OSTP ELA Grade 5 Practice Questions - Oklahoma School Testing Program - English Language Arts, Grade 5 Exam

Read the passage from 'The Whispering Prairie': Ten-year-old Maya stood at the edge of her grandfather's pasture in Osage County, Oklahoma. Summer heat shimmered over the golden big bluestem grass. Her grandfather, Papa Jim, handed her a small canvas pouch of heirloom corn seeds passed down through five generations of their family. 'Land isn't just soil, Maya,' Papa Jim said gently, kneeling beside her in the dark prairie earth. 'It's a memory keeper. When you care for it, it takes care of you.' Maya looked at the dry ground and doubted anything could grow after the long drought. Still, she carefully pressed each seed into the dirt and watered them from the well bucket. Weeks later, after a sudden thunderstorm broke the heat wave, bright green shoots broke through the soil. Based on the passage, why does Maya press the seeds into the ground even though she feels doubtful?