The Morphological Affixes - Prefixes and Suffixes (MAPS) program is designed for students in 2nd and 3rd grade who struggle with morphology acquisition due to a language delay or disorder. This program focuses on teaching morphological concepts in a fun, interactive way using themed stories and word manipulation activities.
Base words and affixes are first introduced in the context of a story. Different nuances of the target words are presented throughout the story to help students build a general understanding of how the meaning can be applied to new contexts (McKeown, M. G., 2019). Base word meanings and affix meanings are taught individually before being combined (Kieffer, M. J., & Lesaux, N. K, 2007). Receptive and expressive activities have been designed to provide multiple exposure opportunities. Instructional activities include defining words, drawing, using sentences in context, and breaking words apart to gain a better understanding of the morphemes (Jack, A., 2015).
Evidence in Action
Children with language delays or disorders benefit from direct instruction of morphosyntactic conventions, which supports the production and comprehension demands within their classrooms (Arndt, K.B., & Schuele, C.M. 2013). Explicit instruction with respect to the parts of morphology (e.g., base words, prefixes, and suffixes) is integral to morphosyntax intervention as a whole.
Evidence | Expression in Program |
Educators need to utilize interactive read-aloud of narrative and informational text that include vocabulary terms focusing on prefixes, suffixes, roots, and bases (Jack, A. 2015). | Target-loaded stories provide the context for teaching base words and affixes in each section. |
Teach the underlying morphological knowledge needed in two ways - both explicitly and in context (Kieffer, M. J., & Lesaux, N. K. 2007). | Base words and affixes are presented in the context of a story, explicitly taught individually, and then explicitly taught in combination. |
Present different nuances of a word in order to help students build a general understanding of the meaning that can be applied to new contexts (McKeown, M. G. 2019). | Target words and affixes are taught separately and then combined to show how the combination affects the meaning. |
Evidence-based Program Use |
Begin each lesson with the story to provide context for the base words and affixes. |
Leverage the skill instruction to explicitly teach base word and affix meanings. |
Teach the meanings of the affixes separately before prompting students to combine them with the base words. |
The principles in the evidence used to create this Program can be used across a variety of therapy sessions. Using short narratives to teach morphology helps provide context for students. Similarly, explicitly teaching the meaning of base words and affixes separately provides students with a general understanding of the words that they can apply to broader contexts.
Quick Reference Sheet
Recommended āTips and Tricksā
When/How do I use the probes?
When:
Probes are available to be used at any time. However, the entry probe is recommended to be used at the start of the program, while the exit probe is recommended to be used at the end of the program. Each probe receptively tests for correct identification of words containing morphemes by having students match a word to a presented picture.
How:
Explain to the students what is expected from them during the probe: āWe are going to choose the correct word that matches the picture. Weāll try our best to pick a word for each picture we see.ā
Give nonspecific feedback or prompting if necessary. Do not provide hints as to whether the student is right or wrong. This is to be used for benchmarking to see studentsā independent abilities.
What is the structure of the MAPS Program?
The MAPS Program is broken up into sets. Each set provides various forms of practice to target base words, prefixes, and suffixes. Each set uses the below format.
MAPS Set Structure:
Activity | What students are doing |
Story | The students are exposed to specific morphemes and base words in the context of a short story. |
Base Words | The student will identify the correct base word. |
Does it have a prefix? | The student will identify the word with a targeted prefix. |
Prefixes | The student will find the sentence that correctly uses a word with the targeted prefix. |
Does it have a suffix? | The student will identify the word with a targeted suffix. |
Suffixes | The student will find the sentence that correctly uses a word with the targeted suffix. |
Break it Apart | The student will break apart words by meaning (e.g. prefix meaning, base word meaning, suffix meaning). |
Find it | The student will find the word with targeted morpheme(s) that matches the picture. |
Name it | The student will say the word with targeted morpheme(s) that matches the picture. |
What do I do for each activity?
Step 1: Skill Instruction
Introduce the activity by saying what you will be working on (e.g. prefixes, suffixes, base words, words with morphemes, etc.).
Skill instruction can be repeated and revisited as frequently as the student requires.
Modify, model, and prompt as much as necessary to support the student.
Step 2: Exercises
Exercises can be directly presented on the educatorās device or assigned to the student to be completed on their device.
Emphasize and use the most effective prompts for each student and model as much as necessary during the activity.
Data is collected only when the activity is assigned to the student.