Grade 8 language report card comments - Ontario

9 sample Grade 8 language comments for Ontario's Elementary Progress Report Card, from Progressing Very Well to Progressing With Difficulty: 4 strengths and 5 next steps. Adapt any sentence to what you have seen in class, or write them for your whole class in the free Studio.

Write all of these in the free Studio

Sample comments

Shown with the sample name Sam and they/them. The Studio uses your student's first name and pronoun.

A curriculum chip shows the expectation a sentence names. It is for your reference and stays off the report card.

Progressing Very Well

Strength. Sam writes clear, well-planned pieces for many purposes and revises with care to make their ideas stronger. Language Grade 8 · D2.1: persuasive, expository, and informational texts Language Grade 8 · D2.5: make revisions to the content, elements of style Written for Grades 7-8
Next step. Sam is encouraged to try different styles and voices in their writing to suit each audience. Language Grade 8 · D2.3: establish an identifiable voice in their texts, modifying language and style Written for Grades 7-8
Next step. To grow further, Sam can read more challenging texts and discuss the big ideas in each. Language Grade 8 · C2.6: summarize and synthesize the important ideas and supporting details Written for Grades 7-8

Progressing Well

Strength. Sam uses new vocabulary from our reading in their speaking and writing. Language Grade 8 · B2.2: acquire and use explicitly taught vocabulary Written for Grades 7-8
Strength. Sam writes clearly for different purposes and is organizing ideas well. Language Grade 8 · D2.1: persuasive, expository, and informational texts Written for Grades 7-8
Next step. A next step is for Sam to use more specific evidence from the text to support their ideas. Language Grade 8 · C3.2: using explicit and implicit evidence, to explain and support their interpretations Written for Grades 7-8

Progressing With Difficulty

Strength. Sam can identify key ideas in texts when working with a partner or small group. Language Grade 8 · C2.6: summarize and synthesize the important ideas and supporting details Written for Grades 7-8
Next step. Sam will benefit from reading shorter texts closely and talking about the main ideas before writing. Language Grade 8 · C2.6: summarize and synthesize the important ideas and supporting details Written for Grades 7-8
Next step. Sam is encouraged to break longer words into parts to read and spell each word accurately. Language Grade 8 · B2.1: meanings of words and morphemes (i.e., bases, prefixes, and suffixes) Written for Grades 7-8

How Ontario reports

The Elementary Progress Report Card goes home between October 20 and November 20.
Schools will use the Elementary Progress Report Card between October 20 and November 20 of the school year.
Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), p. 53 · Source
Each subject on the progress report gets one of three progress indicators.
Teachers will check one of the following to indicate progress: Progressing With Difficulty / Progressing Well / Progressing Very Well
Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), p. 56 · Source
Comments should describe what students have learned, their strengths and next steps.
In writing anecdotal comments, teachers should focus on what students have learned, describe significant strengths, and identify next steps for improvement.
Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), p. 64 · Source

Questions teachers ask

How is progress shown for subjects on the progress report?

Teachers check Progressing With Difficulty, Progressing Well or Progressing Very Well for each subject, or NA if the subject has not been taught yet (Growing Success, p. 56).

Are these Grade 8 language comments tied to the curriculum?

All 9 comments name a skill and show the Ontario Curriculum match for Grade 8 beside the sentence. A match shows the skill is taught at this grade; judge the fit yourself.

Where do student names go?

Nowhere. Names, ratings and comments are kept in this browser's storage on your computer and are never sent to Milestone Teachers or anyone else. One button clears them.

More report card comments

Other Grade 8 subjects

Language in other grades

All Ontario report card comments · Ontario Studio

Honest limits

Every sentence is a starting point to adapt from your own evidence. Only you know your student.
Independent resource from Milestone Teachers, not a Ministry of Education publication. Where your board's forms or wording differ, use your board's.

Pair it with

The Studio is free. These printable reporting resources are separate products on this site, each for the place named in its title; open a product page to see its pages, contents and licence.

Ontario Report Season Kit — Grades 1–8: Four resources in one download for Grades 1–8: a 20-page evidence organizer, a 20-page learning-skills tracker, 516 progress-report comment drafts and 480 learning-skills drafts. The parts are also sold separately, so check what you already own.
Ontario Learning Skills Comment Bank: 480 learning-skills comments and 20 general opening and closing comments, as a PDF, an editable Word document and an editable Excel workbook, to adapt to your own evidence.
Ontario Learning Skills & Work Habits Tracker: A print-and-write tracker for recording classroom evidence before you use professional judgement for reporting.
Ontario Anecdotal Notes & Evidence Organizer: Printable forms and class tools for observations, conversations and products, Kindergarten to Grade 8.