The smallest meaningful unit of a language is referred to as a morpheme. For example, the word ‘cups’ can be divided into two units that each bear meaning: (1) cup – a free morpheme meaning a vessel for holding liquid, and (2) final - a bound morpheme indicating plurality, or more than one. Free morphemes can occur on their own whereas bound morphemes must be affixed to a base or root word. Morphological awareness refers to the ability to consciously consider and manipulate the morphemes within words, that is, the explicit understanding of the relation between base/root words and related words with affixes. Morphological awareness has been found to predict vocabulary, reading comprehension, and spelling performance even after differences in related skills like phonological (speech sound) awareness has been taken into account. This talk reviews the concept and research related to morphological awareness, as well as assessment and intervention options targeting school age children
