Comprehension resources

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

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.

The assessment focus is on the ability to make inferences about character and justify these with evidence from text.

Students read a text on shoplifting to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

To answer mainly multiple choice questions, students retrieve information and make inferences from a text about Socrates.

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.

A joke about a parrot is the context for this resource that assesses understanding of idioms and the interpretation of humour.

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

This resource explores a poem written for two voices about a windy night. Text provided.

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.

Students read an article about castles to complete a retrieval chart using information from the text. SJ-1-2-1995. Text provided.

Students read a report on a fisheries officer's work and make mainly short written responses. The assessment focus is on comprehension and vocabulary. SJ-3-3-1990. 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.

The assessment focus is on students' abilities to identify the details in a text that support a given, main idea.

Students read an extract about gathering water in Sāmoa to find information to fill in a chart. SJ-3-3-1999. Text provided.

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

This task assesses students' ability to analyse a text to identify and justify character traits and points of view, including the author's.

A newspaper article on working from home is the stimulus for this resource. The assessment focus is on looking at both sides of an issue, vocabulary and comprehension.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to identify important information to establish the main idea of a transactional text about blushing. SJ-4-1-2006. Text provided.

Students read a poem about air to answer retrieval and inferential questions. SJ-2-2-1999. Text provided.

Students read a narrative that is about being different and about group dynamics. Assessment focus: an evaluation of characters and the author's construction of them. (A link to the text is provided. Reading age <8.) SJ-1-4-2005. Text provided.

From visual stimuli and a series of simple statements that describe personal attributes, students identify which person is being described.

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

The assessment focus is on student ability to identify details that support the main idea of a text, and to identify where the main idea is developed.

Students complete a cloze passage with 26 blanks about a boy stuck between some steps. A scoring guide with replacement words/synonyms and guidelines for interpretation are included.