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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Holidays Around the World - Australia Mini Book
Introduce your students to Christmas in Australia with a printable mini book and graphic organizer.
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Humpty Dumpty Off the Wall - Reading Comprehension
Assess first-grade reading comprehension skills with a Humpty Dumpty Reading passage and comprehension worksheet.
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Christmas - Making Inferences Task Cards and Visual Display
Skip the inferencing worksheet and have some fun with a Christmas-themed investigation activity.
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Jacques Cartier Comprehension Worksheets
Travel back in time to the Age of Exploration with a look into the life and accomplishments of Jacques Cartier.
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World War I Comprehension Packet
Blend reading and social studies content with a printable set of World War 1 Reading Passages and accompanying question sets.
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John Cabot Reading Passage - Comprehension
Discover famous explorers like John Cabot with printable reading comprehension activities.
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Helen Keller Comprehension Passage - Tasks
Uncover facts about Helen Keller with a reading passage and worksheet pack to practice comprehension, character analysis, and sequencing.
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First Responders Reading Passage - Comprehension
Celebrate and learn about the American heroes known as first responders with a reading passage and comprehension questions.
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World War II for Kids - Mini Book
Build vocabulary and understanding of the causes, events, and outcomes of WW2 with a printable mini book and comprehension questions.
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Christmas Finger Puppets - Read and Retell Christmas Craft for Kindergarten
A cute set of Christmas finger puppets for students to make and enjoy!
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Henry Ford Mini Book
Provide students with cross-curricular social studies and reading instruction with a printable Henry Ford for Kids mini book.
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Clara Barton Passage and Comprehension Worksheets
Uncover facts about Clara Barton with a reading passage and worksheet pack to practice comprehension, character analysis, and sequencing.
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Thanksgiving - Comprehension Worksheet for 3rd Grade
Read and learn about the origin of Thanksgiving with a printable reading comprehension worksheet for 3rd grade.
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Figurative Languages Lesson - Slide Deck
Teach figurative language using our comprehensive instructional slide deck and accompanying activities.
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Life Without Tacos – Comprehension Passage Task
A reading passage about cultural diffusion paired with a comprehension worksheet.
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The Bill of Rights Simplified - Cloze Passage
Build vocabulary and understanding of the U.S. Constitution with a fill-in-the-blank cloze passage on the Bill of Rights.
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Our Solar System - Interactive and Printable Cloze Reading Activity
Practice and review concepts associated with the solar system using a cloze passage.
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Learn fun facts about Elizabeth Cady Stanton with a differentiated comprehension passage and assessment.
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Susan B. Anthony - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Learn fun facts about Susan B. Anthony with a differentiated comprehension passage and assessment.
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Harriet Tubman Comprehension Worksheet
Uncover facts about Harriet Tubman with a Reading Passage and Comprehension worksheet.
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Reading Comprehension Strategies Anchor Charts
Provide young readers with concrete examples of reading strategies with a set of 18 ready-made reading anchor charts.
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The Women's Rights Movement Worksheets - Comprehension
Read, write, and discover facts about the women’s rights movement with a reading passage and comprehension worksheet pack.
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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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Google Slides Interactive - Idioms Activity
Build vocabulary and have fun with an interactive Idioms activity.
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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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Ocean Mini Book
Learn about ocean life with a printable book for preschoolers, kindergartners, and first-graders.
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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.