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?

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

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?

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

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?

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

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 group of department heads who advise the president
   • the lawmakers in Congress who vote on new bills
   • the decisions the president makes after each meeting

8. Use this

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

9. 5.

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

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

10. Use this

    “Literature guide: In the resolution of the novel, the two rivals finally settle their quarrel, and the family farm is saved.”

11. 6.

    Noah reads this sentence from a literature guide. What does resolution mean here?

    • the turning point of the plot where the tension is at its highest
    • the family farm that the characters work to save
    • the part of a story where the main conflict is settled
    • a firm promise a person makes to change a habit

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
    • in history class, a span of years that is seen as one era
    • the shells of electrons that surround an atom
    • 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 short notes on the article itself while reading it
    • write a note beside each claim that has no data
    • write a summary of the article on a separate page
    • 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 single prediction to be tested in one experiment
    • a hunch or guess that has not been checked yet
    • a well-tested explanation backed by much evidence

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