Which sentence best describes the picture? “Three children step off the bus onto the sidewalk”

Read and Choose a Sentence · ELPAC Grades 3–5 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

The student reads three or four sentences and chooses the one that best describes a picture.

Look at the picture, then answer the questions.

Read image description

A school bus has stopped beside a park. Its door is open and its red lights are flashing. Three children step down from the door onto the sidewalk. A crossing guard stands in the road and holds up a stop sign.

The question

Read the four sentences. Choose the one that best describes the picture.

Which sentence best describes the picture?

• AThree children step off the bus onto the sidewalk.Correct answer
• BThree children step onto the bus from the sidewalk.
• CTwo children step off the bus onto the sidewalk.
• DA crossing guard steps off the bus onto the sidewalk.

Why “Three children step off the bus onto the sidewalk.” is correct

The two strongest choices differ by one small word, 'off' against 'onto', and direction words are the first thing a student loses when reading quickly. The description settles it: the children step down from the door and onto the sidewalk, so they are leaving the bus. Ask the student which way the children are moving before looking at the sentences at all.

Why the other answers are wrong

• Three children step onto the bus from the sidewalk. — The words are almost identical to the answer, but the direction is reversed. The children are coming down out of the door, not climbing in.
• Two children step off the bus onto the sidewalk. — The direction is right, but the picture shows three children stepping down, not two.
• A crossing guard steps off the bus onto the sidewalk. — The crossing guard is in the picture, standing in the road with a stop sign. She is not one of the people getting off the bus.

Practice more of this

More reading 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.