Many English words with Greek origins are actually made up of a basic root and either prefixes or suffixes that affect the meaning. According to an article by Elaine K. McEwan on the Reading Rockets website, the root word usually does not stand alone: "anthropo" meaning man, "bio" meaning life and "hetero" meaning different are some examples. To help students understand the meaning of these words, give direct instruction in the definitions of the different parts of a word. Then show them how affixing prefixes and suffixes to the Greek root alters the meaning.
Since English words with Greek origins grow from a root, it makes sense to use a tree analogy. Kylene Beers, literacy coach and author of the book “When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do,” advises using this technique. She suggests first showing students how to start with a Greek base, such as "auto," and giving graphic examples of how adding affixes makes the roots grow. For example, add the Greek word for writing, “graph,” and the word has one meaning; add the Latin word for moving, “mobile,” and it means something entirely different. Yet, “autograph” and “automobile” stem from the same Greek root: “auto,” or self.
A partner activity to the word tree is the word hunt. Once you've taught the Greek root, have students hunt for more examples of that root. The Reading Rockets website suggests you advise students to look only for the target roots, setting a specific amount of time. Students add the new words to their list or word tree. A great resource for this activity is a science text, since students will discover many words with the Greek root "logy," or study of, and even "micro," or small.
Students are more likely to retain their knowledge when they are having fun during the learning process. Therefore, use activities and games; Scholastic, the school book seller, created a game aimed specifically at teaching Greek words called "It's Greek to Me." The game, based on the Olympics, has students competing against each other in learning and applying their knowledge of Greek roots and affixes. For example, they learn that "logo" means logic; they then identify the meaning of "logistic" based on their knowledge of the root.