Comprehension resources

Students read acknowledgement text from a journal and answer questions about acknowledgements.

Students read the letters written by four different people and identify the main idea of each letter.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to find the main idea of a transactional text. Students are asked to read a text then complete three short tasks. Junior Journal 30. Text not provided.

Students unpack a picture, making inferences from its visual cues. SJ-1-2-1998. Text provided.

Students read an article about shoeing a horse and find information from it to complete a retrieval chart.

From visual stimuli and a series of simple statements that describe physical features, students identify which animal is being described.

Students read an article on parachuting and complete a retrieval chart and answer comprehension questions.

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.

Students complete a cloze passage about koalas using their vocabulary and knowledge of grammar to create well-formed sentences.

Students write a set of instructions after reading a science article about growing crystals. Students assess their own writing using the supports provided.

Students read a play (retold from a traditional Persian folktale) about the interactions at a market place in old Baghdad. They then use evidence from the text and their background knowledge to complete the task. Assessment focus: evaluating. SJ-4-2-2009. Text not provided.

This resource is about types of books and tests the understanding of the differences between fiction - non-fiction, and assesses biography and autobiography.

Students read a poem, 'My Other Jandal', then answer inferential questions. The poem is provided with this resource. SJ-2-4-1994. Text not provided.

Students read a one-page article on DNA testing and answer four selected response questions about the aim and purpose of the article.

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

Students read an article on dog grooming. They find information to complete a retrieval chart and answer comprehension questions. SJ-1-1-1997. Text not provided.

Assessment focus: finding details to support the main idea of an informational text, and justifying why they agree or disagree with the main idea presented. The text used is about environmental issues to do with endangered native 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.

Students read a text about living in a house bus to answer retrieval and inferential questions. SJ-2-2-1995. Text provided.

Students read a poem, written from the point of view of an immigrant, then answer retrieval and inferential questions.

Students read an article on a town hall pipe organ and answer related questions. SJ-3-2-1985. Text provided.

Students study two graphs on some rocks and lake features of Saharan North Africa and answer a mix of questions to show this ability to interpret these graphs.

A short poem with four pictures is analysed with students having to match text with images and answer questions on movement and illustrations. SJ-2-4-1997. Text not provided.

Students interpret a series of road safety drawings with questions on visual cues, titles, emphasis and providing appropriate text.

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.