Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words
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. Protagonist
► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.
► The main character in a drama or other literary work.
► Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.
2. Analogy
► Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd
► Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.
► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal
► To condescend to give or grant
3. Decorum
► To condescend to give or grant
► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.
► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation
► Appropriateness of behavior or conduct
4. Toxin
► The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.
► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.
► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.
5. Vertebrate
► Having a backbone or spinal column.
► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.
► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.
► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.
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.