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. Laconic
► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.
► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.
► Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline
2. Heritage
► Something that is passed down from preceding generations; a tradition.
► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.
3. Silhouette
► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.
► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates
4. Xylem
► An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.
► Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.
► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
5. Recede
► One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother.
► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.
► To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark
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.