Checkpoint Sprint Exit Ticket
Checkpoint Sprint
Grade 3 ELA • Checkpoint 1 Exit Ticket
6 Questions
Name:
Date:
Read the passage, then answer questions 1–6.
Maya’s Rooftop Surprise
Every afternoon, Maya climbed the stairs to her apartment’s sunny rooftop. While her neighbors hung laundry, Maya tended three wooden crates filled with soil. She had planted tomato seeds in April, hoping to surprise her grandmother with fresh salsa. At first, only tiny green sprouts peeked through the dirt, and Maya worried they would never grow tall enough.
When a sudden hailstorm rattled the city in May, Maya dashed upstairs with old bedsheets. She draped the sheets gently over the crates to shield the fragile stems from the icy pellets. By July, bright red tomatoes hung from sturdy vines. Maya carried a brimming basket downstairs, beaming as her grandmother took the first juicy bite.
1 Which detail from the passage best shows that Maya is caring?
A. She climbs the stairs to the rooftop every afternoon.
B. She covers the young plants with bedsheets during a hailstorm.
C. Her neighbors use the rooftop to hang their laundry.
D. She plants her tomato seeds in three wooden crates.
2 Why did Maya plant the tomato seeds in April?
A. She wanted to sell tomatoes to her neighbors.
B. She needed a school science project for the spring.
C. She hoped to surprise her grandmother with fresh salsa.
D. She wanted to keep the rooftop warm during hailstorms.
Checkpoint Sprint • Grade 3 ELA
Page 2
3 Read this sentence from the passage:
“She draped the sheets gently over the crates to shield the fragile stems from the icy pellets.”
What does the word fragile mean in this sentence?
A. easily broken or hurt
B. thick and woody
C. brightly colored
D. hidden underground
4 What is the central message of “Maya’s Rooftop Surprise”?
A. Rooftops are the best place to grow vegetables in every city.
B. Patience and hard work can lead to a rewarding result.
C. Spring storms always ruin outdoor gardens.
D. Grandmothers know the best recipes for homemade salsa.
5 Read the sentence below. Which word is an adjective that describes the tomatoes?
“Maya carried a brimming basket downstairs, beaming as her grandmother took the first juicy bite.”
A. carried
B. downstairs
C. juicy
D. basket
6 Which word belongs to the same word family as planted?
A. planet
B. replant
C. painted
D. plate
Checkpoint Sprint Answer Key
Checkpoint Sprint
Grade 3 ELA • Teacher Answer Key
6 Questions
Quick Key:
1. B 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. C 6. B
Q1 Answer: B
Character Traits & Text Evidence
B. She covers the young plants with bedsheets during a hailstorm. This action directly shows Maya protecting and caring for her fragile plants, whereas the other options describe neutral setting or routine details.
Q2 Answer: C
Key Details & Motivation
C. She hoped to surprise her grandmother with fresh salsa. Paragraph 1 explicitly states Maya planted the tomato seeds in April with this goal in mind.
Q3 Answer: A
Vocabulary & Context Clues
A. easily broken or hurt. Context clues (“draped the sheets gently” and “shield... from the icy pellets”) show that the young stems needed protection because they could easily be damaged.
Q4 Answer: B
Central Message / Theme
B. Patience and hard work can lead to a rewarding result. Maya tends her plants from April to July and protects them through a storm before finally sharing ripe tomatoes with her grandmother.
Q5 Answer: C
Grammar: Adjectives
C. juicy. “Juicy” is an adjective describing the noun “bite” (from the tomato). “Carried” is a verb, “downstairs” is an adverb, and “basket” is a noun.
Q6 Answer: B
Word Families & Base Words
B. replant. Both “planted” and “replant” share the base word plant. Distractors “planet” and “plate” share similar letters, while “painted” only shares the -ed suffix.