ELPAC Practice

ELPAC writing prompts and practice for grade 2

Writing prompts with a rubric based on the published scoring guides, plus sample responses and optional personalized feedback. Not scored here — writing is scored by a person on the real test.

Write your response in the editor. You can see your word count, use the optional timer, save a draft in this browser, ask for personalized feedback, and compare your writing with the rubric and sample response. It is not scored here — on the real test a trained scorer rates writing.

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Prompt 1 of 6 — Write a Story Together with Scaffolding — about 8 minutes on the real test

Look at the picture with your child and talk about it together before either of you writes anything.

The Kitten by the Bench

Outside Oakhaven Primary School in the rain, a girl in a yellow raincoat crouches on a bench reaching toward a wet gray kitten on the sidewalk while a boy holds his navy jacket over her like a roof; a woman with a blue umbrella walks toward them
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The picture shows the sidewalk outside a brick school on a rainy fall day. The sign on the school says Oakhaven Primary School.

Two second graders, Priya and Elias, are next to a wooden bench. A small gray kitten with wet fur sits on the wet sidewalk at the front edge of the bench, looking up.

Priya, in a yellow raincoat and red boots, is crouching on the bench with her backpack on. She is reaching one hand down toward the kitten.

Elias, in a green raincoat and boots, is holding his navy blue jacket up over Priya and the bench, like a roof to keep off the rain.

Behind them, children with umbrellas walk toward the school door, and a woman with a blue umbrella is walking down the sidewalk toward them.

Do this one together. On the real test an examiner builds the story with the student and writes it down, so take that role. Look at the picture together, ask your child what happens next, and write their words on paper as they say them — your child is not expected to do the writing. Ask one question at a time, then wait, and keep your own ideas for the story to yourself.

Look at the picture. Tell a story about what happens next. Who helps the kitten? What do they do? How does your story end?

Ready to write
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0 words0 characters0 paragraphsSuggested time: 8 min
View the practice scoring rubric
LevelWhat it looks like
4 — Well developed
  • Tells a whole story rather than describing the picture: something happens, and the story finishes somewhere.
  • Keeps the same characters from start to end and says what they do and what they say.
  • Adds ideas that are not in the picture — a name for the kitten, a line of dialogue, where it ends up.
  • Gives you full sentences you can write down more or less as they arrive, joined with words such as then, so and because.
3 — Moderately developed
  • There is a beginning and an end, but the middle is thin and you have to ask what happened next more than once.
  • Mostly retells what is already in the picture, with one or two new ideas of their own added on.
  • Short complete sentences, many of them starting the same way.
  • Moves forward after a question from you, then carries on without further help.
2 — Somewhat developed
  • Names things in the picture instead of telling a story, or gives two events with nothing joining them.
  • Loses track of who is who partway through, so you cannot tell who did what.
  • Phrases rather than sentences, and you find yourself supplying words as you write.
  • Stops after each question and waits rather than continuing on their own.
1 — Minimally developed
  • A few words, or a one-word answer to each question you ask and nothing more.
  • Nothing that follows on from the picture.
  • Not enough language for you to write down a story at all.
Show a strong sample response

Priya and Elias saw a little cat by the bench. It was raining on it and it was shaking because it was cold.

Priya said come here kitty, we are not going to hurt you. But the cat was too scared and it did not come out. So Elias put his jacket over the bench like a roof, and then the rain stopped hitting the cat. The cat smelled his shoe and then it came out.

Then the lady with the umbrella came and she said hey, that is my neighbor cat, it ran away this morning. So they all walked to the neighbor house and Elias carried the cat inside his jacket. The neighbor was so happy. She said the cat name is Pepper and she gave them each a cookie.

What to look for

  • Write down what your child actually says, including the parts that are not quite right. The point is to see their language, and tidying it as you go hides the very thing you are trying to look at.
  • Ask questions rather than supplying ideas. "What happened next?" and "What did she say?" move a story along; "Maybe they took it home" hands your child your story instead of theirs.
  • Wait longer than feels comfortable after each question. Seven-year-olds often need five or six seconds to start, and filling that silence usually ends the story early.
  • Read the finished story back aloud and ask whether anything is missing. Children this age often add their best detail on the second pass.
  • Nothing here produces a score or a level. On the real test a trained examiner makes that judgment — use the rubric to notice what your child can already do and pick one thing to work on.
Prompt 1 of 6

Read next

  • 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.