How do Mateo’s feelings about picking pecans change in the story?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 4–5 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.
The Pecan Harvest
Every November, the pecan tree in Grandma Rosa’s backyard dropped its nuts all over the grass. And every November, Grandma Rosa handed Mateo a bucket.
“Fill it to the top,” she said, “and we will have enough for pies at Thanksgiving.”
Mateo groaned. Picking up pecans was tedious work. He had to bend down again and again, and each nut made only a tiny click when it landed in the bucket. After ten minutes, the bottom of the bucket was barely covered.
Then Grandma Rosa came out of the shed with an old wire tool on a long handle. She rolled it across the grass, and the pecans popped up inside the wire basket. “Your grandfather made this,” she said. “He hated bending down too.”
Mateo laughed and took the handle. He rolled it back and forth under the tree, and soon the bucket was half full. Grandma Rosa sat on the porch step and told him about the year Grandpa had tried to sell pecans at the farmers market and had eaten more than he sold.
By the time the sun went down, the bucket was full. Mateo’s back did not hurt at all, and he knew three new stories about a grandfather he had never met.
“Same time next year?” Grandma Rosa asked.
“Same time next year,” Mateo said, and he meant it.
The question
Choose the best answer.
How do Mateo’s feelings about picking pecans change in the story?
- He thinks it is dull at first, but later he looks forward to it.Correct answer
- He is excited at first, but later he is tired of it.
- He is afraid of Grandpa’s old tool at first, but later he likes using it.
- He finds it dull the whole time and only wants the pie.
Why “He thinks it is dull at first, but later he looks forward to it.” is correct
This tests how a character changes from the beginning to the end of a story. At the start Mateo groans and finds the work tedious. By the end he answers "Same time next year" and the narrator adds "he meant it." Questions about change ask students to compare two moments, so practice by asking "How did the character feel at the start? At the end?"
Why the other answers are wrong
- He is excited at first, but later he is tired of it. — This is backwards: he groans at the start and agrees to come back at the end.
- He is afraid of Grandpa’s old tool at first, but later he likes using it. — Mateo laughs when he takes the tool; he is never afraid of it.
- He finds it dull the whole time and only wants the pie. — He says "Same time next year" and "he meant it," so his feelings do change.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grades 4–5, or see the TELPAS practice test for 4th and 5th 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.