TELPAS Practice

Why did Lucas build his new castle far away from the water?

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 story. Then answer the questions.

Lucas and the Sandcastle

Lucas and his mom spent the day at the beach in Galveston. Lucas built a tall sandcastle near the water. He put shells on the top.

Then a big wave rushed up the sand. Whoosh! When the water went back, the castle was gone.

Lucas frowned. Then he had an idea. He carried his bucket far away from the water and started again.

This time, the waves could not reach his new castle.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Why did Lucas build his new castle far away from the water?

  • The sand there was softer.
  • His mom told him to move it there.
  • He found more shells there.
  • So the waves could not reach itCorrect answer

Why “So the waves could not reach it” is correct

The story says "he had an idea" but does not say what it was. The student has to connect the problem (a wave knocked down the castle) with what Lucas did next. The last sentence, "the waves could not reach his new castle," shows the idea worked.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • The sand there was softer. — The story does not say anything about soft sand.
  • His mom told him to move it there. — The idea was Lucas's own. His mom does not tell him what to do.
  • He found more shells there. — Shells are only mentioned on the first castle.

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.