Reading: Comprehension Report Card Comments, Grades K-2
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 K-2: 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 the class reads nonfiction together, [Name] uses captions, labels and photographs to learn new facts and shares them with classmates.
- While reading, [Name] makes thoughtful predictions and revises them as new clues appear in the text.
Next step
- [Name] is ready to explore longer picture books and early nonfiction, using captions and labels to teach a classmate new facts.
Meets the standard M
Strengths
- In small group, [Name] answers who, what, where and when questions about a story and points to the page that shows the answer.
- Partway through a story, [Name] makes sensible predictions and checks them as the events unfold.
Next step
- Next, [Name] can use a story map to name the problem and solution in each book read during independent reading.
Approaching the standard A
Strengths
- With picture support, [Name] answers simple who and what questions about a story and is learning to answer where and why questions.
- [Name] sometimes makes predictions about what will happen next and is learning to check them against the text.
Next step
- During picture walks, [Name] can practice naming how characters feel and what clue in the picture shows it.
Beginning B
Strengths
- During shared nonfiction reading, [Name] is starting to notice that photographs and labels teach facts about a topic.
- With a sentence frame like "I did that too when," [Name] is starting to connect stories to [his/her/their] own life.
Next step
- Pointing to the pictures while retelling the beginning, middle and end of a story will help [Name] put events in order.
Support at home
- When your child shares an idea about a book, asking "How do you know?" builds the habit of pointing to evidence in the text.
How to write reading: comprehension comments for Grades K-2
- Cite a retelling the child gave after a read-aloud: did it include the beginning, middle and end, and the problem and solution? A story map or a five-finger retell gives families a ready next step.
- Young children often understand more than they can read. Comment on thinking shown during read-alouds and picture walks, so families do not assume a child still learning to decode cannot think deeply about stories.
- Mention informational books as well as stories, such as using a photo or caption to learn about an animal. Families can then ask what a picture shows during bedtime reading.
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 K-2
- Reading: Comprehension, Grades 3-5
- Writing, Grades K-2
- Speaking and Listening, Grades K-2
- Math: Number and Operations, Grades K-2
- Math: Measurement and Geometry, Grades K-2
- Science, Grades K-2
- Social Studies, Grades K-2
- 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.