ATL Thinking Skills Report Comments, Grades 3-5
Thinking skills cover how a child analyses and evaluates ideas, comes up with new ones, transfers learning between subjects and units of inquiry, and reflects on how they learned and what they would change next time.
Below are 13 sample sentences for Grades 3-5: two strengths and one next step for each of the 4 comment levels (Extending / Consolidating / Developing / Beginning), plus a tip for families. They are a small selection from the 184 thinking skills sentences in the full pack. Copy one, then add a detail only you know about the student.
Jump to: Extending · Consolidating · Developing · Beginning · Writing tips
Fills in the name and pronouns on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Extending E
Strengths
- [Name] applies persuasive writing skills to real issues with confidence, for example writing a well-argued letter about reducing plastic at school.
- [Name] confidently applies strategies from one subject in a new context and explains how the strategy was adapted to fit the new task.
Next step
- During our next long group inquiry, [Name] can challenge [himself/herself/themselves] to connect learning from several subjects to one real-world issue.
Consolidating C
Strengths
- [Name] regularly applies maths skills to real problems in our inquiries, such as working out costs or comparing measurements on a graph.
- When a piece of work is finished, [Name] generally picks out one part [he/she/they] would keep and one part [he/she/they] would redo.
Next step
- A next step for [Name] is to plan how a skill from one subject could help in [his/her/their] current unit of inquiry.
Developing D
Strengths
- [Name] occasionally uses maths skills such as measuring or graphing in other subjects when reminded of the connection.
- [Name] sometimes identifies one thing to improve in [his/her/their] work when the teacher asks a guiding question.
Next step
- [Name] can add a 'connections' column to [his/her/their] notes to record how new learning links to earlier units or other subjects.
Beginning B
Strengths
- [Name] uses maths skills in other subjects, such as measuring in science, when step-by-step visual prompts are provided.
- Using picture cards as a guide, [Name] is working towards naming one part of a task that was easy and one that was hard.
Next step
- Using sentence starters such as 'One success was' and 'Next time I will' will help [Name] write a short reflection.
Support at home
- When watching a programme or reading a story together, you can ask [Name] what a character could have done differently.
How to write thinking skills comments for Grades 3-5
- Cite written evidence of reflection: a journal entry that says which strategy helped, or how the child used success criteria to check a draft. This separates Consolidating from Extending better than adjectives do.
- Name the subjects involved when you praise transfer, for example applying graphing from maths to a science inquiry. Parents then see the skill as portable rather than tied to one lesson.
- For critical thinking, describe what the child compared or judged: two points of view, two possible solutions, or the strength of a piece of evidence. Replace vague praise like 'thinks deeply' with that detail.
Watch out: Writing 'is a great thinker' tells parents nothing. Name which part of thinking you saw (questioning, creating, transferring or reflecting) and the task where it happened, then set a next step in that same part.
At Extending, describe independent use and transfer: the child applies the skill in a new unit of inquiry or helps classmates use it. Consolidating fits usually or with few reminders; Developing fits sometimes or with guidance; Beginning names what the child does with adult support and what is emerging. Show the level through one observed example rather than repeating the label.
What Thinking Skills covers
ATL sub-skills for thinking skills:
- critical-thinking skills (analysing and evaluating issues and ideas)
- creative-thinking skills (generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives)
- transfer skills (using skills and knowledge in multiple contexts)
- reflection skills (reconsidering the process of learning)
More ATL skills comments
- Thinking Skills, K-Grade 2
- Communication Skills, Grades 3-5
- Social Skills, Grades 3-5
- Self-Management Skills, Grades 3-5
- Research Skills, Grades 3-5
- Opening and closing sentences
- All ATL skills skills and grade bands
- For the same report: Subject Report Comments for Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary, Stages 1-9
- Build a comment with the comment picker
How these sentences were made, and what has been checked: About these comments.