ELAR STAAR Review #1 (2018) - Racing Team

From "Racing Team"

Read the dictionary entry for the word pass.

Which meaning best matches the way the word passed is used in paragraph 7?

• Meaning 1

• Meaning 2

• Meaning 3

• Meaning 4

Answer explanation

Go back to the sentence, and re-read. Then, think carefully about each definition. Does it make sense with the story?

From "Racing Team"

Which sentence best describes Carter and Max when they first notice the girls?

• They are worried that the girls are building a better car than they are.

• They want to change their plan and build a different sand sculpture.

• They are not pleased that the girls are also building a sports car.

• They decide to help the girls make their car look even better.

Answer explanation

Go back in the story to find exactly where they noticed the girls.

From what you read, ask yourself how where feeling, what did they say, and how did they react?

From "Racing Team"

Read the story chart shown.

Which of the following events completes the chart?

• Carter tells Kate how to make the tires look round.

• Carter reminds Max that the judging begins at two o'clock.

• Carter, Max, Sophie, and Kate hurry to build a racetrack around their cars.

• Carter and Max begin making their sand sculpture by digging up sand and putting it in a pile.

Answer explanation

On questions like these that deal with sequence and the order of how things happened, find which paragraph each of the events happened that are given to you. Number them.

Then, find the answers in the passage and write down the paragraph number for the answers.

This will make it easier for you to select the correct answer.

From "Racing Team"

Why are paragraphs 13 through 22 important to the plot of the story?

• They show that both groups are determined to win the sand-sculpture competition.

• They suggest that the girls may cause trouble when the judging begins.

• They show why the boys should not talk with other people in the contest.

• They suggest that the boys are concerned that the judges are interested in the car the girls are making.

Answer explanation

Remember what plot is!! The plot of a story is made up of a sequence of events—it is what happens in a story.

From "Racing Team"

In paragraph 20, the word moistened means that the sand was --

• wet

• firm

• shiny

• bright

Answer explanation

On questions like these, just put the answer choices in place of the word. Read it out loud and listen to see if it makes sense with what the story is talking about.

From "Racing Team"

In the story, how are the boys and girls alike?

• They planned their idea before the contest begins.

• They have built sand castles in other competitions.

• They have won this contest before.

• They know what they should call their sculpture.

Answer explanation

Do NOT GUESS!

Carefully read answer choice and eliminate the easy ones that are wrong.

Then PROVE your answer.

Which sentence states the main theme of the story?

• It is important to be on time when others are depending on you.

• Winning does not matter as long as you try hard.

• Working with others can be better than working on your own.

• The best ideas come to those who are patient.

Answer explanation

A theme is an important idea that is written throughout a story. It's NOT the plot or the summary, but something a little deeper. A theme links a big idea about our world with the action of a text. It is the lesson or moral learned.

From "Racing Team"

Which sentence from the story contains descriptions that appeal most to the reader's sense of touch?

• This was a the day he had waited for all year -- the New Year's Eve sand-sculpture contest at the beach.

• Then he packed the sand with both hands while Max dumped on more sand and slapped it into a mound.

• Rising out of the sand nearby were castles, dragons, whales, and mermaids.

• A photographer hurried over to take a picture for the newspaper -- two beautiful racing cars and four smiling sculptors.

Answer explanation

Sensory language. In this case, "touch" is what is being asked. What do we "touch" with? Find answers related to "touch".

What is the best summary of the story?

• While two boys build a sand sculpture at a contest on the beach, people walk around to look at their work. When the judge sees what the boys are building, the boys realize that the judge has the wrong idea about their sculpture.

• Two boys are excited about entering a sand-sculpture contest. They find a good place on the beach to build their sculpture. Many people stop to watch them work. Two girls next to them are building a similar sand sculpture.

• Two boys build a sand sculpture for a contest at the beach. They are surprised when two girls next to them are building the same thing. When the contest judge thinks the four are working together, the kids go along with the idea and win the contest.

• When two boys work next to two girls at a sand-sculpture contest on the beach, they learn that htey had the same idea for the contest. No one wants to start over to make something else. The boys try to make their sculpture better than the girls' sculpture, but the girls do the same.

Answer explanation

SUMMARY: Must include main characters, Beginning action, Middle, and Ending. In your answer, find if they have the B.M.E.