Morphology is a powerful tool for teaching older students both decoding longer words and understanding new vocabulary words. We use the suffix -ment to change the meaning of a word. Adding the suffix -ment to a base word changes a verb into a noun. For example, enjoy becomes enjoyment.
We simply add -ment to the end of the base word. There are two exceptions I have found: judgment and argument. These spellings are based on the history of the word and do not follow a pattern.
It is helpful for students to know the parts of speech as they work on morphology. If your students need to work on parts of speech, I highly recommend this writing program. It teaches writing complete sentences based on parts of speech. If you need to, you can even use these two programs at the same time.
Teaching the Suffix -MENT
To teach your students about the suffix -ment, display the presentation below. You can access the presentation from this website for free. You can also purchase the slideshow for use at school.
This suffix does not change the spelling of base words, so you will want to focus on the meanings of the words.
- You display a base word from the presentation.
- Students write the word with the -ment suffix in their writing notebooks or on a whiteboard.
- You display the words with the -ment suffix from the presentation (the next slide).
- Students check their spelling.
- Students say or write a sentence using the base word. Then, say or write a different sentence using the word with the suffix.
This lesson is designed to last three days. You also get 25 mixed review practice slides to use later in the year.
The Presentation on the Suffix -MENT
Morphology: MENT by Cate O’DonnellA video example of the presentation is coming soon!
Check out this list of words with the prefix. You can use this list to build your own activities for your classroom. You can also get a printable .pdf.
More Morphology Practice
Do you love this lesson? You can access all of the morphology lessons for FREE on this website! You can also purchase the presentations!
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