English is not stupid
English often gets called confusing or irregular — but that’s only true if students are only taught to focus on sounds without meaning. English spelling actually makes sense when you understand how it reflects both sound (phonics) and meaning (morphology). These two systems work together. Without both, reading and spelling become a guessing game.
We teach phonics first. It’s essential. But it’s not enough. Once your students can decode, they need to see how words are built from smaller, meaningful parts — prefixes, suffixes, and bases.
- Includes a comprehensive training course
- Morphology software
- Ideal for morphology catch-up
- Integrated into the Literacy Support Kit
- Secondary and subject-specific vocabulary
Morphology gives you:
- Another way to crack the code — word parts are often easier to spot than syllables
- A way to teach spelling that’s grounded in meaning, not memory
- A method for growing vocabulary that actually sticks
- Tools for comprehension and writing that make sense
Our Morphology resources let you teach this clearly and explicitly, alongside phonics. You’re not adding something extra — you’re giving students the structure they need to keep moving.
Whether you’re working with students just moving beyond basic decoding, older learners who’ve plateaued with spelling and writing or secondary students needing to improve their subject specific vocabulary and comprehension, the Word cracking resources belong in your toolkit.
Why Morphology Matters for Every Student
Morphology isn’t just for catch-up programs. It’s for everyone learning to read and write English.
Phonics helps students decode. Morphology helps them understand what words mean, how they’re built, and why they’re spelled the way they are. Without that, students often hit a wall — they can sound out construction and instruction, but don’t know what the words mean or how they connect.
The phonics plateau
Even with good structured phonics teaching, students eventually meet words that don’t follow simple sound rules. Morphology helps them make sense of those words by showing how parts like struct, photo, or tele carry meaning, and stay consistent even when the sounds shift.
With morphology, students begin to see that:
- Spelling isn’t random — it reflects meaning and structure
- Word families help them learn many words from one
- Vocabulary grows through connection, not memorisation
- Understanding deepens when they can take words apart and put them back together
Tying spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension together
Morphology gives students a way to:
- Spell accurately by understanding how words are built
- Spot familiar parts in new words
- Understand what they read without relying on a dictionary or context clues
Even strong readers can struggle with writing and spelling. Morphology helps fill that gap.
Who Is This For?
Our Morphology resources are for anyone supporting students who’ve learned the basics of decoding and need a way forward — not a new program, just the next part of a structured approach.
If you’re a classroom teacher (Years 2–10)
Your students can decode, but now they’re hitting bigger words, and spelling is getting messy. You want to give them tools, not another program to follow. Morphology fits right into what you already do.
If you work with Tier 2 or Tier 3 students
Some of your students are stuck — they’ve learned phonics, but can’t use it in writing or can’t spell words they can read. Morphology gives them something to hold onto. Our tools are built for practice, patterning, and success — even if memory or speed is an issue.
See our summary of Morphology for Struggling Readers.
If you’re leading literacy in your school
You’re building a consistent approach, and you know phonics isn’t the end of the story. Morphology helps support:
• Vocabulary across subjects
• Better spelling without gimmicks
• Improved outcomes in writing, NAPLAN, and PAT
If you’re a tutor, SLP, or specialist
You see students who can read but still don’t get how words work. Morphology gives you flexible tools to explain structure, not just practise decoding. You can use them across age and skill levels with minimal prep.
How Morphology Fits Within a Structured Literacy Sequence
Morphology isn’t an extra. It’s part of the progression.
You start with phonics — decoding, blending, and segmenting. Then, alongside that, you start showing students how meaning fits in:
- Add suffixes like -ed, -s, and -ing
- Explore compound words
- Look at base words and how they change
- Build new words with prefixes and roots
It all builds on what students already know, helping them spell, understand, and write more confidently.
Morphology supports your students to:
- Decode more complex words by recognising familiar parts
- Make sense of unfamiliar vocabulary
- Use a wider range of words in their writing
It links the basics to higher-level skills without creating a gap between them.
In short:
Phonics helps your students read the word.
Morphology helps them understand, spell, and use it.
Morphology resources
The Word Cracking morphology resources are designed for teachers, tutors and parents to follow step by step using the Word Cracking software, lesson plans and physical resources.
By subscribing, you gain access to everything you need to get started teaching literacy for less than the cost of a single tutoring session!:
- 25 morphology lesson plans that cover the most common suffixes, prefixes and major spelling rules
- Templates, games and reference material
- Diagnostic dictations
- Word Cracking software (with all the lesson presets built in)
- A complete morphology training course to get you up to speed
PLUS
- A complete structured phonics program (including morphology), resources and student worksheets!
Morphology Software
The Word Cracking morphology software is an interactive tool to demonstrate, teach and explore English morphology, spelling rules, grammar and vocabulary.
With all the Morphology Kit teaching points built in and a multitude of features that make teaching morphology easy and engaging, this is the ultimate morphology teaching tool!
