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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The Firefighter Story – International Women's Day
A story and worksheet that explores issues regarding female gender stereotypes.
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Mood PowerPoint
An editable PowerPoint presentation to use when teaching mood.
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Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Opinion Text)
A sequencing task using an opinion text.
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Character Profile Flip Book - Primary Grades
Explore story characters with this flipbook template for lower primary students.
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Advertising Resource Pack
An educational resource pack with opinion writing tasks and worksheets about advertising.
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Writing An Opinion Text Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of an opinion text.
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Poetic Devices PowerPoint
A 23-slide editable PowerPoint template to use when introducing students to poetic devices.
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Applying Reading Comprehension Strategies Worksheets
A collection of worksheets which enable students to practice applying reading comprehension strategies.
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Inferring Written Scenario Task Cards
Task cards that help students use their knowledge and ideas to help them decode ideas in texts.
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Sequencing Text - Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to understand sequence when reading.
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Making Predictions with Books - Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to make predictions when reading.
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Interesting Idioms Worksheet
A worksheet using common idioms.
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Statue of Liberty Comprehension Worksheet
Print a Statue of Liberty comprehension worksheet that encourages students to apply a range of reading strategies.
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Comprehension - Lion and The Mouse
A fun script and set of questions to help students develop reading and comprehension strategies.
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Literature Task Cards
A set of 30 literature tasks to assist your students with examining and responding to literature.
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Monitoring Comprehension Worksheet
A resource focusing on the reading comprehension strategy of monitoring.
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Monitoring Comprehension Symbols Poster
A poster of symbols students can use to monitor their understanding of a text.
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Before, During and After Reading Non-Fiction Questions - Wheel
5 different versions of wheels to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
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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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Exploring Poetry Worksheet - Alliteration
A worksheet to help students understand alliteration in poetry.
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Author's Purpose - Response Template
A teaching resource to help teach your students about the author's purpose for a piece of text.
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Fact or Opinion - Turtle Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to distinguish between fact or opinion.
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Cause and Effect - Scenario Worksheet
A worksheet and answer sheet to use when teaching students the about the cause and effect text structure.
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Super Six Reading Comprehension Strategies - Question Flashcards
A set of question cards to use when working with the Super Six reading comprehension strategies.
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Interpreting Figurative Language - Worksheets
Explore figurative language in poetry with this age-appropriate poem and accompanying vocabulary questions.
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I Have, Who Has? Fact and Opinion Game
A whole class game to help students understand the difference between a fact and an opinion.
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Exploring Poetry Worksheet - Imagery
A worksheet to help students understand imagery in poetry.
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Exploring Poetry Worksheet - Context, Purpose and Audience
A worksheet to help students understand context, purpose and audience in poetry.
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Elements of Poetry Worksheet - Sound Devices
A worksheet to help students understand sound devices in poetry.
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Elements of Poetry Worksheet - Structure, Rhyme and Rhythm
A worksheet to help students understand structure, rhyme and rhythm in poetry.
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Before, During, and After Reading Fiction - Question Prompts
Question prompts and a worksheet to use when asking questions before, during, and after reading.
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Before, During and After Reading Fiction Questions - Wheel
5 different versions of wheels to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
- Reading Comprehension Worksheets
- Reading Comprehension Templates
- Reading Comprehension Posters
- Reading Comprehension Games
- Reading Comprehension for Pre-K
- Reading Comprehension for Kindergarten
- Reading Comprehension for 1st Grade
- Reading Comprehension for 2nd Grade
- Reading Comprehension for 3rd Grade
- Reading Comprehension for 4th Grade
- Reading Comprehension for 5th Grade
- Reading Comprehension for 6th Grade
- Reading Comprehension for 7th Grade