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. Quota
► Having a backbone or spinal column.
► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal
► A proportional part or share.
► Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.
2. Jaunty
► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief
► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.
► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.
► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder
3. Vacillate
► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
► Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles
► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.
4. Guerrilla
► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.
► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation
5. Quandary
► Appropriateness of behavior or conduct
► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit
► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.
► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.
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.