Which word goes with the picture? “cat”

Read and Choose a Word · ELPAC Grade 1 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

The student reads three words and chooses the one that matches a picture.

Read image description

A small gray animal sits on a rug. It has pointed ears and long whiskers. It says meow.

The question

Read the three words. Choose the word that goes with the picture.

Which word goes with the picture?

• AcatCorrect answer
• Bcap
• Ccan

Why “cat” is correct

This is the Read and Choose a Word task: the child matches a printed word to a picture. All three choices start with the same two letters and differ only at the end, so the item checks whether the child reads a word all the way through instead of guessing from its first letter. Say the animal's name together first, then have the child sound out each choice to its final letter.

Why the other answers are wrong

• cap — 'Cap' shares its first two letters with the answer, so a child who reads 'ca-' and stops will land here.
• can — 'Can' is another 'ca-' word. Ask the child what sound they hear at the very end of the animal's name.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grade 1, or see the ELPAC practice test for grade 1. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.