Discover how spelling works in only five minutes a week.

One Step Now Education December 5, 2025 advent It is the beginning of December, and for those who celebrate, the start of your advent calendar. Like many Christmas traditions, these little calendars began in Germany, with their tiny doors marking the countdown of days until Christmas. Behind each door, you may find a little gift of chocolate or a Bible verse. But what about the word advent itself? What gifts does it have in store? How is it related to Christmas or calendars? Is it related to...

One Step Now Education November 28, 2025 condiment I was reading a website on the history of ketchup. And then that linked me to the history of mustard. Before I knew it, I had spent some time learning the history of various condiments. Perhaps I'll be ready if it's ever a category on Jeopardy. Or maybe for Thanksgiving dinner in America this week. Regardless, the word condiment itself had me wondering. Is it <-ent> or <-ment>? If it's the latter, then would <di> be the base? As odd as that...

One Step Now Education November 21, 2025 collagen With the proliferation of health supplement commercials and the incorporation of it into cooking, the word collagen has been popping up on my radar more and more. Many words from science are often of more recent coinage, named after we "discover" their benefits or properties. I'm wondering how old this word actually is. Is it Modern, or Scientific, Latin? Could it be an old word we have repurposed? As we dig into this investigation, you'll...

One Step Now Education November 14, 2025 placebo If a group puts on a placebo conference, did it even happen? This joke makes me smile, and it makes my brain itch a bit. Placebo is such an interesting-looking word. It might be worth an investigation. I'm even wondering if it's related to placid. From this dad joke we will review the basics of bases and affixes. We'll explore the concept of borrowing and examine loanwords. Finally we'll examine that idea that etymology governs grapheme choice....

One Step Now Education November 7, 2025 sovereignty The book, Original Sins, by Eve Ewing is about the development of American schools to advance white intellectual superiority. In this study, she uses the phrase “affront to sovereignty.“ Although I was familiar with the possible base of the word, it was the other elements in the word I found intriguing. Maybe we will also get around to the old "<i> before <e> trope." In this investigation you'll discover how a derivational suffix transforms...

One Step Now Education October 31, 2025 impermanence Another phrase stuck out to me from my reading- "galaxy of impermanence." I'm well aware of this word's meaning and the author's intent in using the phrase. However, sometimes, I get curious about a word's base. This word also brings up another structural element I see here and there that I'm curious about. In this investigation, you'll see how meaning and structure are intertwined. We'll look at the paired derivational suffixes <-ent> and...