ELPAC Practice

What does Tomas tell Mei to do?

Read a Literary Passage · ELPAC Grade 2 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 Line Leader

Every day, one student in Room 9 leads the class to lunch. Today it was Mei's turn. Mei liked to stand at the back of the line, where nobody looked at her.

"I don't want to be first," she whispered to her friend Tomas.

"You know the way," Tomas said. "Just walk slowly so we can keep up."

Mei stood at the front of the line. Her cheeks felt hot. She walked down the hall, past the library, and around the corner. When she looked back, the whole class was right behind her in a neat line.

At lunch, Mr. Vega gave Mei a sticker. "Best line leader all week," he said. Mei sat up a little taller.

The question

Choose the best answer.

What does Tomas tell Mei to do?

  • Stand at the back of the line
  • Ask Mr. Vega for help
  • Walk fast to get to lunch first
  • Walk slowly so the class can keep upCorrect answer

Why “Walk slowly so the class can keep up” is correct

This is a detail question about what a character says, and Tomas's advice is in quotation marks. Children who mix up who said what will often pick Mei's wish (the back of the line) instead. Ask your child to point to the words Tomas says and read only those.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Stand at the back of the line — Standing at the back is what Mei would like to do, not what Tomas tells her.
  • Ask Mr. Vega for help — Mr. Vega appears only at the end, at lunch. Tomas never mentions him.
  • Walk fast to get to lunch first — Tomas says the opposite: walk slowly.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grade 2, or see the ELPAC practice test for grade 2. 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.