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The Sandcastle at Galveston — Reading Comprehension — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the 3rd Grade reading comprehension comprehension exercise.

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Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheet3rd Grade · English · Reading Comprehension

The Sandcastle at Galveston — Reading Comprehension — Answers

Part A: Find the facts

1.Where does the story take place?[1 mark]

Answer: On the beach at Galveston Island.

2.What three things was Lucia holding when the family arrived?[1 mark]

Answer: A bucket, two shovels and a drawing of a sandcastle.

3.What did Mateo want to do at the start of the story?[1 mark]
  1. Awatch Lucia
  2. Bhelp build the castle
  3. Cgo swimming
  4. Dsit with Grandma

Answer: help build the castle

The story says “Mateo ... did not want to watch. He wanted to help.”

4.What knocked down one wall of the castle?[1 mark]
  1. AMateo
  2. Ba big wave
  3. Ca gull
  4. Dthe wind

Answer: a big wave

“a big wave rushed up the beach ... one wall slid down.”

Part B: Think about it

5.Put these events in order: (a) a wave knocked down a wall; (b) Mateo went to look for shells; (c) Grandma took a picture; (d) Lucia and Mateo rebuilt the wall together.[1 mark]

Answer: b, a, d, c

6.How do you think Mateo felt when Lucia said “You're ruining it!”? Which clue in the story tells you?[2 marks]

Answer: Sad or hurt. His “lip wobbled” and he wandered off.

7.Why did Lucia “almost say no” when Mateo offered to help? Why do you think she changed her mind?[2 marks]

Answer: She was used to doing the castle her own way and he had knocked things down before. She changed her mind because she saw he wanted to help and was being kind, and because she was sorry she had upset him.

8.Why do you think they rebuilt the wall “a little farther from the water”?[1 mark]

Answer: So the waves would not reach it and knock it down again.

9.At the end, the castle was not the biggest, but Lucia decided it was “the best one.” What does this show about how Lucia has changed?[2 marks]

Answer: At first she only cared about making the biggest castle by herself. By the end she cares more about working with her brother and having fun together.

Part C: Words in the story

10.“Every time he patted a tower, it crumbled.” Crumbled means...[1 mark]
  1. Agrew taller
  2. Bfell apart into small pieces
  3. Cturned into shells
  4. Dgot wet

Answer: fell apart into small pieces

Sand towers that crumble break into small bits and fall down.

11.“one wall slid down like melting ice cream.” This compares the wall to ice cream to show that it...[1 mark]
  1. Atasted sweet
  2. Bwas very cold
  3. Cslowly slumped and lost its shape
  4. Dwas a pretty color

Answer: slowly slumped and lost its shape

Melting ice cream droops and slides, just like the wet sand wall.

Part D: Your turn

12.Retell the end of the story from Mateo's point of view. Use “I” and tell how he felt when the wall fell down and when Lucia said “Okay.”[4 marks]

Model answer: When the wave knocked down Lucia's wall, I felt sad for her, even though she was grumpy with me before. I had found lots of shells, so I told her I could fix it. I was scared she would say no again. When she said “Okay,” I felt so happy. I pressed the shells into the wall like buttons, and Grandma took our picture.

Success criteria:

  • Written in first person as Mateo
  • Includes events from the end of the story in the right order
  • Describes Mateo's feelings at two moments
  • Clear sentences with correct punctuation for speech
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Marking tips

  • Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
  • For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
  • Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.

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