STAAR Grade 3 Reading Language Arts
STAAR Grade 3 Reading Language Arts is a trademark of its owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Test Treasure Publication or TTP Prep.
STAAR Grade 3 Reading Language Arts is a trademark of its owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Test Treasure Publication or TTP Prep.
10 sample questions for the STAAR Grade 3 Reading Language Arts, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.
Sections covered on the exam: Reading, Writing.
Question 1 · Reading
Answer: B. not wanting to do something
Paragraph 4 explains that Marisol “usually let her older cousin Diego do the talking” and had to take “a deep breath” before acting, so reluctant means not wanting to do something. “Too excited to stay still” is tempting because Marisol has a new idea, but the clues show she is hesitant, not eager.
Question 2 · Reading
Answer: B. moving fast and wildly
A dog that has slipped its chain runs free and wild, so the simile shows the wind rushing fast and wildly down the lane. “Making a barking sound” is tempting because dogs bark, but the lines describe how the wind moves, not a sound it makes.
Question 3 · Reading
Answer: A. feels embarrassed that he blamed Jada
Tomás looks at the floor right as he realizes “Jada didn’t lose it,” and then he apologizes, which shows he is embarrassed. “Is searching the floor for the map” is tempting because the map was missing, but the map has already been found in Pepper’s cage by this point.
Question 4 · Writing
Answer: D. Have you ever wondered how a giant pumpkin grows from one tiny seed?
The paper explains how a pumpkin grows from a seed, and the question “Have you ever wondered how a giant pumpkin grows from one tiny seed?” hooks the reader and names that topic. “Pumpkins can be carved, baked into pies, or used to decorate porches” is tempting because it is interesting, but it is about uses of pumpkins, not how they grow.
Question 5 · Writing
Answer: A. Change the period after Rosa to a comma
The greeting of a friendly letter ends with a comma, so “Dear Rosa.” should be “Dear Rosa,” just as the closing “Your cousin,” ends with a comma. Changing the comma after cousin to a period is tempting, but the closing is already correct; it is the greeting that needs a comma.
Question 6 · Reading
Answer: D. twisted and stirred in a nervous way
In paragraph 6, Ravi’s hands are trembling and he is worried about speaking in front of the class, so his stomach twisted and stirred in a nervous way. “Rumbled loudly because he was hungry” is tempting because stomachs rumble, but nothing in the paragraph is about food or hunger.
Question 7 · Reading
Answer: D. The speaker makes tortillas instead of only watching Abuela.
In stanzas 1–4 Abuela does all the work, but in stanza 5 “she hands the rolling pin to me,” and the speaker’s tortillas “come out lumpy.” “The speaker describes the smell of the tortillas for the first time” is wrong because the smell is described in stanza 4.
Question 8 · Reading
Answer: B. long open boxes that hold water for animals
Elena checks “the water troughs for the cattle” while doing ranch chores, so troughs are containers that hold water for animals to drink. “Buckets used to give horses a bath” is tempting because horses are in the same sentence, but the troughs are for the cattle and nothing mentions bathing.
Question 9 · Writing
Answer: C. Picture a sunny corner of our schoolyard filled with plants we grew ourselves.
The sentence “Picture a sunny corner of our schoolyard filled with plants we grew ourselves” pulls the reader in and leads straight to Priya’s claim in sentence 2. The fact about sunlight, water, and soil is true, but it does not grab interest and repeats an idea from sentence 6.
Question 10 · Writing
Answer: C. Insert a comma after said
A comma belongs between the speaker tag “Mom said” and the words in quotation marks, as in sentence 18. Changing “Grab” to “grab” is wrong because the first word of a quotation that is a full sentence is capitalized.
TTP Prep has 200 STAAR Grade 3 Reading practice questions with explanations, timed and mock-exam modes, 157 flashcards, interactive lessons, a printable cheat sheet and a readiness score. Start free, no card needed.
More free questions: browse every exam.