PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Grade 3 ELA Practice Questions 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Read this sentence: 'The dog ran quickly across the muddy yard.' What part of speech is the word 'muddy'?
- Noun
- Verb
- Adjective (Correct answer)
- Adverb
Correct answer: Adjective
'Muddy' describes the noun 'yard,' telling us what kind of yard it is, which makes it an adjective.
Question 2: Which sentence is a compound sentence?
- The bird sang a sweet song.
- Maria loves to read books about animals.
- Jake wanted to play outside, but it started to rain. (Correct answer)
- Running through the park is fun.
Correct answer: Jake wanted to play outside, but it started to rain.
A compound sentence joins two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction. 'Jake wanted to play outside' and 'it started to rain' are two complete thoughts joined by 'but.'
Question 3: Which word is a synonym for the word 'happy'?
- Angry
- Joyful (Correct answer)
- Tired
- Afraid
Correct answer: Joyful
A synonym is a word with the same or very similar meaning. 'Joyful' means feeling great happiness, just like 'happy.'
Question 4: Read this passage: 'Monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles every year. They fly south in the fall and return north in the spring. Scientists call this journey migration.' What is the best title for this passage?
- How Butterflies Get Their Colors
- The Long Journey of Monarch Butterflies (Correct answer)
- Why Butterflies Are Beautiful
- Butterflies and Other Insects
Correct answer: The Long Journey of Monarch Butterflies
The passage is entirely about monarch butterflies traveling long distances, which is called migration. 'The Long Journey of Monarch Butterflies' best captures the main topic.
Question 5: Which word correctly completes this sentence? 'Yesterday, the children _____ their lunches outside under the big oak tree.'
- eat
- eats
- eating
- ate (Correct answer)
Correct answer: ate
The word 'yesterday' signals that the action happened in the past. 'Ate' is the correct past tense form of the verb 'eat.'
Question 6: Which sentence uses a comma correctly?
- I like apples oranges, and bananas.
- I like apples, oranges, and bananas. (Correct answer)
- I, like apples oranges and bananas.
- I like, apples, oranges and bananas.
Correct answer: I like apples, oranges, and bananas.
When listing three or more items in a series, commas are placed after each item except the last. 'Apples, oranges, and bananas' follows this rule correctly.
Read this sentence: 'The dog ran quickly across the muddy yard.' What part of speech is the word 'muddy'?