TIE | The Los Angeles Times in Education

Click on the correct answer in the quiz below.
Then see if you can find the word in your newspaper -- the print edition, the website or the digital edition and copy the sentence for context. NOTE: High School words are much harder to find!

1. Vacillate

► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.

► An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

► To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive

► A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.

2. Quandary

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

► Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.

► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

3. Lichen

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

► A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

► A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

4. Technique

► The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

► The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

► One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.

► A metric unit of length equal to 1,000 meters (0.62 mile).

5. Mosaic

► The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of deducing.

► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation

► A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.

► Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.

Common Core State Standard
LS.CCS.4/5/6 Grades 3-12: Students are asked to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words through multiple choice vocabulary quizzes. Quizzes are designed to help students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in words, acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words, and gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Students are then asked to find the words within the newspaper and copy the sentence for context to its overall meaning or function in a sentence.

WILDFIRE

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

WILDFIRE
DEFINITION: An unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation.	FOUND IN THE NEWS: It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but a long drought, low humidity and strong winds were fueling them. ►The Key West Citizen, 04/27/2026

WILDFIRE

Words in the News Quiz5 Middle School Words

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words