suffix -logy — is called .
6
A volcano that violently breaks open — root rupt (break) + prefix e- — .
7
A signal sent across a network — root mit (send) + prefix trans- + suffix -ion — is called a .
8
A large hall built for listening — root aud (hear) + suffixes -itor + -ium — is called an .

Pick the best answer.

1. In the word "biography," which roots combine, and what does the word literally mean?

2. Which word does NOT contain the Latin root "port" meaning "carry"?

3. You encounter the word "chronological." Using roots, what is the BEST meaning?

4. The suffix "-ology" means "the study of." Which word uses it correctly?

5. Which pair of words shares the SAME root with the SAME meaning?

6. A student says "visible evidence" in a debate. Which statement is TRUE about the roots used?

7. What is the literal meaning of "transmission"?

8. Why is knowing Greek and Latin roots especially powerful for Grade 6 academic reading?

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Assessment

Parent / Teacher Checklist

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