Rocks and Riches
Eight words, dug up from the ground and polished until they shine.
Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.
Wonderful Words · Today with the Mayor
Rocks and Riches
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Nelson's word
mineral
noun
Mineral. A noun. I file it under solid, natural materials that form in the ground, all on their own, without any help from us. Quartz is a mineral, salt is a mineral, and the iron inside a mountain is a mineral. They are not alive, and they were never plants or animals; the earth simply makes them, over a very long time. When a book tells you a cave sparkled with minerals, picture the ground itself grown into stone and crystal. State it precisely: a mineral is a solid the earth builds from the inside out.
The geologist labeled each mineral she pulled from the canyon wall.
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MeaningWord Detective
Nelson's word
texture
noun
Texture. A noun, and a useful one to keep on file. It names the way a surface feels or looks: rough or smooth, bumpy or slick, gritty like sand or soft like a petal. Run your hand across a brick wall and then across a window, and you have felt two textures. Even your eyes can read a texture; you can see that a rock is jagged before you touch it. When a writer describes the texture of a thing, they hand the reader something to feel. File it near feel and surface, and reach for it whenever a smooth word will not do.
The rough texture of the granite scraped her fingertips.
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MeaningWord Detective
Vinny's word
detect
verb
Detect! To catch what is hidden, to spot the clue no one else even noticed! When the rangers detect a faint trail of gold dust, they see what was there all along, waiting for a sharp eye. That is the verb, and it is mine, and it belongs to heroes and detectives alike. A machine can detect smoke before you smell it; a good scout can detect a footprint in the dust. To detect is to notice the thing that was trying to stay hidden, and to notice it first. Keep your eyes open, and the whole world hands you its secrets.
The rangers detect a faint trail of gold dust along the riverbank.
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MeaningWord Detective
Vinny's word
collect
verb
Collect! To gather, to round up, to bring the scattered pieces into one place where they belong! When the students collect smooth stones from the creek, they pick up one, then another, then another, until a whole handful sits in the tray. That is the verb, and it is mine. You collect stamps, you collect leaves in autumn, you collect your friends before a big game. Anything worth having is worth gathering with purpose. To collect is to say these belong together, and I am the one who brought them.
The students collect smooth stones from the creek for their science trays.
Ways to know it
MeaningTwo Ways to Say It
Jake's word
radiant
adjective
Radiant. Oh, this one glows, and it is mine. As an adjective, radiant describes a thing that shines brightly, that gives off its own light: a radiant crystal, a radiant sunrise, a radiant smile that lights up a room. Its Frown is dim, the thing with hardly any light at all. Could we be more specific than saying a gem was pretty? We could say it was radiant, and let the reader feel the glow coming off it. Same picture, far more light. Magnifique.
The radiant crystal lit the whole cave with a warm, golden glow.
Ways to know it
MeaningSmile or Frown
Jake's word
towering
adjective
Towering. An adjective, and mine, describing a thing that rises very high, up and up above everything around it: a towering cliff, a towering pine, a towering wave that blots out the sky. Its Frown is low, the thing that stays close to the ground. A writer uses towering when tall is simply not tall enough, when the height itself is the point. Could we be more specific than saying a cliff was big? We could call it towering, and make the reader tip their head back to see the top.
A towering cliff of red stone rose above the tiny camp.
Ways to know it
MeaningSmile or Frown
Benny's word
curiously
adverb
Curiously. An adverb, and it is mine to coach. It tells you how something is done, and it means done in a way that shows you want to find out more. When she peered curiously into the crack in the rock, she leaned in because she had to know what was inside. That is the whole feeling: eyes wide, questions ready. Here is how you make a sentence sharper with it. Do not just tell me she looked; tell me she looked curiously, and now I know exactly what was in her eyes. Add the adverb, and the whole picture leans forward with her.
She peered curiously into the dark crack in the rock.
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MeaningWord Detective
Benny's word
obviously
adverb
Obviously. An adverb, and mine to coach. It tells you how a thing shows itself, and it means in a way that is easy to see or understand, plain to anyone looking. When the vein of gold ran obviously across the split rock, no one had to squint or guess; it was right there. Here is the coaching. If a thing is clear, do not make the reader wonder whether it was clear. Say it happened obviously, and you have told them at once that nobody could miss it. One adverb, and the doubt is gone.
The vein of gold ran obviously across the split rock.
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MeaningWord Detective