Science FennsK to 5

Test Review · Grades 3–5 Reading & ELA

Reading Checkpoint

Two short passages, one story and one informational, and ten questions on the skills that show up on every reading test: main idea, key details, sequence, inference, vocabulary in context, and theme. Check your answers and read why each one is right.

  • Grades 3–5
  • 20–30 min
  • 10 questions
  • Instant feedback
  • Printable
Answer all 10, then check

Name: ______________________________    Date: ______________

Passage 1: The Bridge Over Flint Creek

Literary text

Maya had crossed the old footbridge over Flint Creek a hundred times, but she had never crossed it alone. Today her big brother Eli was home with a cold, and the library books were due.

The bridge was only a few boards wide. Below it, the creek rushed brown and loud from three days of rain. Maya put one hand on the rope rail and looked down. Her stomach flipped like a pancake.

"You don't have to look at the water," she told herself. "You only have to look at the boards."

She took one step. The board creaked, the way it always did. She took another. Halfway across, a gust of wind pushed the rope rail against her hand, and she froze. For a moment she thought about turning back.

Then she remembered what Eli said every single time: "The bridge has held up cows, Maya. It can hold up you." She almost laughed. She fixed her eyes on the far bank, where the library's blue roof showed through the trees, and she walked the rest of the way without stopping.

On the other side, Maya turned around and looked at the bridge. It was the same bridge it had always been. She was the one who was different.

Key details

1. Why does Maya have to cross the bridge alone today?

The first paragraph says Eli is home with a cold and the books are due.

Figurative language

2. What does the sentence "Her stomach flipped like a pancake" tell the reader?

A flipping stomach is a way of describing a nervous feeling, not a real pancake.

Sequence

3. What happens right after the wind pushes the rope rail?

The text says "she froze. For a moment she thought about turning back."

Inference

4. Why does remembering Eli's words about the cows help Maya?

If the bridge held cows, it can hold a girl. The thought makes her feel safe, and she almost laughs.

Theme

5. What is the best statement of the story's message?

The last lines say the bridge was the same. Maya was the one who was different.

Passage 2: Why Bluebonnets Wait

Informational text

Every spring, the roadsides of Texas turn blue. The bluebonnet, the state flower, blooms in March and April. But the plant that makes those flowers actually began growing months earlier, in the fall.

Bluebonnet seeds have a hard, waxy coat. This coat keeps water out, so most seeds do not sprout right away. Only a few seeds in every hundred sprout in the first year. The rest wait in the soil, sometimes for several years, until their coats wear down.

This waiting might seem like a problem. Actually, it is a kind of insurance. If every seed sprouted in the same fall and a hard freeze or a dry year killed the young plants, there would be no bluebonnets the next spring. Because some seeds always wait, a bad year cannot wipe out the whole patch.

Once a seed does sprout in the fall, it grows a small, flat circle of leaves called a rosette. The rosette hugs the ground all winter. Growing low keeps the plant out of the coldest wind and lets it soak up the weak winter sun. When the days get longer in March, the plant finally sends up its tall blue flower stalk.

So the next time you see a field of bluebonnets, remember: those flowers are the patient ones. Some of them waited years for their turn.

Main idea

6. What is the main idea of this passage?

Every paragraph comes back to waiting. Hard seed coats, seeds that wait years, rosettes that wait all winter.

Key details

7. According to the passage, why do most bluebonnet seeds not sprout the first year?

Paragraph two explains the waxy coat keeps water out, so most seeds do not sprout right away.

Vocabulary in context

8. In paragraph 3, the author calls the waiting "a kind of insurance." What does the author mean?

Insurance protects against loss. Because some seeds always wait, one freeze or drought cannot kill every plant.

Sequence

9. Which happens FIRST after a seed sprouts in the fall?

Paragraph four: once a seed sprouts, it grows a rosette that hugs the ground all winter; the stalk comes in March.

Cause and effect

10. Why does growing low to the ground help the rosette in winter?

The passage gives two reasons: out of the coldest wind, and soaking up the weak winter sun.

For the teacher

What it checks

Each question is tagged with its skill. After checking, the score box lists which skills were missed so a student (or a small group) knows what to practice next. Passages are original and written at roughly a grade 3–4 reading level with grade 5 question depth.

Texas TEKS, Grades 3–5 RLA: comprehension skills (6E–H: inferences, evidence, synthesis), response skills (7C), literary elements (8A–D: theme, plot, setting), informational text (9D: central idea, text structure), and vocabulary in context (3B).

Ways to use it

  • Whole class: project it, read the passage aloud, and vote on each answer before checking.
  • Station or homework: print it. The print copy drops the answers and feedback and adds a name line.
  • Small group: have students find the sentence in the passage that proves each answer before they click.
  • Talk: "Which question was hardest? What in the passage tricked you?"

← Back to the Lessons