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 Changing Seasons Comprehension Worksheets
Read and write about the changing seasons with a comprehension passage and worksheet.
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Halloween Worksheet — Bat Facts and Opinions
Practice identifying facts and opinions with a Halloween worksheet activity about bats.
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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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Monster Book Report Template
A cute monster-themed book report template.
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Ocean Mini Book
Learn about ocean life with a printable book for preschoolers, kindergartners, and first-graders.
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The French and Indian War - Cloze Activity
Build vocabulary and understanding of the French and Indian War with a cloze reading passage worksheet.
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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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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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All About Soldiers - Building Background and Comprehension Worksheets
Learn about Veterans Day with a group of six worksheets that build background and comprehension skills.
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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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Prose, Poetry, and Drama Teaching Presentation
Teach your students the difference between poetry, prose, and drama with an interactive Google Slides teaching presentation.
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The Intolerable Acts Worksheets
Practice close reading strategies, vocabulary, and writing skills with an Intolerable Acts worksheet and writing prompt.
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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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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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George Washington Carver Constructed Response Worksheet
Read and write about George Washington Carver using the RACES strategy for constructed response paragraphs.
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Abigail Adams Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this passage, writing prompt, and worksheet to help students write a constructed response paragraph about Abigail Adams.
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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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Westward Expansion Close Reading and Writing Pack
Enhance your students' close reading strategies, vocabulary, and writing skills with a Westward Expansion reading passage and accompanying activities.
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Henry Ford Worksheet- RACES Writing Strategy
Provide students with Social Studies and Writing instruction using the RACES strategy for constructed response paragraphs.
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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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Benjamin Franklin - Constructed Response Worksheet
Learn facts about Benjamin Franklin with an informational reading and writing activity focusing on the constructed response format.
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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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Character Analysis Task Cards
Get your students to perform a character analysis for any fictional character using this set of 20 task cards.
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Urbanization Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this nonfiction constructed response worksheet to teach your students about urbanization.
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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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Susan B. Anthony Constructed Response Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a constructed response worksheet about Susan B. Anthony and the women’s rights movement.
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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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Benjamin Franklin Social Studies Reader and Activity Booklet
Read and learn about Benjamin Franklin with an informational reader and activity booklet.
- Reading Comprehension Worksheets
- Reading Comprehension Templates
- Reading Comprehension Posters
- Reading Comprehension Games
- 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