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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Bloom’s Taxonomy - Second Grade Reading Comprehension Questions
Grow comprehension skills with our Reading Comprehension - Second Grade Bloom’s Taxonomy Reading Task Cards.
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Monitoring Comprehension Task Cards
Use these Monitoring Comprehension Task Cards to enhance reading comprehension skills.
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Monitoring Comprehension Worksheets
Help students strengthen their reading comprehension skills with this set of differentiated worksheets for monitoring comprehension!
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Free Click or Clunk Worksheet
Support students in monitoring their reading comprehension with this Click and Clunk Reading Strategy Recording Sheet!
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Objective and Subjective Language Worksheet
Use this objective and subjective language worksheet to help students distinguish between facts and opinions.
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Free Monitor and Clarify Anchor Chart
Display and remind students to monitor and clarify their comprehension of a text while reading with this Monitor and Clarify Anchor Chart.
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Monitoring Comprehension Symbols Worksheet
A resource focusing on the reading comprehension strategy of monitoring.
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Comprehension Fix-Up Strategies Teaching Slides
Teach your students different comprehension fix up strategies with this set of informative teaching slides.
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Comprehension Monitoring Strategies PowerPoint
Use this Comprehension Monitoring Strategies PowerPoint to guide students through the learning of self monitoring while reading.
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Self Monitoring Strategies for Reading Comprehension Flashcards
Explore these Self Monitoring Strategies for Reading Comprehension flashcards to support students becoming confident readers.
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Reading Comprehension Symbols Anchor Chart Pack
Use these Reading Comprehension Symbols posters to help students keep track of their comprehension during reading.
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Click or Clunk Strategy Poster and Desk Mat
Explore the click and clunk reading strategy with your students using this poster and desk mat set.
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Monitor and Clarify Reading Strategy Digital Task Cards
Help students gain more practice in monitoring while reading using these Monitoring and Clarifying Reading Strategy Practice digital task cards.
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Monitor and Clarify Worksheets
Help students monitor and clarify while reading using these Monitor and Clarify Worksheets.
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Free Making Predictions When Reading Journal
Encourage deeper thinking with this Making Predictions When Reading Journal template.
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Making Predictions – Kindergarten Worksheet Set
Explore the comprehension strategy of prediction using these prediction worksheets created specifically for the early years classroom.
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Predict What Will Happen Next – Picture Task Cards
Use our Predict What Will Happen Next – Picture Task Cards to practice making predictions with your young learners.
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Making Predictions Task Cards
Use these making predictions task cards in the classroom to help students with predicting skills during reading.
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Making Predictions Assessment – Interactive Game
Assess predicting skills with this Making Predictions Assessment digital quiz.
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Making Predictions Game Board
Use this Making Predictions Game Board to engage students in making predictions with short text.
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Making Predictions Multiple Choice Worksheet Set
Improve students' reading comprehension with our Making Predictions Multiple Choice Worksheet PDF, which features engaging short stories.
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Making Predictions Sentence Starters Flashcards
Use these Making Predictions Sentence Starters Flashcards to guide students in making accurate predictions using prompts.
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Making Predictions in Reading Worksheet Pack
Practice reading and making predictions with this making predictions in reading worksheet pack.
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Making Predictions Picture Cards Activity
Engage young learners in predicting with these Making Predictions Picture Cards, no reading required.
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Prediction Questions for Reading Flashcards
Encourage active reading with Predictions Questions for Reading Flashcards, a versatile resource including question prompts for students to use during reading.
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Making Predictions Before, During, After Reading Bookmark
Support student comprehension with these Making Predictions Before, During and After Bookmarks.
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Making Predictions Worksheet Set
Build early comprehension skills with these Making Predictions Worksheets that include age-appropriate activities using pictures, sentence starters, and simple texts.
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Making Predictions With Pictures Prompt Cards
Encourage early reading comprehension by using Making Predictions with Pictures Prompt Cards to help students develop critical thinking and inference skills through visual storytelling.
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Predictions in Reading Comprehension Task
Help students to engage with prediction during reading with this predictions in reading comprehension task.
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Cause and Effect Matching Cards
Build comprehension skills with your students using this cause and effect matching activity.
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Character Interview Task Cards
Use these book character interview questions to extend your students' learning about the narrative elements.
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Caption Text Feature Matching Game
Teach your students about the caption text feature with this engaging and collaborative matching game.
- 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