Racing Time-STAAR Released Practice

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

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.

Read the story chart below. Events from the Story: 1. Carter wakes up and gets ready. 2. Carter meets his friend Max at the beach. 3. [Blank] 4. Max tells the girls that he and Carter started building their sculpture first. 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.

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.

In paragraph 20, the word moistened means that the sand was made —

• wet

• firm

• shiny

• bright

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

• They planned their idea before the contest began.

• They have built sand castles in other competitions.

• They have won this contest before.

• They know what they should call their sculpture.

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.

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

• This was 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.

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 kids 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 they 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.