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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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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Amelia Earhart Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this passage, second grade writing prompt, and worksheet to help students write a constructed response paragraph about Amelia Earhart.
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Lewis and Clark Worksheet - RACES Writing Strategy
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences Task Cards
Use this set of comprehension task cards with your students to help them draw conclusions and make inferences when reading.
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Author’s Purpose Reading Passages Worksheet Set
Explore the Author's Purpose in these reading passages with this set of Author's Purpose worksheets.
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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read and learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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What is the Author's Purpose? Escape Room
Get your students excited to practice understanding what is the author’s purpose with this engaging escape room activity.
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Should Smartphones Be Allowed in Class? Comprehension Worksheets
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
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Story Elements Graphic Organizers – Portrait
Encourage your students to write and draw about various story elements with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
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Inspirational Woman Profile: Malala Yousafzai – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension task to use when learning about Malala Yousafzai.
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Tornado Worksheets - Informational Writing (2nd Grade)
Use our printable tornado worksheets and organizers to teach 2nd grade informational writing lessons.
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Author's Purpose PowerPoint
Use this Author's Purpose PowerPoint to teach your students how to identify the author’s purpose in a text.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Finding The Main Idea
A set of comprehension task cards to help students find the main idea when reading.
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Metaphors Worksheet
Practice identifying and using metaphors with this differentiated metaphors worksheet.
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St Patrick's Day Fact Sheet
A fact sheet covering important facts and traditions of St Patrick's Day in Ireland.
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All About Insects - Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack (3-4)
Learn all about insects and their body features with a printable All About Insects Reading Comprehension Worksheet pack.
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All About Cats - 1st Grade Reading Comprehension Passage
Explore informational text and learn all about cats and their external features with a printable 1st grade reading comprehension passage.
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2nd Grade Hurricane Worksheets - Reading Comprehension
Read and learn about hurricanes with our 2nd Grade Hurricane Worksheets resource pack.
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Nonfiction Summary Checklist
Give your students a checklist when summarizing nonfiction texts to make sure they include everything required.
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Exploring Figurative Language in Poetry Workbook
Teach your upper elementary and middle school students to read, analyze, and discuss poetry with a printable and digital poetry workbook.
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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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Sorting Text Features Cut and Paste
Build confidence and comprehension with this ready-to-use Text Features Cut and Paste Worksheet!
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Inference Detectives Worksheet Pack
Guide your students to use personal experiences and text evidence to make inferences with this set of reading worksheets.
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Grade 6 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 26-page reading magazine specifically designed for Grade 6 students.
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Grade 3 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically written for Grade 3 students.
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Bill of Rights - RACES writing response
Practice using the RACES writing strategy and discover the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights with a passage, organizer, and prompt.
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The Pony Express Worksheet- Comprehension Passage
Teach your students how to write a constructed response paragraph and integrate grade level Social studies concepts with a free Pony Express worksheet and ten-question comprehension assessment.
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Mars vs. Earth - Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Learn about the planets with differentiated compare and contrast passages, activities, and writing opportunities.
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Author's Purpose - Sorting Worksheet
A teaching resource to help teach your students about author's purpose.
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Free Author’s Purpose Handout
Use this Author’s Purpose Handout in the form of a brochure to explore the different reasons authors write.
- 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