English · Grade 8

Academic Language, Morphology and Precision

Learners build the precise academic language that high-school reading and writing demand. They use Latin roots such as ced/cess, duc/duct, pend, fer, voc and jur to unlock words, interpret verbal irony and puns, distinguish fine shades of connotation, and choose precise reporting verbs and appropriate levels of certainty when writing about texts and evidence.

4 lessons
About 95 minutes
Academic language check: 9 questions
Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order and sort into groups

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What learners will discover

Use Greek and Latin affixes and roots (such as ced/cess, duc/duct, pend, fer, voc/vok, jur, cogn) as clues to the meanings of academic words.
Interpret figures of speech such as verbal irony and puns in context.
Distinguish among the connotations of words with similar denotations (such as stubborn, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).
Write about texts and evidence with precise reporting verbs and an appropriate level of certainty in an academic register.

Lessons

Latin roots for academic words 5 steps3 practiceabout 24 min
Verbal irony and puns 5 steps3 practiceabout 23 min
Fine shades of connotation 5 steps3 practiceabout 23 min
Precise academic writing about evidence 5 steps3 practiceabout 25 min
Academic language check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

Memory LanternsFlip glowing lanterns to find pairs that belong together.
Editor's DeskGrab the red pen: find every mistake, then fix it.
Reading DetectiveRead the case file, crack the question, and prove it with evidence.

Guide for grown-ups

How to improve reading comprehension: strategies that work for kidsA guide for parents and teachers · 7 min read