TELPAS Practice

In paragraph 3, “one side of it faces the sun.” What does faces mean in this sentence?

Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grade 3 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 1: work out what words and phrases mean from context, and understand how sentences and word forms work.

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

Day and Night

Every morning, the sun seems to come up in the east. Every evening, it seems to go down in the west. But the sun is not really moving across the sky. It only looks that way because Earth is moving.

Earth is always spinning, like a top. It takes about one day to make one full turn.

As Earth spins, one side of it faces the sun. That side gets sunlight, so it is daytime there. The other side faces away from the sun. That side is dark, so it is nighttime there.

Each morning, the place where you live turns toward the sun again, and a new day begins.

The question

Choose the best answer.

In paragraph 3, “one side of it faces the sun.” What does faces mean in this sentence?

  • Has eyes and a mouth
  • Makes a silly look
  • Is afraid of
  • Is turned towardCorrect answer

Why “Is turned toward” is correct

This tests a word that is usually a noun but is used here as a verb. Faces means is turned toward, and the next sentences contrast it with “faces away from the sun.” Students who know face only as part of the body need the sentence to find this meaning.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Has eyes and a mouth — That describes a face as a noun; Earth does not have one.
  • Makes a silly look — Making faces means making silly looks, but Earth cannot do that.
  • Is afraid of — Nothing in the passage is about being afraid.

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.