Reading Comprehension Teaching Resources
Explore printable worksheets, digital activities and more to teach reading comprehension strategies and skills in your elementary classroom. Created by teachers, for teachers, the teaching resources in this collection are curriculum-aligned and have undergone a careful review by a member of our expert teaching team.
You'll find editable versions to easily differentiate your instruction for individual students, plus a variety of options to make lesson planning easier this school year so your students will be able to identify the main idea of a text, draw inferences, remember key details and more.
New to teaching this portion of the English curriculum or just looking for fresh and engaging ways to teach reading comprehension strategies? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Reading Comprehension?
We'll start at the beginning! Reading comprehension is a skill that's hard to overestimate in terms of its importance for elementary students to develop.
Defined as the ability to understand and interpret written language, reading comprehension involves the process of decoding text, extracting meaning from it, and then integrating that meaning with prior knowledge and understanding.
Not only does comprehension comprise the ability to recognize and understand individual words, but it also involves the ability to recognize patterns and relationships within sentences and paragraphs.
On top of that is the ability to make inferences and draw conclusions based on the information presented.
Yes, there's a lot packed in there!
How to Teach Reading Comprehension
To develop reading comprehension, students need a variety of language skills such as vocabulary knowledge, grammar and syntax, as well as cognitive processes such as attention, memory and critical thinking.
So how do you teach reading comprehension? Like many of those foundational skills we teach in elementary grades, this isn't something kids learn in a single lesson, unit or even one school year.
Teaching reading comprehension is going to stretch from kindergarten and first grade all the way through the rest of a child's academic career (at least on the pre-college levels).
That said, here are some activities to make use of as you approach teaching reading comprehension as an elementary teacher:
- Pre-Reading Activities — Brainstorming, KWL charts, prediction exercises and other "pre-reading" activities will help your students activate their prior knowledge, build background knowledge and set a purpose for reading. These are all key to developing their comprehension.
- During-Reading Strategies — Teaching your students to ask questions, summarize, visualize and make connections will give students the know-how they need to monitor their comprehension as they read.
- Post-Reading Activities — Reading comprehension doesn't stop when kids get to the last page of a text. It's only just beginning. That's why it's important to make sure your lesson plans include activities that help students deepen their understanding of the text and develop critical thinking skills. Examples of post-reading activities that can help build these skills include discussions, debates and written responses.
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Community Helpers: Police Officer – Comprehension Worksheet
Kick off a study of community helpers with a decodable police officer reading passage and comprehension worksheet.
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Community Helpers: Firefighter – Comprehension Worksheet
Kick off Fire Prevention Week this October with a decodable firefighter reading passage and comprehension worksheet.
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Problem and Solution Interactive Clip Cards
Practice identifying problems and solutions with an interactive clip card activity.
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Read and Draw a Story Worksheets
Practice reading comprehension with kindergarten and first-grade students with a set of Read and Draw comprehension worksheets.
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Google Slides Interactive - Features of Print
Use a Google Interactive activity to aid beginning readers in recognizing print features and concepts of print.
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Nonfiction Comprehension Worksheet Pack for First Grade
Integrate science, social studies, and first grade reading comprehension skills with a group of ten nonfiction reading comprehension worksheets.
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Find the Print Features Task Cards (K-1)
Use these task cards to aid kindergarten and first-grade readers in recognizing print features and concepts of print.
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What's Missing? – Interactive PowerPoint
Put those inferencing skills to use with this "guess what's missing" interactive activity for young learners.
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Making Text Connections Recording Sheet
Make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections when reading a piece of text with this recording sheet
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Weeks 4 and 5
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Making Text Connections Graphic Organizer (K–2)
A graphic organizer to use with students when making connections with a piece of text.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 3
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 2
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 1
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Inferencing Activity for Young Learners
Six mini posters with accompanying questions to use with young learners when teaching inferencing.
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Guided Reading Groups Organizer Template
Identify your guided reading groups and move students to different levels with this binder-size template.
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Guided Reading Groups - Comprehension Question Prompts
Use these question prompts before, during, and after reading texts in your guided reading sessions.
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Guided Reading Groups - Progress Tracker
Track student progress during guided reading sessions with this template.
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Who Is Harriet Tubman? – Shared Reading and Activity
Learn about Harriet Tubman and her work in the abolitionist movement with this 15-slide read-along PowerPoint presentation.
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Who Is Rosa Parks? – Shared Reading and Activity
Learn about and discuss activist Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott with this 15-slide read-along PowerPoint presentation.
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Reading Comprehension Skills - Student Tracker
Track which comprehension skills your students are using with this individual student template.
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Three Levels of Reading Posters
Beyond the lines, between the lines and on the lines posters for the three levels of reading.
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'I Can' Statements - Literacy (Lower Elementary)
A set of 90 'I can' statement cards focusing on literacy for lower elementary.
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Activating Prior Knowledge - Comprehension Strategy Poster
A poster explaining how to activate prior knowledge before reading.
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Sporting Picture Stories - Sequencing Activity
A set of sequencing cards for students to use as an independent writing activity.
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How to Wash Your Hands - Sequencing Cards
A set of 8 cards showing the steps for how to wash your hands properly
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How to Make a PB and J Sandwich - Sequencing Cards
A set of 6 cards showing the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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'I Can' Statements - Comprehension (Lower Elementary)
A set of 10 'I can' statement cards focusing on comprehension for lower elementary.
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Guided Reading Groups - Comprehension Strategy Tracker
Track which comprehension strategies your students are using during guided reading sessions with this template.
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Reading Strategy Bookmark
Bookmarks to remind your students of the different reading strategies.
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Celebrating Poetry Month in the Primary Grades – Weeks 4 and 5
Celebrate National Poetry Month in the primary classroom with this planning guide and set of resources.
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Celebrating Poetry Month in the Primary Grades - Week 3
Celebrate National Poetry Month in the primary classroom with this planning guide and set of resources.
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- Reading Comprehension for For 2nd Grade
- Reading Comprehension for For 3rd Grade
- Reading Comprehension for For 4th Grade
- Reading Comprehension for For 5th Grade
- Reading Comprehension for For 6th Grade
- Reading Comprehension for For 7th Grade