Illustration of astronauts with their spaceship exploring a new planet
Illustrations by James Yamasaki

The Journal of Captain Hela

Explore the Latin root ped and the Greek root pod in a graphic-novel-style story.

From the February 2023 Issue

Greek and Latin roots form the basis of many words in the English language. Learning these roots empowers you to unlock the meanings of many words. This story includes words with the Latin root ped and the Greek root pod, both of which mean foot.

Illustrations by James Yamasaki

The Journal of Captain Hela

“The purpose of our expedition to planet Crayshar was simple: study its wildlife.”

“As we pedaled through lush forests, we saw many strange and wonderful creatures.”

“Bipedal roaches!”

“But we alo faced many impedements- rugged terrain, violent weather.”

“And our tripod was crushed by a giant centipede. It was an adventure none of  us will soon forget.”

Root Challenge

Directions:

  1. Write down the meaning of each word in red. Use context clues and, if needed, a dictionary.
  2. Think of another word that contains the root ped or pod
  3. Write a sentence using that  word and draw a picture that shows the word’s meaning. 

This article was originally published in the February 2023 issue.

Activities (2)
Answer Key (1)
Activities (2)
Answer Key (1)
Text-to-Speech