School words and subject words

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   “History assignment: Delineate the three stages of the canal's construction, stating where each stage began and where it ended.” Ari reads this assignment. What does delineate ask the student to do?

   • describe the finished canal precisely as it looks today
   • name the three stages of the canal in a short list
   • judge which of the three stages of building the canal mattered most
   • describe each stage precisely, with clear edges between them

2. Read this first

   Use this

   “Chemistry lab: Stir the salt into the warm water until no crystals remain, and then label the clear solution before it cools.”

3. 2.

   Solution has different meanings in different classes. What does it mean in this chemistry lab step Esme is reading?

   • the warm water poured into the beaker before any salt is added
   • a mixture in which one substance is dissolved in another
   • a value that makes an equation true in math class
   • an answer that settles a problem or a puzzle

4. Use this

   “Art history task: Juxtapose the two paintings of the same harbor, one made in 1850 and one in 1950, and note what changed.”

5. 3.

   Jun reads this task. What does juxtapose ask the student to do?

   • explain who made each painting and why it was made
   • place both paintings side by side so their differences stand out
   • describe the 1850 painting of the harbor in careful detail
   • place two paintings of two different harbors side by side to compare them

6. Use this

   “Civics textbook: The president meets with the cabinet, the heads of the major executive departments, to hear advice before making decisions.”

7. 4.

   Kira reads this civics sentence. What does cabinet mean here?

   • a cupboard with shelves and doors for storing dishes and papers
   • the decisions the president makes after each meeting
   • the lawmakers in Congress who vote on new bills
   • the group of department heads who advise the president

8. Use this

   “Algebra lesson: The expression 3x + 7 has no equals sign, so it cannot be solved like an equation, but it can be evaluated for any value of x.”

9. 5.

   Expression means different things in different classes. What does it mean in the algebra sentence Luz is reading?

   • a look on a person's face that shows a feeling
   • in English class, a common saying, such as an idiom or a proverb
   • numbers, letters and signs joined with no equals sign
   • the number found when x is replaced by a value

10. Use this

    “English assignment: Contextualize the 1920s poem by explaining what was happening in the poet's city during the years it was written.”

11. 6.

    What does contextualize ask Milo to do in this English assignment?

    • explain what is happening in your own city today
    • give the year in which the poem was written
    • explain the time and place that surround the poem
    • summarize what the poem says, one stanza at a time

12. Use this

    “Chemistry class: Sodium and chlorine sit in the same period of the periodic table, the third row, so their atoms have three shells of electrons.”

13. 7.

    Period has different meanings in different classes. What does it mean in this chemistry sentence Pia is reading?

    • a horizontal row of elements in the periodic table
    • the shells of electrons that surround an atom
    • in history class, a span of years that is seen as one era
    • the punctuation mark that ends a sentence

14. Use this

    “Science reading task: Annotate the article on wetlands, writing a short note in the margin beside each claim the author supports with data.”

15. 8.

    Ren reads this task. What does annotate ask the student to do?

    • write a summary of the article on a separate page
    • write a note beside each claim that has no data
    • write short notes on the article itself while reading it
    • read the whole article carefully from the first line to the last

16. Use this

    “Biology textbook: The cell theory, supported by more than a century of microscope studies, states that all living things are made of cells.”

17. 9.

    What does theory mean in this biology sentence Tala is reading?

    • the microscopes used to study living things
    • a well-tested explanation backed by much evidence
    • a single prediction to be tested in one experiment
    • a hunch or guess that has not been checked yet

18. Use this

    “Algebra 2 note: In the function f(x) = x², the argument is x, the input value; when the argument is 4, the function gives an output of 16.”

19. 10.

    Argument means different things in different classes. What does it mean in the algebra note Zee is reading?

    • the output of 16 that the function gives back
    • a heated disagreement between two people
    • in English class, a claim backed by reasons and evidence
    • the input value that a function acts on