Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

PARLIAMENTARIAN

DEFINITION:
A consultant who advises the presiding officer and other officers, committees, and members on matters of parliamentary procedure.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
Mia Cooper, a parliamentarian for the district, brought her daughter to district meetings and state-level education forums as the girl grew up.
►The Los Angeles Times, 03/09/2026

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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. Impertinent

► Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.

► Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

2. Salmonella

► The main character in a drama or other literary work.

► Any of several rod-shaped bacteria, of the genus Salmonella, that cause food poisoning and other diseases.

► A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

3. Xylem

► The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

► The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.

► A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy

4. Chronology

► A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy

► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.

► The arrangement of events in time

► A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

5. Mutation

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

► A proportional part or share.

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

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

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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.