STAAR ELA

Calvin wanted to race in his city's 5K race. Having never raced, he was worried that he would not finish. He worked hard and practiced everyday. He even trained with a coach. Calvin not only finished the race, but to his surprise he ended up winning 1st place in his age group! The reader can conclude that Calvin trained with a coach because --

• Calvin would not practice on his own.

• Calvin's parents made him work with a coach.

• Calvin's goal was to win the race.

• Calvin had never raced and wanted the extra help.

Hiccups can be annoying when you can't get rid of them! One day, Zane decided to do something about it. He worked day and night trying to find a cure. After months of hard work, he came up with a recipe lollipop to help treat hiccups. Made of honey and lemon, Zane's sweet and sour lollipops became an instant success. From the red sentence above, a reader can tell that Zane is--

• hardworking

• lazy

• smart

• frustrated

When people visit they train station, they do not just come to ride a train. They also get to meet Samba, train station's manager who happens to be a cat! Samba attracts millions of visitors, which helps the town. When visitors come, they also spend money at restaurants, shops, and hotels. Samba has helped bring in over 12 million dollars! The reader can tell that Samba is welcome to stay at the train station because--

• She attracts passengers.

• She rides on the trains.

• She plays with other cats.

• She gives tours.

Each year, the Pima Air Space Museum hosts the Great Paper Airplane Fly-Off. The plane that flies the farthest wins! The winner's design is used to create a giant paper airplane, in hopes that it will take flight. Creating paper airplanes encourages exploration in science and invention. The reader can conclude that the museum values science because --

• paper airplanes are in museums

• all museums are scientific

• they encourage exploration in science and invention

• they encourage competition

Play Pump may look like your average merry-go-round, but more than likely your local merry-go-round does not supply water to you. Play Pumps are used in some parts of the world where clean water is almost impossible to find. Play Pumps work by taking the energy from the movement of the merry-go-round to pump water from underground into a holding container for communities to use. The reader can conclude that --

• Play Pumps are simple merry-go-rounds.

• Play Pumps are important in some parts of the world.

• Play Pumps are impossible to find.

• Play Pumps are very expensive.

One day, Tawni stumbled upon a baby hippo stranded and alone! As a game warden, he knew how to take care of baby hippos. Soon the hippo was taken in by Tawni and given the name Patrick. Patrick quickly settled in with his new family, playing with the dogs and even living indoors. However, Patrick grew very quickly and soon began breaking furniture! Tawni had to start locking Patrick out of the house, but Patrick was still a member of the family. The reader can conclude this it is unusual for --

• Tawni to play with wild animals.

• hippos to live with humans.

• humans to care about animals.

• Patrick to break furniture.

One day, Tawni stumbled upon a baby hippo stranded and alone! As a game warden, he knew how to feed baby hippos. Soon the hippo was taken in by Tawni and given the name Patrick. Patrick quickly settled in with his new family, playing with the dogs and even living indoors. Which sentence best explains why Tawni was able to provide care for Patrick?

• One day, Tawni stumbled upon a baby hippo stranded and alone.

• As a game warden, Tawni knew how to feed baby hippos.

• Soon the stranded hippo was taken in by Tawni and given the name Patrick.

• Patrick quickly settled in with his new family.

Which sentence best support the idea that potato chips are well-liked today?

• Potato chips are a crunchy and salty snack.

• Potato chips have come a long way from their beginnings are fried potatoes.

• Potato chips began as an accidental success.

• Grocery stores sometimes have a hard time keeping bags of potato chips on their shelves before they sell out.

Earth is a great planet for human life. We have air, water, and food that are necessary for our survival. Some people think that one day we may need to move to another planet like Mars! Mr. Elon Musk is one of those people. He created the company SpaceX which builds spaceships. Mr. Musk's idea is that one day his SpaceX rockets will take humans to Mars. The reader can conclude that Elon Musk is likely to be --

• friendly

• competitive

• innovative (creator)

• worried

The Raiders football team were undefeated when their star quarterback broke his leg.  The coach was very upset because he didn't know who he was going to use in that position!
Which story element is being described in the passage?

• problem
• setting
• theme 
• solution