ELPAC Practice

Ava says, "Now we have a band." What does she mean?

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.

Ava says, "Now we have a band." What does she mean?

  • The bird is singing while she plays her drum.Correct answer
  • Her baby brother will play with her.
  • She is going to get a new drum.
  • Mom is going to sing with her.

Why “The bird is singing while she plays her drum.” is correct

This is an inference question: the story never explains what Ava means, so the child has to connect her words to what just happened. The sentence right before it says the bird looked at Ava and sang, and a drum plus a singer makes a band. Ask your child who is making music in the yard at the end of the story.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Her baby brother will play with her. — The baby brother is inside sleeping. He is not in the yard with Ava.
  • She is going to get a new drum. — Nothing in the story talks about getting another drum.
  • Mom is going to sing with her. — Mom stays inside. The only one making music with Ava is the bird.

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.