Grade 8 · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 11

Word Study

Roots, affixes and connotation

What your child practises

Using prefixes, suffixes and Greek and Latin roots to work out unfamiliar words, reading context clues, and noticing how word choice changes feeling.

Nova Scotia Curriculum learning outcome: Speaking and writing strategies · word choice and word study

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

Question 1
The Latin root “aqua” means “water.” What does “aquarium” most likely mean?
- A kind of flower
- A tall building
- A place to keep water animals
- A type of desert
Question 2
The Greek root “graph” means “write.” What does “autograph” most likely mean?
- A picture of a car
- A person's own signature
- A machine for writing
- A long story
Question 3
“The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.” This is…
- an idiom
- a prefix
- a synonym
- a root
Question 4
Prefix or suffix? Sort each word part.
Sort into: ⏮️ Prefix · ⏭️ Suffix
- ✅-able (can be)
- 🔁re- (again)
- ↔️dis- (opposite of)
- ⏪pre- (before)
- 📦-ment (result of)
- 🧺-ful (full of)
- 💛-ness (state of)
- 🚫un- (not)
Question 5
The suffix “-ful” in “thankful” means…
- without
- again
- before
- full of
Question 6
The root “spect” means “look.” Which word means “to look closely at something”?
- prospect
- suspect
- inspect
- respect