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.
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. Vacillate
► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
► The main character in a drama or other literary work.
► A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,
2. Plateau
► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.
► An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.
► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace
3. Recede
► To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark
► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.
4. Wretched
► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.
5. Accentuate
► Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold
► The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.
► Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.
► To stress or emphasize; intensify
