LITERACY LESSON 15How to play the word game
BABL(c)
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Word analysis and Latin and Greek Vocabulary
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How to play
1. Set out the cards, suffix-side up in alphabetical order in 6 columns,
for tiles headed with -a- , -e, -i, - o, -u, and one column tiles beginning for other lettersAlternatively, with single-sided cards, all prefix cards are upside down,
and all suffix cards are right-side up.This makes not such a good game, because it does not have the trick in how suffixes get used up.
2. Player 1 picks a piece, turns it over to see the pre, and tries to think of a word beginning with the prefix. Dictionaries can be used.
Player 1 puts down his prefix card, then the rest of the word written on a card, except for any of the suffix cards the player can use.
(Getting help and passing your turn is OK.)
EXAMPLE. A player may pick up a card and turn it over, and find IM.
The player may then choose Suffix IBLE
and write on a middle card POSS,
and your word is IM -POSS-IBLE.
Score 3 for putting down 3 parts of a word.3. Player 2 picks up a piece.
turns it over to see the prefix
and tries to think of a word beginning with the prefix,
if possible using parts already in words on the board -For EXAMPLE, Player 2 may keep his piece,
but write on a card PROBA
and add it on top of POSSI,
to make IM -PROBA-BLE.
Score 2 + 1 + 2 = 5. (Scores of 2 for every word part re-used)(On Player 2's next round, Player 2 will pick up another prefix and so have 2 to choose from.)
OR Player 2 may just make a new word with the piece picked up,
EXAMPLE. DISAPPOINTMENT
(write APPOINT on a card, and pick up suffix -MENT).
4. Next player does the same thing.
EXAMPLES.
DIS -COURAGE-MENT , with COURAGE piled on top of APPOINT ,
or say RE- added on top of DIS - to make RE -APPOINT-MENT,
or to get an even better score, add RE as a prefix and-ING as a suffix
to make RE -APPOINT-ING .
STOP when all pieces are used up or a set time is completed. SCORE 1 for each piece making a new word.
SCORE 2 for each piece added on top of an old word.
Cards for BABL game
1. Prefix Side Of 60 Cards for Babl
(Meaning of the prefix is
printed under each one.
Some prefixes have more than one meaning.)
AB- away AN- against around before against chief self good two 100 around with with with away from,
down thru apart dual badly equal out of beyond, more above, too
much under, too little IN- in between inside inside badly big, more little, less single not not new against against almost through liking, love
of after before first first for again apart partly under under over on under together across beyond UN- not one by way of
not, without
ANTI-
CENT-
MINI-
PHIL-
PRO-
SUB-
SUP-
SUR-
1. Suffix Side Of 60 Cards for Babl
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-ABLE |
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-AN |
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-ARY |
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-ECT |
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-ERY |
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-IC |
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-INE |
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-ILE |
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- IVE |
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- NCE |
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- OUR |
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- TRY |
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Here is an easy list of 42 Latin and Greek roots of words that children are likely to know
This list has first a word that children know, then the root, then other words using that root .
1. animal - , anim, life, mind - animation
2. audio – aud, to hear – audience
3. auto – self - automatic
4. cent - cent, one hundred - century
5. circle – circum, around - circus
6. recognize – cog, to know - incognito
7. finish - fin, to end - final
8. graphic – graph-gram - write, draw, describe, record – graph, diagram
9. judge - jur, jus, jud - law, right - justice
10. labor - labor, lab – work – laboratory
11. elevator - lev - to make light, raise, lift - lever
12. submarine - mar, sea - marine
13. middle - med, medi, middle - medium
14. medicine - medic - physician, to heal - medical
15. remember - memor – mindful - memory
16. meter – metre, metr, measure - metric system
17. migrant - migr - to move, travel - migrate
18. automobile - mov, mob, mot - to move - mobile
19. pedal - ped, pes, foot – pedestrian
20. depend- pend, to hang - append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum
21. telephone - phon - sound, voice (Greek) – video-phone
22. photograph – photo, light (Greek) - photography
23. port – port, to carry – porter , transport
24. principal - prim, prin, first - primary
25. private - priv – separate - privilege
26. regular - reg, rig, rect, reign, government, rule, right, straight - rectangle
27. science - sci, to know - conscience
28. telescope - to see (Greek) - microscope
29. describe - scrib, script, to write - inscribe
30. sense - sent, sens - to feel - sensation
31. sole - sol, soli , alone, lonely - solitary
32. spectacles - spec, spect, spic - to look at, behold - spectacle
33. technical - techn - art, skill – technology(Greek)
34. attend - tend, tens, to give heed, stretch toward - pretend
35. term – term, boundary, limit- terminal
36. attract – tract, to pull, draw - tractor
37. contribute – trib, to allot, give – distribute
38. vacuum – vac, empty - vacate
39. via -via, way, road - viaduct
40. video - vis, vid to see, to look - vision
41. revive - viv, vit -life - vital
42. vocal - voc, vok, voice, call - invoke
When you notice that children are using or reading other words with Latin or Greek roots, you can add them to the list, together with other words from the same root.
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Email 3. Some examples of Latin roots, with basic meaning, and examples of English words. Can students think of more examples?
-dict- to say - contradict, dictate, diction, edict, predict
-duc- to lead, bring, take - deduce, produce, reduce
-gress- to walk - digress, progress, transgress
-ject- to throw - eject, inject, interject, project, reject
-pel- to drive - compel, dispel, impel, repel, propel
-pend- to hang - append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum
-port- to carry - comport, deport, export, import, report, support
-scrib- script- to write, describe, description, prescribe, prescription, subscribe, subscription, transcribe, transcription, scribe
-tract- to pull, drag, draw - attract, contract, detract, extract, protract, retract, traction, tractor
-vert- to turn - convert, divert, invert, revert, avert
These examples show how valuable it is to know roots like these, to help work out lots and lots of new vocabulary in reading.
And how to have a fascinating time with a dictionary. Dictionaries can also check whether you are right!SIMPLIFIED BABL for children not yet able to play the full game.
When children’s comprehension vocabulary is not much bigger than that, the BABL game can be simplified.The prefix OR suffix cards are set out by the children, right side up, in ABC order. They can say the word-part as they put it in place, as a memory aid. Then in turn a child in a group of up to four picks up any one and says any word that has that prefix or suffix.
When a child cannot see any prefix that they can make up into a word, the group helps.
When none of them can make a word from a prefix that is left, or a word is queried, then a ‘dictionary-minder’ looks up a dictionary. The dictionary can be used any time by anyone though. If someone gives a word the others do not know, they can ask for an example of how it is used.
Time limit – 15 minutes (or as seems right for the group, to remain interested). Make sure the children know the time limit and can see a clock or watch.Count how many cards are left at the end of the game. The fewer, the better the score.
A class can have a ladder, to record which group finds words for the most cards.So the game can be repeated occasionally, to notice progress.
NOTE: The Game of BABL(c) is copyright,
but anyone can download it or copy it for non-commercial play
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