Why does the author tell what a bonnet is?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grade 2 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 3: make inferences, draw conclusions, and think about why the author wrote a text and how it is built.
Read the passage. Then answer the questions.
The Bluebonnet
The bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. It blooms in the spring. Its small flowers are mostly blue, and the tip of each stem is often white.
In spring, bluebonnets can cover whole fields and the sides of roads. Many families go out to take pictures with them.
The flower got its name because people thought it looked like a bonnet. A bonnet is a kind of hat that women wore long ago.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does the author tell what a bonnet is?
- To show that bonnets are blue
- To tell where to buy a nice hat
- To explain the flower's nameCorrect answer
- To tell how to take good pictures
Why “To explain the flower's name” is correct
Most second graders do not know the old word bonnet, so the author explains it right after saying the flower was named for one. This question asks why a sentence is there, which is about how the text is built. That makes it part of the analyze category.
Why the other answers are wrong
- To show that bonnets are blue — The passage does not say what color bonnets were.
- To tell where to buy a nice hat — The passage does not talk about buying anything.
- To tell how to take good pictures — Taking pictures is mentioned earlier, but the bonnet sentence is about the flower's name.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grade 2, or see the TELPAS practice test for 2nd grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.