Category Archives: English Language Arts

This week’s Text is a series of worksheets related to the the Greek word root pro. I’d originally planned to post these about a month ago, but I became embroiled in a controversy of my own invention over this root, which I had always understood as Latin in origin, as it forms the basis of so many Latin words. The word root dictionary I use for this kind of work, Roger S. Crutchfield’s English Vocabulary Quick Reference: A Comprehensive Dictionary Arranged by Word Roots (Leesburg, VA: Lexadyne Publishing, 2009) lists pro as a Greek root, even though it forms the basis of so many Latin words.

Because I’m not a linguist, but rather a special education teacher in a high school, I struggled with this. In the final analysis, I’ve decided, pro is a Greek root that found its way into Latin–and means essentially the same thing in both languages, which is before, forward, forth, in place of, and in addition to. Crutchfield’s dictionary breaks down some of these words in their Greek and Latin parts. One word on the worksheet below, pro bono, is Latin, but, again, proceeds (proceeds, as Crutchfield breaks it down, is all Greek) from the Greek root pro.

So, that said, here is a word root worksheet on the Greek word root pro for this week’s Text. In addition, to complement the word root worksheet, here are three context clues worksheets on the verb proceed, the noun procedure, and the noun protagonist.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.