ELPAC speaking prompts and practice for grade 1
Speaking prompts with a rubric based on the published scoring guides, plus sample responses and optional personalized feedback. Not scored here — speaking is scored by a person on the real test.
Record your answer and play it back—no typing needed. Where supported, turn on automatic transcription to get personalized feedback on what you said. The feedback reads only the transcript, so it cannot judge pronunciation, and it is not an official ELPAC score — on the real test, speaking is scored against a rubric.
Prompt 1 of 4 — Talk About a Scene — about 3 minutes on the real test
Sit with your child and look at the picture together. The examiner points at parts of the picture while asking questions, so take that role and point to the matching details as you go.
At the Market
Read image description
The picture shows a busy outdoor farmers market on a sunny morning.
Under a blue-and-white striped tent, a friendly seller in a green apron puts a red apple into a brown paper bag.
A woman in a blue jacket holds the paper bag while holding hands with a little boy in a yellow hoodie.
On the left, a girl in a pink jacket and backpack looks at crates of red tomatoes with her mother.
In the background, other shoppers visit colorful stalls selling bread and flowers.
Look at the picture together with your child. Then ask the four questions below one at a time, waiting after each one. Everything here is spoken; nothing is written down.
Who is putting the apple in the bag? What is the boy in the yellow hoodie doing? What are the girl in pink and her mother looking at? Now tell me everything that is happening in this picture.
Answer the prompt aloud. After recording, listen back or try another take.
View the practice scoring rubric
| Level | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| 4 — Well developed |
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| 3 — Moderately developed |
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| 2 — Somewhat developed |
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| 1 — Minimally developed |
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Show a strong sample response
Who is putting the apple in the bag? — "The man. The market man. He has a green apron and puts the apple in the bag for the lady."
What is the boy in the yellow hoodie doing? — "He is holding his mom's hand and looking up at her with a smile."
What are the girl in pink and her mother looking at? — "They looking at the red tomatoes in the boxes on the table."
Now tell me everything that is happening in this picture. — "It's a sunny day at the outdoor market. A man is selling fruit under a blue striped tent and putting apples in a bag for a lady. Her little boy has a yellow sweater on and holds her hand. Over on the side, a girl in a pink jacket has a backpack and looks at tomatoes with her mom. In the back, there are more tents with flowers and bread, and people are walking around shopping."
Every short question gets the right person and action directly from the picture. The long answer moves across the scene—the apple stand, the mother and son, the girl looking at tomatoes, and the market tents in the background—showing clear observation and vocabulary suited for Grade 1.
What to look for
- Ask the questions one at a time and let the silence sit. Four or five seconds is normal thinking time at six, and filling it with a second question usually costs you the answer.
- On the last question, prompt once with "what else is happening?" if your child stops, and note that you had to. The examiner may prompt on the real test too.
- Listen for verbs. A man and apples is naming; the man is selling apples is describing, and that step is what this task is after.
- A wrong answer usually means the child did not look closely at that part of the picture. Point to the area and ask the question again.
- Nothing here is scored. Ask yourself instead whether a stranger could have drawn the picture from what your child said.
Read next
- ELPAC Speaking Test: Task Types & Rubrics: The Speaking domain asks a student to answer out loud, one to one with a test examiner who scores each answer on the spot. Here is what each task type involves, how answers are scored, and how to practice.
- How to Prepare for the ELPAC: Effective ELPAC preparation is about steady daily language development rather than frantic test cramming. Here is a practical, domain-by-domain guide for parents and teachers.
- ELPAC Scores Explained: A Summative ELPAC report gives an overall performance level from 1 to 4, plus separate results for oral language and written language. Here is what each part means, and what it does not mean.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.