Morphological Knowledge: Opportunities for Collaboration Through Multitiered System of Supports

Abstract

Purpose The study of morphological knowledge and its role in literacy development for early elementary students is growing. The aim of this tutorial is to illustrate the role a school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) has as a collaborative partner in multitiered system of supports (MTSS) in elementary for morphological knowledge. Method This tutorial presents the role of morphology in the English writing system and the documented benefit of morphological interventions to support students' oral and written language development. Next, the role of morphology in literacy development as it appears in curricular standards is highlighted. Lastly, strategies are provided for how SLPs can be part of a collaborative educational team to increase morphological knowledge in early elementary school within an MTSS framework. Conclusion Given school-based SLPs' language and literacy expertise, we are well suited for engaging in collaborative partnerships in the school setting to increase academic outcomes. The information presented in this tutorial provides a guide to establish collaborative partnerships within educational teams to support morphological knowledge development through all MTSS tiers. Additionally, the need for further evidence to support the role of morphological knowledge in literacy development is presented.

Forum: Morphological Awareness as a Key Factor in Language-Literacy Success for Academic Achievement

“…Several articles in this forum reviewed the literature exploring interprofessional partnerships between SLPs and educators to support reading development. Meaux et al (2020) explore school-based collaborations with the use of MA intervention in this forum by examining grade-level morphological expectations at three critical points for literacy development in elementary school (i.e., kindergarten, second grade, fourth grade). To promote collaborative partnerships with educational team members, the main foci of this article are to provide SLPs with suggested intervention strategies to implement through multitiered systems of support models: whole group classroom-based collaborations (Tier 1), small group classroom-based collaborations (Tier 2), and progress monitoring (Tier 3).…”

“…As Meaux et al (2020) conclude their synthesis of MA intervention strategies in fourth grade, Brimo and Henbest (2020) more narrowly focused on MA skills necessary at this grade level. Specifically, their article provides SLPs with explanations for morphology concepts (i.e., grammatical morphemes, derivational morphemes) that SLPs should know in order to identify, elicit, and remediate to improve students' MA and morphological knowledge.…”

Supporting Content and Disciplinary Literacy Success for Adolescents With LLD: A Blended and Contextualized Morphological Awareness Strategy Approach

“…A focus on the morphological meaning components within words provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on how these morphological units provide clues and support to other linked language components such as (a) phonology or word pronunciation, (b) orthographic spelling, and (c) semantic meaning. Variations of this type of language-focused literacy approach are found to significantly improve the literacy skills for students at risk for and diagnosed with developmental language disorders, dyslexia, and spelling deficits in school-age children and adolescents (e.g., Berninger et al, 2013;Collins et al, 2020;Kilpatrick, 2015;Kirk & Gillon, 2009;Masterson & Apel, 2010;Meaux et al,, 2020;Morris et al, 2012;Vadasy et al, 2006;Wolter & Dilworth, 2013;Wolter & Green, 2013). Unlike typical phonics and phonological awareness lessons that may be geared to young students' motivation and developmental levels, integrating a morphological awareness focus into adolescent intervention allows for more age-appropriate and motivating activities that may still support the development of foundational phonology and phonics skills.…”

Motivating Adolescents to Participate in Literacy Intervention: A Case Example From Telepractice

“…In addition, Dwayne added morphologically complex words derived from Latin and Greek roots to his digital journal. Each entry was organized around a specific word root and included at least three words derived from that root (for detailed procedures, see Collins & Wolter, 2019;Meaux et al, 2020;Wolter & Collins, 2017) and a comic strip to serve as a visual mnemonic (see Figure 3).…”