Illustration of frustrated runner at a race
Art by Lance Lekander

One Word, 3 Ways / Root Power!

Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Words

photo of della herden
By Della Herden
From the September 2025 Issue

Story Navigation

One Word, 3 Ways 

Look how this sporty kid uses the word of the issue, grit

Grit can mean: 

  1. very small pieces of sand or stone  
  2. to rub your teeth together, especially when making an effort
  3. determination and courage 

Lance Lekander

Grr! My shoe has grit in it.

I’ll just grit my teeth and keep going.

I have too much grit to give up now!

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 spect. That means to look or to see

Can you figure out the meanings of the orange words below?

Lance Lekander

Lexie: I suspect this will be a great day for a fall walk in the woods.

Lexie: My favorite aspect of autumn? The colorful leaves.

Lexie: And this tree is spectacular!

This article was originally published in the September 2025 issue.

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