How does the author organize paragraph 3?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grade 3 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.
Bluebonnets
The bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. It got its name because its petals are shaped a little like bonnets, or sun hats, that women wore long ago.
Bluebonnets are mostly blue with a white tip at the top. In early spring, they cover fields and the sides of roads in many parts of Texas. Some families drive out to see them and take pictures of their children sitting in the flowers.
A bluebonnet’s life starts in the fall. The seed sprouts after the fall rains, and the small plant stays close to the ground all winter. When the weather warms up in spring, the plant grows taller and blooms. Later, it makes seeds inside pods. The pods dry out and pop open, and the seeds fall to the ground. There they wait for the next fall.
The question
Choose the best answer.
How does the author organize paragraph 3?
- By comparing bluebonnets to other flowers
- By telling the steps of a bluebonnet’s life in orderCorrect answer
- By giving reasons people like bluebonnets
- By explaining a problem with bluebonnets and how to solve it
Why “By telling the steps of a bluebonnet’s life in order” is correct
This tests recognizing text structure. Paragraph 3 moves through time: fall, winter, spring, then seeds that wait for the next fall. Time words like “starts,” “all winter,” “when the weather warms up” and “later” are the clues to a sequence.
Why the other answers are wrong
- By comparing bluebonnets to other flowers — No other flower is mentioned in the passage.
- By giving reasons people like bluebonnets — Paragraph 2 tells what people do with bluebonnets, but paragraph 3 does not give reasons people like them.
- By explaining a problem with bluebonnets and how to solve it — Paragraph 3 does not describe any problem.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grade 3, or see the TELPAS practice test for 3rd 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.