TELPAS Practice

In stanza 2, what does the line "Her lessons are in her hands" mean?

Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 8–9 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 poem. Then answer the questions.

Abuela's Garden

My grandmother talks to her tomatoes in Spanish, softly, the way you would talk to a baby who is almost asleep.

She has never owned a book about gardens. Her lessons are in her hands: press the soil down, but not too hard, leave the roots room to breathe.

In July the San Antonio sun is a heavy hand on the back of my neck, and I want to go inside. She only pulls her hat lower.

When I complain that the seeds are slow, she laughs and says, Mija, the best things in this garden are the ones that make you wait.

Now it is August. I kneel beside her in the dirt, and without thinking, I tell the tomatoes good morning.

The question

Choose the best answer.

In stanza 2, what does the line "Her lessons are in her hands" mean?

  • She writes her lessons on her hands.
  • She teaches by showing, not from books.Correct answer
  • She has strong hands from gardening.
  • She holds a book while she gardens.

Why “She teaches by showing, not from books.” is correct

This item tests figurative meaning in poetry. The line comes right after "She has never owned a book about gardens," and is followed by directions she shows with her hands. Together, the lines mean she teaches through what she does.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • She writes her lessons on her hands. — This reads the line too literally.
  • She has strong hands from gardening. — The line is about how she teaches, not about her strength.
  • She holds a book while she gardens. — The line before says she has never owned a book about gardens.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th 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.