The Newsletter Word Choice
A fifth-grade class is producing a one-page newsletter about a school supply drive. The editor writes this sentence: "Because the team was _____ with its money, it reused last year's folders and markers instead of buying new ones." The word bank shows four choices: frugal, wealthy, careless, generous. During peer review, one student argues for "generous" because the team shared supplies with another class. Another argues for "frugal" because the team saved money. The teacher asks the group to use context clues, not personal opinion. The sentence also includes the phrase "instead of buying new ones," which the teacher says is a clue. The group must also explain why "wealthy" and "careless" do not fit, even though they are real words. Finally, they need to decide whether "thrifty" would be an acceptable substitute for the correct answer, and why.
1. Which word from the bank best completes the sentence? Explain using at least two context clues.
Read the worked answer
frugal is the best choice.
- Clue 1: "reused last year's folders and markers instead of buying new ones" shows careful use of supplies.
- Clue 2: "with its money" tells us the sentence is about how money is managed.
Frugal means careful about spending money or using resources. Generous is about giving, not spending; wealthy is about having money, not saving it; careless would mean not careful, which contradicts the clue about reusing supplies.
2. The student who chose "generous" says, "The team gave supplies to another class, so they are generous." How would you respond using the sentence's context?
Read the worked answer
The sentence is about how the team handled its own money, not about giving supplies away. The blank describes being careful with money. The clue "instead of buying new ones" points to saving, not giving. Even if the team shared supplies, generous does not fit the meaning of the blank. A word must match the sentence, not just a possible real-life detail.
3. Explain why "thrifty" is or is not a synonym for "frugal" in this sentence.
Read the worked answer
Thrifty means using money and resources carefully, so it is a close synonym for frugal. In this sentence, thrifty would keep the same meaning: the team was careful with money and reused supplies. On a multiple-choice test, only one answer is correct, so if both words appeared, another clue or instruction would be needed to choose between them. Here, frugal is the word in the bank that best matches the context.