Root Words and Derived Words
There is abundant material throughout the book illustrating the changes in root words when derivatives are formed. This does not mean, however, that there is nothing for the teacher to do. The teacher must keep constantly in mind that it is not necessarily true that because the child can spell “health,” he can spell “healthy.” Below is given a list of twenty-three words and one or more derivatives which were given to approximately 1,000 children in the sixth grade. It was known beforehand that the root word had been taught either during the year or in the fifth grade. The number following each word indicates the percentage of accuracy with which each word was spelled. It will be noted that in each case the root word was spelled with from 5% to 40% higher accuracy than the derivatives.