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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Find the Print Features Task Cards (K-1)
Use these task cards to aid kindergarten and first-grade readers in recognizing print features and concepts of print.
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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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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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Timelines Worksheet for First Grade
Use this worksheet with the Timelines Teaching Presentation to assess students' knowledge of timelines.
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Alexander Hamilton Printable Mini Book
A mini-book about a Founding Father is the perfect tool for your students to use when learning about Alexander Hamilton.
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Armstrong vs. Earhart -Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Combine reading and history content with differentiated reading comprehension worksheets.
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Nonfiction Text Features – All About Me Project
Implement a text features project with an “All About Me” theme to explore informational text features with your students.
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Readers' Theater - Itsy Bitsy Spider Read and Retell Activity
Engage young readers in texts with a dramatic reading of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and accompanying story retelling activity.
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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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Summer Reading Challenge Calendar
Inspire your students to read during the summer with a versatile reading challenge.
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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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Fun With Nonfiction Task Cards
Solidify your nonfiction reading response lessons with this set of 12 comprehension task cards.
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Fun With Fiction Task Cards
Build a foundation of literary concepts and skills with this set of 12 fiction reading response cards.
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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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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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Character Development Board Game
Practice character development by choosing your own adventure in this role-playing board game.
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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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Comic – Team Trials: Success Celebrators – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a comic about the importance of good sportsmanship and celebrating the success of others.
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10 Fascinating Facts About the Sydney Harbour Bridge – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with an informational text about the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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International Women's Day Gender Ground Rules – Comic and Activity
A comic that shows an example of a gender stereotype.
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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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Halloween Bulletin Board Set – Wrapped Up in a Good Book
Download a printable Halloween bulletin board set for your classroom library or school library. Showcase your students’ insightful book reviews with our Halloween-themed classroom display.
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Mood in Narrative Writing – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach mood in narrative writing with this set of four worksheets designed to help students explore narrative atmosphere in the context of real texts.
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Inspirational Woman Profile: Greta Thunberg – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension task to use when learning about Greta Thunberg.
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Inspirational Woman Profile: Obiageli Ezekwesili – Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on Nigerian social pioneer Obiageli Ezekwesili and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
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Go Figure! - Figurative Language Game
Practice working with different types of figurative language with this hands-on board game.
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What's Missing? – Interactive PowerPoint
Put those inferencing skills to use with this "guess what's missing" interactive activity for young learners.
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Grade 2 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 1) Task Cards
Five sets of literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with issue 1 of Teach Starter's Grade 2 magazine.
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Curious Creature Book Review Template
Create a curious creature-themed book review during Halloween or any time!
- 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