What is the passage mostly about? (Prairie Dogs)
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.
Prairie Dogs
Prairie dogs are not really dogs. They are small, furry animals in the squirrel family. They got their name because the sound they make is a little like a dog’s bark.
Prairie dogs live in grasslands, including parts of West Texas. They dig tunnels and rooms under the ground. Many prairie dog families live close together, and their big group of tunnels is called a town.
Prairie dogs spend much of the day eating grass and other plants. While most of the group eats, a few prairie dogs stand up on their back legs and look around. If one of them sees a hawk or a coyote, it barks loudly. Then all the prairie dogs dive into their holes.
When two prairie dogs from the same family meet, they touch their mouths together. It looks a little like a kiss.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What is the passage mostly about?
- How hawks and coyotes hunt for their food
- Why West Texas has so many grasslands
- What prairie dogs are like and how they liveCorrect answer
- How to dig a tunnel with rooms under the ground
Why “What prairie dogs are like and how they live” is correct
This asks for the main idea of the whole passage. The paragraphs cover the prairie dog’s name, its home, how it stays safe, and how it greets family. The right answer covers all of them, while each wrong answer is one small detail or something not explained.
Why the other answers are wrong
- How hawks and coyotes hunt for their food — Hawks are mentioned only once, as an animal prairie dogs watch for.
- Why West Texas has so many grasslands — West Texas is named only as one place prairie dogs live.
- How to dig a tunnel with rooms under the ground — Digging is one detail in paragraph 2, and the passage does not explain how to do it.
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.