According to Mr. Salazar, what did the assignment ask students to do?
Listen to a Classroom Conversation · ELPAC Grades 3–5 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
A multiple-turn conversation between two speakers, followed by three questions.
Listen to the conversation between Mr. Salazar and Amara. Then answer the questions.
Amara's Animal Report
Press play to listen. You can pause, rewind, and replay as often as you like.
Show transcript
Mr. Salazar: Amara, I read the first page of your animal report. You wrote about desert animals, but the assignment asked for one animal.
Amara: I know. I started with lizards, and then I found a lot about kangaroo rats, so I put both in.
Mr. Salazar: That is why the report feels crowded. When you write about two animals in two pages, you only have room for facts everyone already knows.
Amara: So should I take the lizards out?
Mr. Salazar: Pick the one you found the most surprising facts about, and rewrite the first paragraph tonight. Bring it to me tomorrow before we go to the computer lab.
The question
Choose the best answer.
According to Mr. Salazar, what did the assignment ask students to do?
- Write a report about one animalCorrect answer
- Write a report about animals that live in the desert
- Write two pages about two different animals
- Find surprising facts about lizards
Why “Write a report about one animal” is correct
This is a stated-detail question, and the detail arrives in the very first line: "the assignment asked for one animal." Detail questions early in a conversation are a common trap, because students are still settling into the audio. Encourage a first listen for the setup sentence, which almost always names the task.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Write a report about animals that live in the desert — Desert animals is the topic Amara chose for herself, and it is the reason the report does not fit the assignment.
- Write two pages about two different animals — Two pages is the length she was working with; the assignment did not ask for two animals.
- Find surprising facts about lizards — Looking for surprising facts is Mr. Salazar's advice for the rewrite, not the original instruction.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 3–5, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 3–5. 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.