Why does Farida draw a sun and write a word in Dari on Friday?
Read a Literary Passage · ELPAC Grades 3–5 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 passage. Then answer the questions.
Drawing Words
On her first day at Rosewood Elementary, Farida knew only a few English words. When the teacher spoke, the sentences rushed past her like cars on a freeway. Farida held her pencil tightly and stared at her desk.
At recess, a boy named Tomás sat down next to her with a notebook. He did not say much. Instead, he drew a quick picture of a ball and wrote the word ball under it. Then he pointed to the playground.
Every day that week, Tomás drew something new: a slide, a lunch tray, a bus. Farida copied each word into her own notebook and whispered it twice.
On Friday, Farida took the notebook from Tomás and drew a small sun. Under it she wrote a word in Dari, the language her family speaks at home. "Aftab," she said slowly. Tomás tried to say it and got it wrong. Farida laughed for the first time all week, and then she said it again so he could try.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does Farida draw a sun and write a word in Dari on Friday?
- She has run out of English words to write.
- She wants to show Tomás that she can draw better than he can.
- She is practicing for a test in her Dari class.
- She wants to teach Tomás a word from her language, the way he taught her.Correct answer
Why “She wants to teach Tomás a word from her language, the way he taught her.” is correct
This question asks for a character's reason, which the student has to infer from the pattern of the story. All week Tomás drew a picture and wrote a word; on Friday Farida does the same thing in her own language and helps him say it. The turn-around shows that she now has something to share, not only something to learn.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She has run out of English words to write. — Farida is just starting to learn English, and the passage gives no sign she has stopped.
- She wants to show Tomás that she can draw better than he can. — Nothing in the story is a contest. She is copying the way Tomás helped her.
- She is practicing for a test in her Dari class. — There is no Dari class or test in the passage.
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.
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.