Illustrations by Lance Lekander

One Word, 3 Ways / Root Power!

Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Words

By Della Herden

From the October/November 2024 Issue

Featured Skill: Vocabulary and Grammar,

The Story
Resources

One Word, 3 Ways

Look how this outdoorsy kid uses the word of the issue, stream.

I love picnics by the stream.

Except when it’s hot and drops of sweat stream down my face . . .

. . . and the ants stream onto the blanket and all over my food!

Stream can mean:

a flowing body of water that is much smaller than a river
to produce a continuous flow of liquid
to come to a place in large numbers

Wild Word Challenge!

The word stream appears three times in this issue’s play. Can you find all three instances and determine which meaning is used for each?

Root Power!

Meet Lexie! She time traveled from the ancient world and landed in Storyworks. Lexie loves words—especially ones with Greek and Latin roots. Today she’s using words with the Latin root struct. That means to build. Can you figure out the meaning of each orange word below?

Lexie: I got a new job as a construction worker.

Lexie: On my first day, I ruined a brand-new structure!

Lexie: An instructor is now teaching me how to drive the bulldozer.

Write to Win

What root should Lexie use next? Find three words that contain the same Greek or Latin root of your choice. Then write a sentence for each word (or create a comic that features your words). Entries must be submitted to “Root Power Contest” by a teacher, parent, or legal guardian.* Students whose entries are chosen for a future issue will receive a prize!

^{*Entries must be written by a student in grades 2-8 and submitted by their teacher, parent, or legal guardian, who will be the entrant and must be a legal resident of the U.S. age 18 or older. Visit the Storyworks Contests page for more information.}