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.
- Free Plan
Story Elements Graphic Organizers – Portrait
Encourage your students to write and draw about various story elements with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
- Plus Plan
A Book a Day Keeps the Monsters Away! — Bulletin Board Set
Print a monsters and reading-themed bulletin board bundle perfect for Halloween!
- Free Plan
Making Inferences With Pictures Worksheet
Guide your students to use pictures to make inferences with this reading worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Retelling Stories Teaching Slides
Teach your students all about the fundamentals of retelling a story with this set of teaching slides.
- Free Plan
Character Anchor Charts - Traits, Feelings, and Appearances
A set of 3 posters depicting words and phrases that can be used to describe a character traits, feelings and appearance.
- Free Plan
Fiction or Nonfiction? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this fiction and nonfiction worksheet when teaching your students about the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts.
- Plus Plan
Google Slides Interactive - Story Retell Activity
Use this Google Slides Interactive activity to practice retelling stories.
- Plus Plan
5 Finger Retell Graphic Organizers
Help students sort out their thoughts during retelling with this set of three 5 finger retelling graphic organizers.
- Free Plan
Retelling Stories Paper Chains Template
Get crafty with this fun retelling stories activity where students use paper chains to create a chain for a story they have read in class.
- Plus Plan
Story Retell Graphic Organizers (Differentiated)
Help students confidently retell a story with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
- Plus Plan
5 Finger Retell Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the 5 finger retell strategy with this set of teaching slides.
- Plus Plan
Three Little Pigs Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for The Three Little Pigs.
- Plus Plan
Who Is the Main Character? Interactive Game
Practice identifying the main characters in nursery rhymes with this interactive digital activity.
- Free Plan
Character or Not? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between characters and non-characters with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Katherine Johnson Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Katherine Johnson with a comprehensive pack of informational worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Fiction vs Nonfiction Interactive Activity
Explore fiction and nonfiction examples with your students using this digital game for Kindergarten and 1st grade students.
- Plus Plan
Fiction vs Nonfiction Teaching Slides
Teach your students the difference between fiction and nonfiction books with this age-appropriate teaching presentation for elementary school ELA lessons.
- Plus Plan
Story Retelling Strips
Explore a story with your students with this story-retelling cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Retelling Stories Wheel Template
Explore story retells with this engaging story retell wheel template.
- Plus Plan
Jack and Jill Nursery Rhyme- Retell Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Jack and Jill.
- Plus Plan
3 Billy Goats Gruff Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for 3 Billy Goats Gruff.
- Plus Plan
5 Finger Retell Classroom Posters
Guide students through the 5 finger retell process with this set of classroom posters and individual student guide.
- Plus Plan
Who Is the Main Character? Worksheets
Practice identifying the main characters in nursery rhymes with this set of worksheets for young learners.
- Plus Plan
Story Settings - Graphic Organizers
Encourage your students to write and draw about story settings with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
- Plus Plan
Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - Itsy Bitsy Spider
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with mini-book retelling of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
- Plus Plan
Story Elements: Sequencing Jack Be Nimble
Teach your students the art of sequencing with an instructional slide deck surrounding the Jack Be Nimble nursery rhyme.
- Plus Plan
Little Miss Muffet - Story Elements Worksheet Pack
Identify characters, setting, and parts of a story with kindergarten reading worksheets featuring the Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme.
- Plus Plan
Jack Be Nimble - Story Element Worksheets
Demonstrate learning about the parts of a story with a printable set of Jack be Nimble Story Element worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Hey Diddle Diddle Worksheets
Identify characters, setting, and parts of a story with kindergarten reading worksheets featuring the “Hey, Diddle, Diddle” nursery rhyme.
- Plus Plan
Hey Diddle Diddle - Story Elements Slide Deck
Engage young readers in texts and learn about setting with an instructional slide deck featuring the Hey Diddle Diddle rhyme.
- Plus Plan
Abraham Lincoln Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Abraham Lincoln with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Thurgood Marshall Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Thurgood Marshall with a comprehensive pack of informational worksheets.
- 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