How much do you know about this school year’s biggest news stories?

Lesson Plans

Back to lesson plans archive

May 18, 2014

News quiz: How much do you know about this school year’s biggest stories? (paper version)

A lot has happened in the world since the end of the last school year. With summer vacation just around the corner, test your students on their knowledge of the past year’s biggest news stories.

• End of year quiz: student handout
• End of year quiz: teacher guide

A lot has happened in the world since the end of the last school year. With summer vacation 

just around the corner, test your knowledge of the past year’s biggest news stories. 

1. Which of the following historic anti-discrimination laws, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson during 

the 1960s, did the Supreme Court declare partly unconstitutional in June 2013? 

a) The Voting Rights Act 

b) The Civil Rights Act 

c) The Immigration and Nationality Act 

d) The Equal Rights Amendment 

2. In March, Russia annexed the diverse Crimean peninsula, which is considered part of which Eastern 

European country? 

a) Latvia 

b) Slovakia 

c) Romania 

d) Ukraine 

3. This year's Olympic Games were hosted by which of the following countries, which is considered a 

historical rival of the United States? 

a) Brazil 

b) Russia 

c) China 

d) England 

4. The culture of bullying in the National Football League became news when Miami Dolphins player 

Jonathan Martin accused which of his teammates of tormenting him? 

a) Richie Incognito 

b) Richard Sherman 

c) Jason Witten 

d) Colin Kaepernick 

  

www.pbs.org/newshour/extra 

5. Little information is available on the fate of Malaysian Airlines flight 370, a passenger plane that 

disappeared while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, but experts believe that it crashed in 

__________. 

a) Central Asia 

b) the Pacific Ocean 

c) the Indian Ocean 

d) China 

6. “Food stamps” is the informal name for the federal assistance program that helps families in need 

purchase food items. What is the formal acronym for this program? 

a) TANF 

b) FDA 

c) WIC 

d) SNAP 

7. Nelson Mandela was a hero in his home country of South Africa for fighting the racist system of 

apartheid. He died in December 2013 and was remembered as a treasured human rights advocate 

around the world. During his struggle for equality his was imprisoned for ______ years. 

a) 6 

b) 12 

c) 22 

d) 27 

8. In August 2013 food workers went on strike to protest low wages and to demand an increase to help 

lift them out of poverty. The current minimum wage is ____ and they want to increase it to ______. 

a) $7.25 | $15.00 

b) $8.00 | $11.00 

c) $6.75 | $10.10 

d) $5.50 | $12.00 

  

www.pbs.org/newshour/extra 

9. With which Middle Eastern country did the U.S. strike a historic nuclear deal in November? 

a) Iraq 

b) Syria 

c) Israel 

d) Iran 

10. In September 2013 which terrorist group attacked a public mall in Kenya killing at least 62 people 

and injuring 175 more? 

a) Al-Qaida 

b) Al-Shabab 

c) Boko Haram 

d) Hamas 

11. In 1977 NASA launched Voyager 1 with the hopes to learn more about the planets in our solar 

system and beyond. In September 2013, scientists reported they had now determined that Voyager left 

our solar system at or around August 25, 2012 and is now in _______________. 

a) the Andromeda Galaxy 

b) interstellar space 

c) intergalactic space 

d) the magnetosphere 

12. In September 2013 which terrorist group attacked a public mall in Kenya killing at least 62 people 

and injuring 175 more? 

a) Al-Qaida 

b) Al-Shabab 

c) Boko Haram 

d) Hamas