Word Roots

Grade 4 · Word study · Page 1 of 3

Name Date

DIRECTIONS: Read each root and its words. Add one more word of your own to each row.

Root	From	It means	Words built on it
port	Latin	carry	transport, portable, import, export
dict	Latin	say, speak	dictionary, predict, contradict, dictate
spect	Latin	look	inspect, spectator, spectacles, respect
struct	Latin	build	construct, destruction, instructions, structure
rupt	Latin	break	interrupt, erupt, rupture, disruption
tract	Latin	pull, drag	tractor, attract, subtract, extract
tele	Greek	far off	telephone, television, telescope, teleport
graph	Greek	write, draw	autograph, photograph, paragraph, graphics
scope	Greek	look at, watch	microscope, periscope, kaleidoscope
aud	Latin	hear	audience, audio, audible, auditorium

Word Roots — continued

Grade 4 · Word study · Page 2 of 3

Part B — Work it out.

Use the roots to work out what each word means.

Grade 4 · Word study · Page 3 of 3

Part C — Build your own.

Invent a word from a root. Say what it means.

My invented word	Root I used	What it means

Part D — Think about it.

A telescope and a microscope are both for looking. Using the roots, explain the difference between what each one is for.
Why do you think interrupt means what it does? Break the word into its parts first.
Find a word of your own with one of these roots in it — from a book, a sign, or a label. Write it down and say what the root tells you.