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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Women's Suffrage - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a differentiated comprehension passage and worksheet about Women’s Suffrage.
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4th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets - Superstitions
Learn about common superstitions and beliefs with a printable reading comprehension passage for 4th grade.
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The French and Indian War - Passage and Graphic Organizer
Reveal another chapter in American History with a reading passage and graphic organizer worksheet on the French and Indian War.
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The Boston Massacre Reading and Writing Worksheets
Integrate Reading and Social Studies content with a set of Boston Massacre worksheets.
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4th Grade Writing Worksheets: Tornado Text-Based Writing
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills using 4th Grade writing worksheets and a high-interest reading passage about Tornadoes.
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Lewis and Clark Close Read Comprehension Pack
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with a close reading passage and activity pack about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
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Milton Hershey RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Bring National Chocolate Day into your classroom with a biography and RACES writing worksheet about Milton Hershey.
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Poetry Match Game - Elements of Poetry Activity
Practice identifying poetic elements in examples of poems with a poetry sorting activity for fourth grade and fifth grade.
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Theodore Roosevelt Constructed Response Worksheet
Teach your students about Theodore Roosevelt with this printable biographical constructed response worksheet.
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Navajo Code Talkers Constructed Response Worksheet
Discover the impact of the Navajo Code Talkers on the outcome of World War II with a cross-curricular constructed response worksheet.
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Idioms Four in a Row Game
Practice identifying the meaning of common idioms with an exciting game of Four-in-a-Row!
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Elements of Plot Teaching Presentation
Teach them to your students with a Plot Elements Teaching presentation.
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Great Depression Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this nonfiction constructed response worksheet to teach your students about the Great Depression.
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Jane Addams Biography - Worksheet
Use this biographical constructed response worksheet to teach your students about Jane Addams.
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Daniel Boone Constructed Response Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a constructed response worksheet about Daniel Boone and American Westward Expansion.
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Declaration of Independence- Constructed Response Passage Worksheet
Blend reading, writing, and historical concepts with the Declaration of Independence worksheet.
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Thomas Jefferson Printable Mini-Book
Read and learn about Thomas Jefferson with a printable informational reader and activity booklet.
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The Louisiana Purchase -Constructed Response Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and Social Studies content with a Louisiana Purchase Constructed Response worksheet and graphic organizer.
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Poetry Slapjack Game - Grades 4-5
Learn to identify rhyme, rhythm, and repetition with a poetry Slapjack Game!
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Google Slides Interactive - Story Retell Activity
Use this Google Slides Interactive activity to practice retelling stories.
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Marshall vs. Tubman Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Combine reading and history content with differentiated reading comprehension worksheets.
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Soccer vs. Football -Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Differentiate reading instruction with nonfiction texts, compare and contrast activities, and response to text writing opportunities.
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Mexican Cession- Constructed Response Passage Worksheet
Teach your students how to write a good constructed response and integrate grade level Social studies concepts with a Mexican Cession-based Constructed Response worksheet and graphic organizer.
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Idioms Bingo Game
Build vocabulary and have fun with a classroom game of Idiom Bingo.
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Reading and Writing Nonfiction Text: Earth Day Close Read Worksheets
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with this nonfiction Earth Day passage and accompanying activities.
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Reading Comprehension Worksheets-King Midas and the Golden Touch Google Interactive and Printable Resources
Review and practice multiple reading skills using the text “King Midas and the Golden Touch” with these digital and print resources.
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Multiple Meaning Word Puzzles
Match words to their many meanings using this set of 14 word + multiple definitions puzzle cards.
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Figurative Language Telephone Game
Play this figurative language game with a group to practice recognizing and inventing metaphors, similes, and personification.
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Write a Short Story – The Tale of Transformation
Get your students analyzing and writing a story with a lesson with this engaging and fully scaffolded writing project booklet.
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Letter to the Editor: Social Media – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with a persuasive text about social media.
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International Women's Day Gender Ground Rules – Task Cards
A set of task cards to be paired with the International Women's Day comic 'Gender Ground Rules'.
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Identifying Idioms and Their Meanings - Worksheet
A worksheet to practice identifying idioms and their meaning.
- Reading Comprehension Worksheets
- Reading Comprehension Templates
- Reading Comprehension Games
- Reading Comprehension Posters
- Reading Comprehension Flashcards
- 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