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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Elements of Poetry - Instructional Slide Deck
Investigate poetic elements with an interactive Elements of Poetry teaching slide deck.
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Figurative Language Flip Book
Practice identify examples of figurative language with this flip book template for kids.
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Humpty Dumpty Worksheets - Character, Setting, and Story Elements
Identify characters, setting, and parts of a story with kindergarten reading worksheets featuring the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme.
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Figurative Language Football Interactive Activity
Have a Figurative Language bowl review with this self-checking Google interactive activity.
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Hickory Dickory Dock - Story Elements Worksheet Pack
Demonstrate learning about the parts of a story with a printable set of Hickory Dickory Dock worksheets.
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Poetry and Figurative Language Workbook - Poems for Middle School
Print a pack of poems with figurative language worksheets to practice poetry analysis.
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Cereal Box Book Report - Author Study Book Bin Template
Research and write biographical text to create a literacy-themed book bin using an author study biography report template.
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Kindergarten Story Elements - Instructional Slides
Introduce your kindergarten and first-grade students to the elements of a story using this interactive Google Slides teaching presentation.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Facts and Details Comprehension Pack
Read and learn about Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a reading passage and comprehension questions.
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When Winter Comes - Poetry Analysis Worksheet
Printable poem for upper elementary students to practice analyzing poetry.
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George Washington Comprehension Worksheet - Primary Grades
Read and learn about the father of our country, George Washington, with a reading passage and comprehension questions.
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Author's Purpose - Puzzle Activity
A teaching resource to help teach your students about author’s purpose.
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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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Henry Hudson Comprehension Worksheet
Discover famous explorers like Henry Hudson with printable reading comprehension activities.
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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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Opinion Writing Anchor Chart - Letter Writing
Demonstrate writing a persuasive letter with an opinion writing anchor chart.
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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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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 Boston Massacre Reading and Writing Worksheets
Integrate Reading and Social Studies content with a set of Boston Massacre worksheets.
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Character Traits: Interactive Activity
Analyze text and identify character traits of characters with a Google Slides Interactive activity.
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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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Paul Revere Constructed Response Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a constructed response worksheet about Paul Revere and the American Revolution.
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A Book a Day Keeps the Monsters Away! — Bulletin Board Set
Print a monsters and reading-themed bulletin board bundle perfect for Halloween!
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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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Character Traits, Motivations and Feelings Worksheet
Analyze character traits, feelings and motivations with this two-page worksheet.
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Westward Expansion Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Build reading comprehension skills with a Westward Expansion reading passage and assessment.
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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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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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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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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.