Using Legos and Puzzle Pieces to Understand the Meanings of Latin and Greek Roots

We are learning about Greek and Latin Root words and how the English language is derived from these ancient roots. As readers and writers, this will help us figure out the meaning of unknown words in our reading and writing.

To introduce this concept, I used Legos in baggies (one per student) to help them discover how the root or "base" word changes in meaning when you add a prefix, a suffix, or both. The same goes for Legos, or puzzle pieces. For example, below you see a single brick, or a pile of Legos, but when put together, the meaning changes - in this case, into a hamburger or an elephant.



This is a great activity for tactile and visual learners. They can see and feel how one Lego brick changes just by adding to it. It works the same way when you add groups of letters to a root word. The meaning changes. You have created a new word. (Or you have broken down the meaning of an unknown word.)

Root/base words are also like puzzle pieces. As you add to them, the picture changes. The single puzzle piece is no longer just a jagged-edged piece of cardboard. It has transformed into something with meaning.


I used this YouTube video to explain my purpose for playing with Legos in 7th grade, lol! It is a fantastic instructional tool that describes the process of how our language was derived from Greek and Latin roots in a really cool way that everyone can enjoy! :)

Here are two lists of some common Greek and Latin Root Words we will be exploring in class...