FL FAST 3rd Grade Reading Practice Test 3
Reading comprehension, vocabulary, and text evidence practice
FL FAST 3rd Grade Reading Practice Test 3
Reading comprehension, vocabulary, and text evidence practice
Language Arts - Grade 2-3
- 1
PASSAGE SET 1 - The Lantern Recipe Paragraph 1: On the afternoon of the Moon Festival, Mei stood on a stool beside Nai Nai, her grandmother. The kitchen smelled like honey, ginger, and warm flour. Every year, their family made small mooncakes and hung paper lanterns in the mango tree behind the apartment building. Mei usually folded lanterns while the grown-ups cooked. This year, Nai Nai handed her a wooden spoon. You are ready for the filling, she said. Paragraph 2: Mei tried to look confident, but her hands felt jumpy. The recipe card was written in Nai Nai's careful handwriting. Red bean paste, sesame seeds, and one spoonful of orange peel. Mei opened the cupboard. The sesame jar was there. The orange peel was there. But the red bean paste was missing. Paragraph 3: Mei searched again, moving cans and bags aside. Nothing. Her cheeks grew hot. I ruined the tradition before we even started, she whispered. Nai Nai did not scold her. Instead, she opened the refrigerator and took out roasted sweet potatoes from last night's dinner. Traditions are like lanterns, Nai Nai said. We keep the light, but sometimes we change the paper. Paragraph 4: Together they mashed the sweet potatoes with honey and orange peel. Mei stirred slowly until the mixture became smooth and bright. She pressed dough around each spoonful of filling. Some cakes looked round, while others leaned to one side like sleepy moons. Nai Nai laughed softly and called them beautiful. Paragraph 5: That evening, Mei's cousins arrived. At first, Mei wanted to hide the unusual mooncakes. Then her little cousin bit into one and smiled. It tastes like sunshine, he said. Soon everyone was reaching for another. Paragraph 6: Under the glowing lanterns, Nai Nai asked Mei to tell the family how she had helped. Mei stood taller. She explained the missing ingredient and the new filling. When the family clapped, Mei felt hopeful. The recipe card would always matter, but now she understood that family traditions could grow, too. Question 1: What problem does Mei face in the story?
Look for the moment when Mei searches the cupboard and becomes upset.
Mei discovers that the red bean paste needed for the mooncake filling is missing. This makes her worry that she has ruined the family tradition. - 2
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 2: Which character trait best describes Nai Nai? Explain your answer using one detail from the passage.
Think about how Nai Nai reacts when Mei is worried.
Nai Nai is patient and wise. She does not scold Mei when the ingredient is missing, and she teaches Mei that traditions can change while still keeping their meaning. - 3
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 3: Part A: What is a theme of the story?
Ask yourself what Mei learns by the end of the story.
One theme of the story is that traditions can stay meaningful even when they change. Mei learns that the family recipe can grow in a new way. - 4
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 4: Part B: Which detail from the passage best supports your answer to Part A? a) Mei stood on a stool beside Nai Nai, her grandmother. b) The kitchen smelled like honey, ginger, and warm flour. c) Traditions are like lanterns, Nai Nai said. We keep the light, but sometimes we change the paper. d) Some cakes looked round, while others leaned to one side like sleepy moons.
Choose the detail that explains the lesson of the story.
The correct answer is c. Nai Nai directly explains the lesson that the tradition can keep its important meaning even if one part changes. - 5
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 5: What does the word confident mean in Paragraph 2?
Use the clue that Mei's hands felt jumpy.
Confident means sure of yourself. Mei tries to look sure, but her jumpy hands show that she is nervous. - 6
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 6: From which point of view is the story told?
Notice whether the narrator uses I or talks about Mei by name.
The story is told from third-person point of view. The narrator is not a character and uses words such as Mei, her, and she. - 7
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 7: How does Mei change from the beginning to the end of the story?
Compare Mei's feelings in Paragraph 2 with her feelings in Paragraph 6.
At the beginning, Mei feels nervous and afraid of making a mistake. By the end, she feels proud and hopeful because she helped create a new family recipe. - 8
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 8: Why does Nai Nai most likely smile and call the unusual mooncakes beautiful?
Think about Nai Nai's lesson about traditions.
Nai Nai most likely smiles because she values Mei's effort and understands that the new cakes still honor the family tradition. She wants Mei to feel encouraged. - 9
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 9: In Paragraph 6, the word hopeful has the suffix -ful. What does hopeful mean in the sentence?
The suffix -ful means full of.
Hopeful means full of hope. Mei feels positive and excited because her family likes the new mooncakes. - 10
(Use the passage from Question 1 to answer this question.) Question 10: Which event happens last in the story?
Look at the events in Paragraph 6.
The family claps after Mei explains how she helped make the new filling. This happens near the end of the story under the glowing lanterns. - 11
PASSAGE SET 2 - How Communities Use Maps Paragraph 1: A map is more than a picture of roads and buildings. A map is a tool that helps people understand a place. In a community, maps can show neighborhoods, parks, schools, rivers, bus stops, and important offices. People use maps to find where they are, where they need to go, and how different places connect. Paragraph 2: Most maps have special parts that make them easier to read. A title tells what area the map shows. A compass rose shows directions such as north, south, east, and west. A map key, also called a legend, explains symbols. For example, a small tree symbol might represent a park. A scale helps readers understand distance. One inch on a map might stand for one mile in real life. Paragraph 3: Local governments use maps when they make decisions. City leaders may study a map before choosing where to build a new library or playground. They look for areas where many families live and places that are easy to reach. Maps also help leaders plan safe routes for school buses and walking paths. Paragraph 4: Maps are important during emergencies. Firefighters and police officers use maps to find homes quickly. After a heavy storm, workers may use maps to mark flooded streets or broken traffic lights. Then they can reopen roads and repair dangerous areas in an organized way. Paragraph 5: Community members can use maps, too. A family might check a bus map before visiting a museum. A student might use a simple neighborhood map to explain the way from school to home. When people understand maps, they can participate more easily in community life. They can share ideas, ask questions, and help solve problems in the places where they live. Question 11: What is the main idea of the passage?
Think about what all the paragraphs have in common.
The main idea is that maps help communities understand places, make decisions, travel, and solve problems. The whole passage explains different ways maps are useful. - 12
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 12: Name two special parts of a map and explain what each part does.
Look in Paragraph 2 for map parts and their jobs.
A compass rose shows directions such as north, south, east, and west. A map key or legend explains what the symbols on the map mean. - 13
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 13: How is the passage mostly organized?
Notice that each paragraph explains a different purpose or feature.
The passage is organized by explaining different uses and parts of maps. Each paragraph gives information about a way maps help people in a community. - 14
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 14: What is the author's purpose for writing this passage?
Decide whether the author is telling a story, giving facts, or trying to entertain.
The author's purpose is to inform readers about how maps work and why maps are useful in communities. - 15
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 15: Which sentence from the passage is a fact?
A fact can be proven. An opinion tells what someone thinks or feels.
A fact from the passage is: A compass rose shows directions such as north, south, east, and west. This can be checked and proven true. - 16
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 16: In Paragraph 2, what does represent mean in the sentence about a tree symbol?
Use the example of the tree symbol and the park.
Represent means stand for or show. The tree symbol stands for a park on the map. - 17
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 17: The word reopen in Paragraph 4 begins with the prefix re-. What does reopen mean?
The prefix re- means again.
Reopen means open again. After workers fix or check roads, they can open those roads again for people to use. - 18
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 18: Part A: What can you infer about why maps are important to public safety?
Think about how firefighters, police officers, and workers use maps.
Maps are important to public safety because they help emergency workers find places quickly and organize repairs after dangerous events. - 19
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 19: Part B: Which detail from the passage best supports your answer to Part A? a) A map is more than a picture of roads and buildings. b) A title tells what area the map shows. c) Firefighters and police officers use maps to find homes quickly. d) A family might check a bus map before visiting a museum.
Choose the detail about emergency workers.
The correct answer is c. This detail directly shows that maps help emergency workers reach people quickly, which supports the idea of public safety. - 20
(Use the passage from Question 11 to answer this question.) Question 20: How can understanding maps help community members participate in community life?
Look at the final paragraph for how people use maps in their community.
Understanding maps helps community members know where things are and how places connect. This can help them share ideas, ask questions, and help solve local problems. - 21
PASSAGE SET 3 - Weather Inside Me Line 1: This morning I carried a cloud in my chest, Line 2: gray as a sweater I did not choose. Line 3: My smile stayed folded inside my pocket, Line 4: and my shoes made slow, soft blues. Line 5: Then laughter tapped lightly on my window, Line 6: like pebbles tossed by a friendly breeze. Line 7: A joke from my sister split the cloud, Line 8: and sunlight slipped through the trees. Line 9: By lunchtime my worry was a whisper, Line 10: hiding under my chair. Line 11: I breathed in calm, warm as cocoa, Line 12: and let out the heavy air. Line 13: Feelings are weather that visits and goes, Line 14: rain, thunder, sparkle, and sun. Line 15: I can name each storm inside me, Line 16: then watch it move on and run. Question 21: What emotion does the speaker seem to feel at the beginning of the poem?
Look at Lines 1 through 4 for clues about the speaker's mood.
At the beginning, the speaker seems to feel sad or worried. The cloud in the speaker's chest and the slow shoes suggest a heavy feeling. - 22
(Use the passage from Question 21 to answer this question.) Question 22: What does the metaphor I carried a cloud in my chest mean?
Think about what a gray cloud can suggest about feelings.
The metaphor means the speaker feels heavy, sad, or worried inside. The speaker is not really carrying a cloud. - 23
(Use the passage from Question 21 to answer this question.) Question 23: Part A: What lesson does the speaker learn about emotions?
Read the last four lines of the poem.
The speaker learns that emotions come and go, and naming feelings can help a person handle them. - 24
(Use the passage from Question 21 to answer this question.) Question 24: Part B: Which detail from the poem best supports your answer to Part A? a) gray as a sweater I did not choose b) My smile stayed folded inside my pocket c) A joke from my sister split the cloud d) Feelings are weather that visits and goes
Choose the line that gives the poem's main lesson.
The correct answer is d. This line states the speaker's lesson that feelings change and do not stay forever. - 25
(Use the passage from Question 21 to answer this question.) Question 25: Which lines include a simile?
A simile uses like or as to compare two things.
Lines 5 and 6 include a simile: laughter tapped lightly on my window, like pebbles tossed by a friendly breeze. The word like compares laughter to pebbles. - 26
(Use the passage from Question 21 to answer this question.) Question 26: How does the mood of the poem change from the beginning to the end?
Compare Lines 1 through 4 with Lines 13 through 16.
The mood changes from sad and heavy to calm and hopeful. The speaker begins with a gray cloud feeling but ends by understanding that feelings can move on. - 27
(Use the passage from Question 21 to answer this question.) Question 27: What sound device is used in the phrase slow, soft blues in Line 4?
Listen for repeated beginning sounds.
The phrase uses alliteration because the words slow and soft begin with the same s sound. - 28
PASSAGE SET 4 - PAIRED TEXTS Text 1: Maya's Muddy Ribbon Paragraph 1: I had pictured the community garden opening a hundred times. The mayor would cut a bright green ribbon. My class would sing our seed song. I would stand beside the tomato bed I helped plant and wave to my grandmother. But when Saturday arrived, rain tapped the roof before sunrise. Paragraph 2: By ten o'clock, the rain had stopped, but the garden looked like a chocolate pudding cup. Mud clung to my sneakers. The green ribbon sagged between two posts. I felt my excitement shrink. No one will come now, I told Dad. Paragraph 3: Then Mrs. Alvarez rolled in with a cart of tiny basil plants. My teacher carried a stack of towels. Neighbors arrived wearing boots, sandals, and one pair of bright yellow rain shoes. Grandma came slowly with her cane and a bag of paper cups for lemonade. Paragraph 4: The mayor lifted the muddy ribbon and laughed. Gardens do not wait for perfect weather, she said. They begin with people who show up. She handed me the scissors because my class had planted the first seeds. My hands shook, but I cut the ribbon cleanly. Paragraph 5: Afterward, everyone worked. We spread straw over the mud, tucked basil into the herb bed, and wrote plant names on wooden sticks. Grandma sat on a bench and said the wet earth smelled like her childhood farm. I stopped worrying about my dirty shoes. The garden opening was not the sunny picture I had planned. It was better because everyone helped make it happen. Text 2: Neighborhood Garden Opens After Rain Paragraph 1: The new Oak Street Community Garden opened Saturday morning after a night of heavy rain. Although the ground was wet, more than sixty residents attended the event. The garden is located beside the Oak Street Library and includes vegetable beds, herb boxes, a tool shed, and two benches. Paragraph 2: The project began last fall when students at Pine School asked for a safe place to grow food and learn outdoors. The city council approved the empty lot for garden use in November. Since then, volunteers have cleared trash, added soil, built raised beds, and planted the first seeds. Paragraph 3: Mayor Lena Brooks spoke at the opening. She thanked students, families, library workers, and local businesses for donating time and materials. A third-grade student, Maya Chen, cut the ribbon because her class helped start the project. After the ribbon cutting, visitors planted basil and labeled several rows of vegetables. Paragraph 4: The garden will be open on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Families may sign up for small planting spaces at the library desk. According to garden leader Mrs. Alvarez, the goal is to help neighbors learn, share fresh food, and care for the land together. Question 28: In Text 1, why is Maya disappointed at first?
Look at Text 1, Paragraphs 1 and 2.
Maya is disappointed because the rain makes the garden muddy and different from the sunny opening she imagined. She worries that no one will come. - 29
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 29: In Text 1, what helps Maya feel better about the garden opening?
Notice who arrives in Text 1, Paragraph 3.
Maya feels better when neighbors, her teacher, Mrs. Alvarez, and her grandmother arrive to help. Their support shows her the event still matters. - 30
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 30: What does the phrase my excitement shrink mean in Text 1?
Use the next sentence, where Maya says no one will come.
The phrase means Maya becomes less excited. Her happy feeling gets smaller because the garden is muddy and she thinks people will not come. - 31
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 31: In Text 2, what was the reason the garden project began?
Look at Text 2, Paragraph 2.
The garden project began because students at Pine School asked for a safe place to grow food and learn outdoors. - 32
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 32: According to Text 2, who cut the ribbon at the opening and why?
Find the detail about the ribbon cutting in Text 2, Paragraph 3.
Maya Chen cut the ribbon because her third-grade class helped start the garden project by planting the first seeds. - 33
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 33: What is the main purpose of Text 2?
Think about whether Text 2 mostly tells a personal story or gives facts about an event.
The main purpose of Text 2 is to inform readers about the opening of the Oak Street Community Garden and explain how the garden was created. - 34
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 34: How are Text 1 and Text 2 different in point of view?
Look for pronouns like I in Text 1 and factual reporting in Text 2.
Text 1 is told from Maya's first-person point of view, using I and showing her feelings. Text 2 is written from a third-person, informational point of view and gives facts about the event. - 35
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 35: Part A: What idea do both texts share about the garden opening?
Think about what both texts say happened after the rain.
Both texts show that the garden opening was successful because many people worked together, even after rain made the ground muddy. - 36
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 36: Part B: Which detail from the paired texts best supports your answer to Part A? a) I had pictured the community garden opening a hundred times. b) Although the ground was wet, more than sixty residents attended the event. c) The garden is located beside the Oak Street Library. d) The garden will be open on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings.
Choose the detail that mentions both the wet ground and people attending.
The correct answer is b. This detail shows that many people attended despite the wet ground, supporting the idea that the event succeeded through community effort. - 37
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 37: Compare how Maya in Text 1 and the writer of Text 2 describe the rain.
Compare the emotional details in Text 1 with the factual details in Text 2.
Maya describes the rain in a personal way because it affects her feelings and plans. The writer of Text 2 describes the rain as a fact that happened before the event. - 38
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 38: What does the word residents mean in Text 2, Paragraph 1?
Use the words neighborhood and community as clues.
Residents means people who live in a place. In the passage, it means people who live in the neighborhood or community near the garden. - 39
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 39: The word weekday contains the smaller words week and day. What does weekday mean in Text 2, Paragraph 4?
Use the word parts week and day, and compare it with Saturday in the sentence.
Weekday means a day from Monday through Friday. The garden will be open on afternoons during those days and on Saturday mornings. - 40
(Use the passage from Question 28 to answer this question.) Question 40: Which text would be better to use if you wanted to know how Maya felt during the opening? Explain why.
Decide which text includes Maya's personal thoughts.
Text 1 would be better because it is told by Maya and includes her thoughts and feelings. It shows her disappointment, nervousness, and happiness as the event changes.