Reading: Comprehension Report Card Comments, Grades 3-5
Comprehension is understanding what is read or heard: retelling or summarizing, finding the main idea, characters and lesson, making predictions and inferences backed by the text, using text features and context clues, and comparing texts.
Below are 13 sample sentences for Grades 3-5: two strengths and one next step for each of the 4 comment levels (Exceeds the standard / Meets the standard / Approaching the standard / Beginning), plus a tip for families. They are a small selection from the 161 reading: comprehension sentences in the full pack. Copy one, then add a detail only you know about the student.
Jump to: Exceeds the standard · Meets the standard · Approaching the standard · Beginning · Writing tips
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Exceeds the standard E
Strengths
- When two texts cover the same topic, [Name] compares the information and each author's point of view with insight.
- Comparing two books on the same topic, [Name] points out clear similarities and differences and explains why they matter.
Next step
- To push [his/her/their] thinking further, [Name] can look for how an author's word choice reveals a character's feelings and cite that evidence in book club.
Meets the standard M
Strengths
- [Name] compares two texts on the same topic and explains how the information in each is similar and different.
- As taught in class, [Name] can explain how two books about the same topic are alike and how they are different.
Next step
- Keeping a vocabulary journal of new words and the context clues that explained them would help [Name] build word knowledge in chapter books.
Approaching the standard A
Strengths
- Sustaining attention in chapter books is something [Name] is building, and at times [he/she/they] could use help choosing a book that fits.
- [Name] is making progress with comparing two books on the same topic and can name one way they are alike when a teacher guides the discussion.
Next step
- [Name] can practice summarizing each chapter in three sentences that capture the most important events.
Beginning B
Strengths
- Using a Venn diagram with adult support, [Name] is starting to list one similarity between two texts on the same topic.
- In small-group lessons, [Name] is taking first steps in comparing two books, telling one way they are the same with adult help.
Next step
- Reading shorter chapter books with a reading partner will help [Name] build stamina and talk through the story.
Support at home
- Reading two books on the same topic, or two versions of a favorite story, and talking about how they differ builds comparison skills at home.
How to write reading: comprehension comments for Grades 3-5
- Say whether the child backs up an idea with evidence: pointing to a sentence, quoting a detail or explaining why it matters. Name the setting, such as book clubs or a written reading response.
- Distinguish summarizing from retelling everything. Note whether the child can pick out the main idea and two key details from a chapter or article, a common sticking point in grades 3-5.
- Mention reading stamina and book choice: how long the child reads independently and whether a chapter book or novel holds together across several days. Sticky notes for questions make a concrete next step.
Watch out: Writing reads well when you mean understands well. Smooth oral reading belongs under foundational skills. Here, describe what the child understood, such as why a character changed, and keep the two subjects apart.
At the top of the scale, describe accurate, independent work and how the child extends it, such as choosing harder books or explaining a strategy to a partner. For Meets, use steady words like usually or as taught in class; for Approaching, say what happens with reminders or a model; for Beginning, name what is emerging and the support in place. Describe the skill in action, not the mark.
What Reading: Comprehension covers
In these comments, reading: comprehension covers these behaviours:
- asks and answers questions and retells or summarizes key details
- identifies the main idea, theme and story elements (characters, setting, events)
- makes inferences and supports thinking with evidence from the text
- uses text features and context to understand informational texts and new vocabulary
- compares texts and builds reading stamina across a range of books
More US standards-based K-5 comments
- Reading: Foundational Skills, Grades 3-5
- Reading: Comprehension, Grades K-2
- Writing, Grades 3-5
- Speaking and Listening, Grades 3-5
- Math: Number and Operations, Grades 3-5
- Math: Measurement and Geometry, Grades 3-5
- Science, Grades 3-5
- Social Studies, Grades 3-5
- Opening and closing sentences
- All US standards-based K-5 skills and grade bands
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How these sentences were made, and what has been checked: About these comments.