What does Eli do with the sunfish?
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.
Waiting for a Bite
Eli had been sitting on the dock for almost an hour, and his fishing line had not moved once. “This is boring,” he said. “The fish must all be asleep.”
Aunt Linda smiled and handed him a granola bar. “Fishing isn’t only about catching fish,” she said. “Look around.”
Eli sighed, but he looked. A white egret stood perfectly still in the shallow water. Three turtles sat in a row on a log, warming their shells in the sun. Far out on the lake, a fish jumped and left a ring of ripples.
Soon Eli began to notice more. A dragonfly landed on the tip of his fishing pole. A breeze made the reeds whisper. He was so busy watching that he almost forgot about his line.
Then his pole bent. “Aunt Linda!” he shouted. He reeled in slowly, the way she had shown him, until a small sunfish flopped onto the dock, its sides shining green and orange.
Eli looked at the fish for a long moment. It was too small to keep. Aunt Linda helped him slip the hook out, and Eli lowered the sunfish back into the water. It flicked its tail and was gone.
“Well,” said Aunt Linda, “is fishing still boring?”
Eli shook his head. “Can we come back next Saturday?”
The question
Choose the best answer.
What does Eli do with the sunfish?
- He puts it back into the lake.Correct answer
- He takes it home to cook.
- He gives it to Aunt Linda.
- He keeps it in a bucket.
Why “He puts it back into the lake.” is correct
This is a detail question. Paragraph 6 says the fish was too small to keep, so Eli lowered it back into the water. The phrase "lowered the sunfish back into the water" may be hard to follow, so the student has to understand that it means letting the fish go.
Why the other answers are wrong
- He takes it home to cook. — The fish is too small to keep.
- He gives it to Aunt Linda. — Aunt Linda helps take the hook out, but Eli lowers the fish into the water.
- He keeps it in a bucket. — No bucket appears in the story.
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.