Which type of words should students identify when learning about free and bound morphemes?

Which type of words should students identify when learning about free and bound morphemes?

• A. Words like sidewalk, mailman, and rattlesnake
• B. Words that are verbs
• C. Words that rhyme
• D. Words with silent letters

Answer: (A)

When you're teaching about free and bound morphemes, look for words built from pieces that can stand alone as words. Sidewalk, mailman, and rattlesnake are good examples because they’re made of two independent words: side + walk, mail + man, rattle + snake. Each part is a free morpheme, so the whole word shows how free morphemes can combine to form new words. Bound morphemes, by contrast, are affixes that can’t stand alone, which these examples don’t use. The other options describe features like part of speech, rhyme, or spelling, but they don’t illustrate how words are formed from free morphemes.

When you're teaching about free and bound morphemes, look for words built from pieces that can stand alone as words. Sidewalk, mailman, and rattlesnake are good examples because they’re made of two independent words: side + walk, mail + man, rattle + snake. Each part is a free morpheme, so the whole word shows how free morphemes can combine to form new words. Bound morphemes, by contrast, are affixes that can’t stand alone, which these examples don’t use. The other options describe features like part of speech, rhyme, or spelling, but they don’t illustrate how words are formed from free morphemes.