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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The Force of Gravity Comprehension Worksheets
Download this gravity worksheet to teach your 3rd grade students about the force of gravity and its impact on our daily lives.
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Making Inferences With Pictures Worksheet
Guide your students to use pictures to make inferences with this reading worksheet.
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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.
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Printable U.S. Constitution Day Worksheet Pack
Learn about Constitution Day in the United States with a pack of printable U.S. Constitution worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Empathy vs. Sympathy – 5th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Challenge your students to learn the differences between empathy and sympathy with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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OREO® Opinion Writing Poster
Help students remember the structure of opinion texts with this fun OREO® acronym.
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Grade 1 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically written for Grade 1 students.
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Text Connections Craftivity
Practice making connections to text with your students with this simple craftivity.
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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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Compare and Contrast Worksheets - The Texas State Flag v. The American Flag
Compare and contrast the Texas state flag and the United States’ flag using a reading comprehension passage and Venn diagram worksheet.
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U.S. Symbols Reading Comprehension - Differentiated
Boost reading comprehension skills and knowledge of United States’ symbols with differentiated comprehension worksheets.
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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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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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Author's Purpose Anchor Chart
A poster highlighting the three main reasons an author writes a piece of text - to persuade, to inform, to entertain.
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The Water Cycle – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Enhance your students’ comprehension and science vocabulary skills with this water cycle worksheet.
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Monster Book Report Template
A cute monster-themed book report template.
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The Intolerable Acts Worksheets
Practice close reading strategies, vocabulary, and writing skills with an Intolerable Acts worksheet and writing prompt.
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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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Figurative Language Task Cards
Practice working with figurative language with this set of 12 task cards.
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Text Structures Sorting Activity
A set of 24 text structure cards to use in a sorting or scoot activity.
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Listen, Comprehend, and Color Worksheets
A listening comprehension exercise and art activity rolled into one.
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Digital Warriors: Social Footprints – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with a comic about being safe when sharing photos on digital platforms.
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Comic – Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: Find Your Sport – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with a comic about all types of sports.
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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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Text Features Worksheet
Download this nonfiction text features worksheet so students can practice locating different types of text features found in a nonfiction text.
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Applying Reading Comprehension Strategies Worksheets
A collection of worksheets which enable students to practice applying reading comprehension strategies.
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My Mini Book Report
Have students write about their favorite literature with this fun-sized mini-book.
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Comprehension - That's Not My Pet
A fun script and set of questions to help students develop reading and comprehension strategies.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Recognizing Cause And Effect
A set of comprehension task cards to help students recognize cause and effect when reading.
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Five Finger Summary - Graphic Organizer
A graphic organizer for students to use to summarize a fiction text.
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Before, During, and After Reading Nonfiction – Question Prompts
Question prompts and a worksheet to use when asking questions before, during, and after reading.
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Exploring Narrative Texts Teaching Slides
A 20 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching younger students about the structure of narrative texts.
- 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