Greek and Latin Roots Game

Greek and Latin roots are the building blocks of thousands of English words, and the Greek and Latin Roots Game turns this big reading skill into a bright retro arcade game. Fourth graders read a clue on the neon arcade screen, like “a tool to see far away” or “able to be carried,” and tap the friendly critter holding the word that matches. Playing the Greek and Latin roots game again and again helps children notice roots like tele, scope, graph, port and rupt inside long words and use them to figure out what new words mean.

In this Greek and Latin root words game, Lexy hosts a sunny arcade meadow full of burrow holes. Gophers, bunnies, hedgehogs and chipmunks pop up holding wooden signs with words like telescope, microscope, portable, interrupt, biology and thermometer. Lexy reads every clue out loud, and kids think about the word parts to find the one word that fits before the critter ducks back down. After each right answer, Lexy explains the roots, like “Tele means far, and scope means see,” so children learn the meaning right after they use it. A wrong tap just gets a little shrug and a gentle “try again,” and the right word keeps popping up. Play it in your browser on a phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer, or download the offline version for a PC or Mac with no internet needed.

What’s Included

• Online game that plays in any browser on desktop, tablet and phone
• Offline download for Windows PC and Mac (just unzip and double-click)
• 4 rounds of clues: Greek roots, Latin roots, science words, then a bonus round with every root mixed together
• Voice directions that read every clue and explain each word’s roots, arcade sound effects and a star score at the end

Here are three reasons this Greek and Latin roots game helps kids learn. First, every clue gives a meaning, not a word, and the decoys share roots with the answer, so children have to break each word into its parts instead of guessing. Second, Lexy teaches the roots right after every correct tap, which connects each root to a real word kids just used. Third, the popping critters, the golden bonus clue, the round-end critter party and the stars keep kids excited to play again and get even more vocabulary practice.

Teachers and parents can carry the learning off the screen. Make a root word wall with tele, graph, port, spect and bio, and add a new word under each root every day. Go on a root hunt in a science book or a newspaper and see who can find the most words with the same root. At home, try a “root of the day” at dinner: pick one root, like port, and take turns naming words that have it.

Related Resources

• Root Words Worksheet
• Root Word Treasure Hunt Using Latin Suffixes Activity
• Word Meanings with Affixes Worksheet
• Prefixes Pre Dis Mis Game video on the Have Fun Teaching YouTube channel