Acquiring and using information and ideas in informational texts resources

Students read a poster about railway crossing safety to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to evaluate the ideas and information in a text about an environmental issue. Students are asked to read a text, then respond to four questions. SJ-4-3-2005. Text provided.

Students read a short extract on diving and answer five comprehension questions.

Students read an article and are assessed on their ability to retrieve information and to make inferences in response to two questions about geologists.

This resource requires students to answer questions about an index page.

Students read a visual and written text about native plants and animals to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

Assessment focus: ability to use contextual clues to infer meaning of a word. (There is a link to the text used for this resource in the Using this Resource section.) Reading age 9.5-10.5. SJ-2-2006. Text provided.

Assessment focus: ability to use contextual clues to infer meaning of a word. (There is a link to the text used for this resource in the Using this Resource section.) SJ-2-1-2006. Text provided.

An extract about Sāmoan life provides the context for this assessment with its focus on retrieving information and making inferences. Text available.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to find the main idea of a transactional text about a Māori naturalist/scientist. Students are asked to read a text, identify the main idea from three choices provided, and then justify why they think their choice is right.

Students read about a visit to the islands of Kiribati by a New Zealand flight inspection team to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

A recount about a whale watch is the context for comprehension questions that require making inferences. The recount is reproduced in the resource. SJ-1-1-1998. Text provided.

This task assesses student ability to find the text features of a science report about one of our native birds. The task is essentially a literacy task in the context of scientific writing, and can also be accessed from the English Bank.

Students are assessed on their ability to find details that support them to identify the main idea in a text about an endangered species of New Zealand. Reading age 8.5-9.5. SJ-1-4-2005. Text provided.

Assessment focus: finding important information and the main idea of an informational text. The text used is about an introduced species of fish which has become a pest. SJ-2-4-2005. Text provided.

Students use the information in an article to interpret the body language of cats in nine different pictures. This task assesses student ability to bring together written and visual texts to show their comprehension. The text is reproduced in the Teacher information pages. SJ-3-1-1990. Text not provided.

This task assesses student ability to find the text features of an explanation of a scientific idea.

Students are assessed on their ability to find details to identify the main idea of a text about conservation projects for endangered species.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to find details that relate to the main idea of a text about a Māori naturalist/scientist. Students are asked to read a text, find details about the given main idea, then justify why they think the main idea is right or wrong.