What happens halfway through the song?
Basic Understanding of a Variety of Texts · TELPAS Grades 4–5 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.
The Recital
Valeria had practiced the dance for six weeks. She knew every heel tap and every swirl of her wide, ruffled skirt. But on the night of the folklórico recital, standing behind the curtain, her legs felt like wet noodles.
“What if I forget the steps?” she whispered to her sister Natalia, who had danced with the group for three years.
Natalia straightened the red ribbons in Valeria’s hair. “Then you keep smiling and keep moving,” she said. “Nobody in the audience knows the steps. They only notice if you stop.”
The music began, and the dancers swept onto the stage. For the first minute, everything went perfectly. Then, halfway through the song, Valeria turned the wrong way. For one terrible second, she was facing the girl beside her instead of the audience.
She remembered Natalia’s words. She smiled, swung her skirt in a wide circle, and slipped back into line as if she had planned it all along. Her feet found the rhythm again.
When the song ended, the audience clapped and cheered. Valeria’s parents were standing up in the third row. Afterward, her father hugged her and said, “That big spin in the middle was my favorite part!”
Valeria looked at Natalia, and both of them burst out laughing.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What happens halfway through the song?
- A ribbon falls out of Valeria’s hair.
- The music stops for a moment and then starts again.
- Natalia forgets a step and stops dancing.
- Valeria turns the wrong way for a moment.Correct answer
Why “Valeria turns the wrong way for a moment.” is correct
This tests following the order of events. Paragraph 4 says, "Then, halfway through the song, Valeria turned the wrong way." The question uses the same time phrase, so the student needs to find the right paragraph and read what happens there.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A ribbon falls out of Valeria’s hair. — Natalia fixes the ribbons before the show; none of them falls.
- The music stops for a moment and then starts again. — The story never says the music stops.
- Natalia forgets a step and stops dancing. — Natalia gives advice about mistakes, but the mistake in the dance is Valeria’s.
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.