TELPAS Practice

When does Jenny’s triangle play in the song?

Basic Understanding of a Variety of Texts · TELPAS Grade 3 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 2: find the main idea and key details, and follow what happens in stories and informational texts.

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

Jenny’s Triangle

Jenny wanted to play the drums in the third-grade music show. But on the first day of practice, Mr. Parker handed her a small metal triangle and a thin metal stick.

Jenny frowned. “It only makes one sound,” she whispered to her friend Paloma.

For two weeks, Jenny practiced with the band. She learned to count the beats and wait. Her triangle played only once, at the very end of the song, after the drums stopped.

On the night of the show, the gym was full of families. When the drums stopped, the room was silent. Jenny tapped the triangle. Ting! The bright sound rang across the whole gym.

After the show, Jenny’s dad hugged her. “I could hear you all the way from the back row,” he said. Jenny smiled. One sound had been enough.

The question

Choose the best answer.

When does Jenny’s triangle play in the song?

  • At the very start of the song
  • Every time that the drums play
  • Many times in the middle of the song
  • At the end, after the drums stopCorrect answer

Why “At the end, after the drums stop” is correct

This is a detail question. Paragraph 3 says, “Her triangle played only once, at the very end of the song, after the drums stopped.” The student needs all three parts of that detail to rule out the other choices.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • At the very start of the song — The triangle does not play at the start.
  • Every time that the drums play — The triangle plays after the drums stop, not with them.
  • Many times in the middle of the song — The story says the triangle plays only once.

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.