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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Exploring Poetry Worksheet - Alliteration
A worksheet to help students understand alliteration in poetry.
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Cause and Effect - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Sequencing - Events Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to sequence important events when reading.
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Story Sequencing - Template
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to sequence important events when reading.
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Character Emotions Worksheet
Make inferences about character's feelings with this one-page worksheet.
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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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Reading Detectives Name Tags
8 colorful reading detective name tags to assign students during book club sessions.
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Reading Detectives Resource Pack
A 16-page resource pack including 8 detective roles to assign to students during book clubs or reading group sessions.
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Sequencing Worksheets Bundle (Why Bears Have Stumpy Tails)
Print a sequencing worksheet for 1st or 2nd grade with an engaging bear story! Give students practice identifying the story beginning, series of events and ending.
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In My Eyes (Poem) - Poetry Reading Comprehension Activity
Practice analyzing poetry with this poem and set of comprehension questions.
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Declaration of Independence - Comprehension Task
A comprehension task that encourages students to reflect on specific quotes from the Declaration of Independence.
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Guided Reading Folder - Cover and Dividers
Use this collection of templates to organize your guided reading folder.
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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 Worksheets - The Business of Bees (5th Grade)
Read and learn about bees, pollination and honey production with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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Before, During, and After Reading Worksheet
A worksheet to use when asking questions before, during, and after reading.
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Before, During and After Reading Fiction Questions - Dice
5 different versions of dice to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
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Movie Versus Book - Template
A template where students compare and review a movie and a book and construct a 3-D popcorn box.
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Writing Informative Texts PowerPoint
A 19 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the structure and language features of informative texts.
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Book Review Worksheet
A book review and summary card for comprehension learning.
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Reciprocal Teaching - Role Cards
Assign roles to your students during guided reading groups with this set of 4 reciprocal teaching role cards.
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Elements of Poetry PowerPoint - Grade 5 and Grade 6
A 25 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when introducing students to the elements of poetry.
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Platypus Adaptations - Reading Passage & Questions
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the platypus with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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2nd Grade Reading Passage & Worksheet- Being a Good Pet Parent
Print a 2nd grade reading comprehension passage and worksheet to teach comprehension skills and learn about being a good pet parent by limiting pets' impact on ecosystems.
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How to Summarize Fiction Mini Book
Explore the important factors of summarizing a fiction text with this student mini-book.
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How to Summarize Nonfiction Mini Book
Explore the elements needed for a good summary of nonfiction texts with this How to Summarize Nonfiction mini-book.
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Color-Coding Summarizing Nonfiction Text Worksheets
Practice summarizing small nonfiction texts with this fun color-coding set of worksheets.
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Summarizing Fiction Slide Deck
Build summarizing skills with fiction texts using these teaching slides.
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Penguin Adaptations Printables - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the fascinating world of penguins and their adaptations with our set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd graders.
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Koala Adaptations Comprehension Worksheets for 4th Grade
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the koala with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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Naked Mole Rats – Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn facts about the naked mole rat with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 5th grade.
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Amazing Ants! – Comprehension Worksheet for 2nd Grade
Review reading skills and learn about Amazing Ants! with a printable 2nd grade nonfiction reading comprehension worksheet.
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Christmas Around the World - 4th Grade Reading Comprehension
Discover how Christmas is celebrated in the northern and southern hemispheres with printable reading comprehension sheets for 4th grade.
- 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