Why did Mom ask Ava to play outside?
Read a Literary Passage · ELPAC Grade 1 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
A short story or scene, with questions about characters, events and what words mean in context.
Read the story. Then answer the questions.
The Loud Drum
Ava got a small drum for her birthday. She played it in the kitchen. Bang, bang, bang! Her baby brother woke up and cried.
Mom said, "The baby needs to sleep. Please play outside."
Ava took her drum to the back yard. She played it under the big tree. A bird flew down and sat on the fence. It looked at Ava and sang.
Ava smiled. "Now we have a band," she said.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why did Mom ask Ava to play outside?
- The drum was too big for the kitchen.
- Her friends were in the back yard.
- She wanted Ava to see the bird.
- The baby needed to sleep.Correct answer
Why “The baby needed to sleep.” is correct
This is a 'why' question, and the answer is in Mom's own words: 'The baby needs to sleep.' The story puts the cause (the drum woke the baby) and the request (play outside) in neighboring sentences, so the child has to link them. Ask your child what happened when Ava played in the kitchen, then read Mom's line together.
Why the other answers are wrong
- The drum was too big for the kitchen. — The story never says the drum is too big. It says it is a small drum.
- Her friends were in the back yard. — No friends appear in the story. Ava plays in the yard by herself until the bird comes.
- She wanted Ava to see the bird. — The bird shows up after Ava goes outside, so Mom could not have known about it.
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.
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.