assignment building communication skills reading comprehension

Grades 6-12
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14 Powerful Reading Comprehension Strategies To Teach Students

When students understand what they read, reading is meaningful and fun.

examples of graphic organizers for reading comprehension strategies

Comprehension is the goal of reading. If students don’t understand what they read, well, reading is a meaningless activity. The good news: Reading comprehension can be taught, practiced, and mastered. As students become readers, you can teach strategies that students can learn and add to their toolbox.

What is reading comprehension?

Think about reading comprehension as a combination of skills. Students need to get the words off the page ( fluency , word reading) and understand the language they are reading (language structure, knowledge, vocabulary, and reasoning). If a student does not have strong language comprehension skills in particular, they won’t understand what they read, even if their fluency and word reading is strong. Reading comprehension strategies focus on building students’ language comprehension and teach them how to tackle text when they don’t understand.

A model showing Scarborough's Reading Rope, a way to understand the science of reading

Scarborough’s Reading Rope is a way to visualize the skills that go into reading. The top five skills ( background knowledge, vocabulary, language structure, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge) become more strategic over time as students learn how to apply strategies to different kinds of text. The bottom three skills (phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition) become more automatic as students master each skill.

Learn more: What Is Reading Comprehension?

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Here are our favorite reading comprehension strategies to help students develop and strengthen their reading comprehension.

1. Establish a purpose for reading

Reading comprehension starts before students open a book. Teach students to set a purpose for reading, weather that’s to enjoy a story or to answer a specific question. Having a purpose helps students focus on the most important information and sift out less important details.

2. Graphic organizers

graphic organizer examples: compare contrast and main idea and details for reading comprehension strategies

Graphic organizers are a tried-and-true strategy. Students can use an organizer that aligns with the text they are reading. So, if they are reading a nonfiction article about an event, they may use a sequencing graphic organizer. If they are reading a section of a textbook, they may use a main idea and detail graphic organizer. The key is to teach students the types of graphic organizers that exist, the type of text each is used for, and how to use each one during reading.

Try it: Free Printable Reading Comprehension Graphic Organizers

3. Activate background knowledge

The more knowledge students have about a topic, the more they will understand. Prior knowledge includes information about a topic (sharks, weather) and information about how text works (anticipating that the first chapter of a novel will include information about the main character, setting, and problem). It’s not about teaching students all the facts, but teaching them how to reflect on what they know before they read. If they know a lot, they can dive in. If they don’t know much, they may want to preview the text for key words and images to build some background knowledge.

Learn more: What Is Background Knowledge? ADVERTISEMENT

4. Predict and infer

graphic organizer with space to write information from the text, what the reader thinks, and an inference or prediction, reading comprehension strategy

Making predictions or inferences involves combining multiple pieces of information to either predict or think about what will happen next, or to infer meaning that’s not stated in the text. Teach students to make predictions with a graphic organizer that prompts them to combine information from the text with their own ideas and thinking to predict or infer.

Try it: Free Printables: Predictions and Inferences

5. Ask and answer questions

Questioning is another proven reading comprehension strategy. When we can ask and answer questions as we read, it means we’re thinking about what we read. Teach students how to question by modeling with a think-aloud. Then, have students jot questions on sticky notes as they read and return to their questions to answer them as they read to build comprehension.

Learn more: Improving Reading Comprehension With Think-Alouds

6. Summarizing

summarizing graphic organizer with the words somebody wanted but so then for reading comprehension strategies

When students can summarize text, they’ve grasped the main points and are able to retell what they learned. One great way to summarize is a book talk , where students summarize a book and try to convince others to read it (or not).

Another way to support summarizing for fiction text is with a graphic organizer that helps them retell: Somebody … wanted … but … so … then. For nonfiction, use a main idea and details graphic organizer.

Try it: Free Summarizing Graphic Organizers

7. Visualization

When authors write, they create images and scenes. Even in nonfiction, authors create scenes that we can imagine. Being able to visualize makes reading more interesting (like watching a movie in your head). Teach students to visualize by starting small. Read sentences and have them draw what they see. Then, expand this strategy as you engage students in visualizing scenes.

8. Metacognition

Metacognition means understanding our own thought processes. In reading, this means knowing if we understand what we’re reading, and how to stop and review if we aren’t understanding. Teach students to notice what they’re thinking when they read. Are they asking questions? What do they wonder? Which parts make them laugh? Are there any big surprises in what they read?

Learn more: What Is Metacognition?

9. Monitoring comprehension

Monitoring comprehension is the process readers use to determine if they understand what they are reading. Have students stop at the end of a paragraph and page and think What did I read? If they can summarize what they read, they go on. If they cannot, they use a fix-up strategy, like rereading the section or looking up vocabulary words.

10. Making connections

When students make connections, they’re building knowledge. Model and teach three main types of connections:

Text to self: How does the text connect with your life or experiences?
Text to text: How does this part of the text connect to what you read in this text or what you have read in other texts?
Text to world: How does what you’re reading connect with what you know?

Learn more: Using hexagonal thinking

11. Determining importance

Sometimes students get overwhelmed by the amount of information they’re reading. Teach them to calculate the importance of details they read. Students highlight or record the details they read, and then put each through a “funnel” where they think about whether or not it is actually important. Only the most important details make it through the funnel.

12. Recognizing story structure

Stories have a predictable structure that students can use to comprehend them. Knowing that stories start by explaining the character, setting, and problem can help students anticipate looking for this important information as they get into a story. And knowing that the story will hit a climax before the problem resolves also helps students anticipate the end of the story. Use story map graphic organizers to help improve students’ understanding of narrative by focusing on important information while they’re reading.

Try it: Free Story Map Printable Worksheets

13. Retelling

Retelling is a strategy that involves telling the most important information. Have students do a five-finger retell. They hold their hand up and point to each finger as they explain the characters, setting, events one, two, and three, and the conclusion. Students point to their palm and share an opinion of the story or how the story made them feel. Using this prompt reminds students to include the main aspects of a story.

14. Build vocabulary

vocabulary graphic organizer with space to write a sentence using a vocabulary word

The more words a student knows, the more words they can learn, and the deeper they understand what they read. And the more times a student engages with a word, the more likely they are to actually remember and use the word. Teach words using visuals and activities, like creating sentences with vocabulary. And teach students how to engage with words in text. For example, practice reading “around” a word to define it—when students read on their own, they can use the same strategy when they’re stuck on a word.

Try it: Free Printable Vocabulary Worksheet Bundle

Reading about reading? Check out What Is the Science of Reading?

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To read is to understand. Use these reading comprehension strategies to teach students to engage with text from Once Upon a Time to The End.

Flat lays of reading comprehension strategy templates

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4 Ways to Teach Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension

Teaching these literacy strategies simultaneously can engage students in active processing, improving performance in both areas.

Photo of elementary school children reading

As a teacher and researcher, I know the importance of vocabulary instruction for improving reading comprehension. There is some evidence that a reciprocal relationship exists between the two and that improving one may improve the other. It is especially important to explicitly and directly teach these skills to our youngest students. Teachers can use evidence-based strategies for delivering vocabulary instruction to improve reading comprehension and vice versa by integrating literacy across content areas. These should engage students in active processing, which is essential to student learning and retention.

I’d like to share four active ways to teach vocabulary and reading comprehension that have worked well for me.

1. Read-Alouds

Teachers can incorporate vocabulary into a read-aloud, first by reading through the book and identifying vocabulary words to be targeted for instruction. Preteach the vocabulary words to the students, and during the read-aloud discuss their meaning by providing brief, student-friendly definitions (for example, if a character is described as anxious, the teacher could add, “That means worried or scared”). Next, review the context of the words within the story. Students should repeat the vocabulary words for correct pronunciation and then visualize the meaning of the word and connect it with a memory. Using the example of “anxious,” students would connect the word to a time they were feeling that way. Provide students with an example where vocabulary words are used differently from how they were used in the story. For example, if the story was about a child who was anxious about going to a new school, provide the students with a scenario like “I was anxious when I had to go to the doctor and get a shot.” Follow up the read-aloud with vocabulary activities and word play: For example, have students provide a sentence using the targeted vocabulary words. One activity could involve having the students act out the meaning of a word (“If you’re feeling anxious, how would you look?”). Another possible activity is to display several pictures and have students identify the picture that goes with the given vocabulary word, or students provide the vocabulary word that matches a given picture. This activity targets students’ receptive and expressive language skills. Extend the lesson: This could be accomplished by incorporating questioning techniques. For example, ask the students how or when they might feel anxious, or what they could do when they feel that way. Another extension of the activity is to have students illustrate the vocabulary word or write a sentence that includes the word.

2. Graphic Organizers

One way to teach vocabulary is to use graphic organizers, which are useful for both fiction and nonfiction information and for teaching across content areas. Graphic organizers help students to organize their ideas when responding to texts or completing writing tasks. In addition, graphic organizers benefit students with recalling and transferring information. Deciding on which graphic organizer to use can be a personal preference or depend on the task. For example, a story map would be suitable for fictional text, but not necessarily useful with nonfictional text. With nonfiction text, use of a Frayer model or T-chart in optimizing vocabulary instruction makes the most sense. T-chart: Teachers can use a T-chart for comparison of examples and nonexamples of the vocabulary word through words, pictures, or sentences. Story map: A story map helps students to understand the elements of a story, such as characters, setting, problem, and solution, or sequential points of the story, such as beginning, middle, and end. Frayer model: With a Frayer model , teachers help students learn vocabulary words by incorporating a student-friendly definition, characteristics, examples or synonyms, and nonexamples or antonyms. A Frayer model can be used before reading to activate background knowledge, during reading to teach new vocabulary, or after reading to assess understanding of vocabulary. For example, using the word cooperation , we can complete the Frayer model as follows:

Definition: Working together
Characteristics: Helping, sharing, taking turns
Examples: Building a Lego tower with a friend, helping each other clean up toys
Nonexamples: Fighting over a toy, leaving someone out of a game

3. Mental Imagery

Help students learn how to make a mental picture of text. First, choose text that is very descriptive. Next, read a few sentences, pause, and share your thinking by “drawing” a mental image of the sentences. Be sure to incorporate all the senses (I see..., I hear..., I smell..., etc.). Have the students share their imaginings and note their different mental images.

For more interactive practice, provide a student with an illustration that is rich in imagery and have them describe what is in the illustration, while the other students and teacher make a mental image. Then, have students share their “picture.”

4. Questioning Techniques

Teach students how to predict, clarify, question, and summarize. Teacher modeling and student practice will be necessary. The use of rich language and discussion surrounding text and concepts improves children’s vocabulary and comprehension. Predict: Before reading, use the book cover or title to talk about what will happen. During reading, discuss what will happen on the next page or chapter. After reading, ask the students to say what they think will happen if the story continues. Or ask the students to rewrite their own ending.

Clarify: Clarify can be used to explain a decoding strategy or to clarify an idea or unknown meaning of a word. For example, the teacher can model this: “I know the sound of ‘ch’ and ‘st’ at the end makes it a closed syllable, so this word must be ‘chest.’” An example of clarifying an idea can be modeled as such: “The main character was ‘drowsy,’ so he went to take a nap. ‘Drowsy’ must mean ‘tired.’”

Question: Model for the students how to question by using the statement “I wonder …” For example, “I wonder why the character did…,” “I wonder why the author wrote this sentence…,” or “I wonder why ____ happened.”

Summarize: Have the students retell a story in their own words. Completing a graphic organizer, such as a story map, will help them to organize their thoughts and remember the story elements. They can refer to it when retelling the story.

All of these techniques can be modified for use with older students or emergent bilingual students. For example, older students will be able to provide elaborate written responses rather than just drawings. Older students can also be exposed to multiple meanings and tenses of vocabulary words. For emergent bilingual students, the use of gestures, real photos, objects, or drawings may help with understanding of vocabulary words. In addition, teachers can incorporate the vocabulary word in their native language to parallel the word in English.

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How to Improve Reading Comprehension: 8 Expert Tips

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assignment building communication skills reading comprehension

Reading is a skill many people take for granted, but the act of reading and properly comprehending a text is a complex and interactive process. It requires several different brain functions to work together and most often requires one to puzzle through multiple layers of context and meaning.

Because reading comprehension is so complicated, we can often find ourselves understanding the most basic interpretation of a text, but missing the emotional core or the "big picture." Or we might just find our brains spinning with no clue at all as to what a text is attempting to convey.

But luckily for everyone who struggles in English classes, on standardized tests, or in daily life, reading comprehension can be improved upon (and it's never too late to start!). In this guide, I explain step-by-step how to improve reading comprehension over time and offer tips for boosting your understanding as you read.

What Is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the understanding of what a particular text means and the ideas the author is attempting to convey, both textual and subtextual. In order to read any text, your brain must process not only the literal words of the piece, but also their relationship with one another, the context behind the words, how subtle language and vocabulary usage can impact emotion and meaning behind the text, and how the text comes together as a larger, coherent whole.

For instance, let's look at the first line from Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice :

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Now, a completely literal interpretation of the text, just based on word-meaning, would have us believe that 'all rich men want wives.' But the context, word choice, and phrasing of the text actually belie that interpretation. By using the phrases "universally acknowledged" and " must be in want of" (emphasis ours), the text is conveying a subtle sarcasm to the words. Instead of it being an actual truth that 'rich men want wives,' this one sentence instantly tells us that we're reading about a society preoccupied with marriage, while also implying that the opening statement is something people in that society may believe, but that isn't necessarily true.

In just a few short words, Austen conveys several ideas to the reader about one of the main themes of the story, the setting, and what the culture and people are like. And she does so all the while seeming to contradict the literal words of the piece.

Without practice in reading comprehension, nuances like these can become lost. And so it can happen that someone may find themselves reading, but not truly comprehending the full meaning of a text.

As you can see, reading comprehension involves many processes happening in your brain at once, and thus it can be easy for some aspects of a text to get lost in the muddle. But the good news for anyone who struggles is that reading comprehension is a skill just like any other. It must be learned through practice, focus, and diligence, but it absolutely CAN be learned.

Why Reading Comprehension Is Important

Proper reading comprehension can be difficult, so why bother? Even though learning how to properly read and comprehend texts is a complicated process, it is a necessary skill to master, both for work and for pleasure.

You will need to know how to read and interpret all kinds of different texts—both on the basic, literal level and on a more in-depth level—throughout your schooling, in college, and in the working world (as well as in your recreation time!). If we think about "reading" just as a literal or surface understanding of a piece and "reading comprehension" as the complete understanding, a person can only get by in the world on pure "reading" for so long.

Reading comprehension is essential for many significant aspects of daily life, such as:

Reading, understanding, and analyzing literature in your English classes
Reading and understanding texts from your other class subjects, such as history, math, or science
Doing well on both the written and math sections of the SAT (or all five sections of the ACT)
Understanding and engaging with current events presented in written form, such as news reports
Properly understanding and responding to any and all other workplace correspondence, such as essays, reports, memos, and analyses
Simply taking pleasure in written work on your own leisure time

Just like with any goal or skill, we can master reading comprehension one step at a time.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension: 3 Steps

Because reading comprehension is a skill that improves like any other, you can improve your understanding with practice and a game plan.

Dedicate yourself to engaging in a combination of both "guided" and "relaxed" reading practice for at least two to three hours a week. Guided practice will involve structure and focused attention, like learning new vocabulary words and testing yourself on them, while relaxed practice will involve merely letting yourself read and enjoy reading without pressure for at least one to two hours a week. (Note: if you already read for pleasure, add at least one more hour of pleasure-reading per week.)

By combining reading-for-studying and reading-for-pleasure, you'll be able to improve your reading skill without relegating reading time to the realm of "work" alone. Reading is a huge part of our daily lives, and improving your comprehension should never come at the cost of depriving yourself of the pleasure of the activity.

So what are some of the first steps for improving your reading comprehension level?

Step 1: Understand and Reevaluate How You're Currently Reading

Before you can improve your reading comprehension, you must first understand how you're currently reading and what your limitations are.

Start by selecting excerpts from different texts with which you are unfamiliar—text books, essays, novels, news reports, or any kind of text you feel you particularly struggle to understand—and read them as you would normally. As you read, see if you can notice when your attention, energy, or comprehension of the material begins to flag.

If your comprehension or concentration tends to lag after a period of time, start to slowly build up your stamina. For instance, if you continually lose focus at the 20 minute mark every time you read, acknowledge this and push yourself to slowly increase that time, rather than trying to sit and concentrate on reading for an hour or two at a stretch. Begin by reading for your maximum amount of focused time (in this case, twenty minutes), then give yourself a break. Next time, try for 22 minutes. Once you've mastered that, try for 25 and see if you can still maintain focus. If you can, then try for thirty.

If you find that your concentration or comprehension starts to lag again , take a step back on your timing before pushing yourself for more. Improvement comes with time, and it'll only cause frustration if you try to rush it all at once.

Alternatively, you may find that your issues with reading comprehension have less to do with the time spent reading than with the source material itself. Perhaps you struggle to comprehend the essential elements of a text, the context of a piece, character arcs or motivation, books or textbooks with densely packed information, or material that is heavily symbolic. If this is the case, then be sure to follow the tips below to improve these areas of reading comprehension weakness.

Improving your reading comprehension level takes time and practice, but understanding where your strengths and weaknesses stand now is the first step towards progress.

Step 2: Improve Your Vocabulary

Reading and comprehension rely on a combination of vocabulary, context, and the interaction of words. So you must be able to understand each moving piece before you can understand the text as a whole.

If you struggle to understand specific vocabulary, it's sometimes possible to pick up meaning through context clues (how the words are used in the sentence or in the passage), but it's always a good idea to look up the definitions of words with which you aren't familiar. As you read, make sure to keep a running list of words you don't readily recognize and make yourself a set of flashcards with the words and their definitions. Dedicate fifteen minutes two or three times a week to and quizzing yourself on your vocab flashcards.

To get started, you'll need some blank index cards and a system to keep them organized. These basic cards are an affordable option that are also available in fun colors . You can keep them organized with plastic baggies or rubber bands, or you can get an organizer .

Alternatively, try these easy-flip flashcards that include binder clips. Though we strongly recommend making your own flashcards, you can also buy pre-made ones —the best option is Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know , a series of exercises to master key words and idioms.

In order to retain your vocabulary knowledge, you must employ a combination of practiced memorization (like studying your flashcards) and make a point of using these new words in your verbal and written communication. Guided vocabulary practice like this will give you access to new words and their meanings as well as allow you to properly retain them.

Step 3: Read for Pleasure

The best way to improve your reading comprehension level is through practice. And the best way to practice is to have fun with it!

Make reading a fun activity, at least on occasion, rather than a constant chore. This will motivate you to engage with the text and embrace the activity as part of your daily life (rather than just your study/work life). As you practice and truly engage with your reading material, improvement will come naturally.

Begin by reading texts that are slightly below your age and grade level (especially if reading is frustrating or difficult for you). This will take pressure off of you and allow you to relax and enjoy the story. Here are some fun, easy reads that we recommend to get you started:

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roksani Chokshi
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
The Westing Game by Ellen Rankin
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K .Rowling

Once you feel more comfortable reading and practicing your comprehension strategies (tips in the next section), go ahead and allow yourself to read at whatever reading or age level you feel like. Even if you feel that you don't understand some of the text right now—or even a large portion of it!—if you enjoy yourself and give it your best shot, you'll find that your reading comprehension levels will improve over time.

Reading these problematic passages aloud can often help circumvent that block and help you to form a visual of what the text is trying to convey.

Tip 3: Re-read (or Skim) Previous Sections of the Text

For the most part, reading is a personal activity that happens entirely in your head. So don't feel you have to read just like anyone else if "typical" methods don't work for you. Sometimes it can make the most sense to read (or re-read) a text out of order.

It is often helpful to glance backwards through a piece of text (or even re-read large sections) to remind yourself of any information you need and have forgotten—what happened previously, what a particular word means, who a person was...the list is endless.

Previous sentences, sections, or even whole chapters can provide helpful context clues. Re-reading these passages will help to refresh your memory so that you can better understand and interpret later sections of the text.

Tip 4: Skim or Read Upcoming Sections of the Text

Just like with the previous step, don't feel that the only way to read and understand a text is to work through it completely linearly. Allow yourself the freedom to take apart the text and put it back together again in whichever way makes the most sense to you.

Sometimes a current confusion in a work will be explained later on in the text, and it can help you to know that explanations are upcoming or even just to read them ahead of time.

So skip forward or backwards, re-read or read ahead as you need to, take the piece in whatever order you need to in order to make sense of the text. Not everyone thinks linearly, and not everyone best understands texts linearly either.

Tip 5: Discuss the Text With a Friend (Even an Imaginary Friend)

Sometimes discussing what you know so far about a text can help clear up any confusion. If you have a friend who hasn't read the text in question, then explain it to them in your own words, and discuss where you feel your comprehension is lacking. You'll find that you've probably understood more than you think once you've been forced to explain it to someone who's completely unfamiliar with the piece.

Even if no one else is in the room, trying to teach or discuss what a passage says or means with "someone else" can be extremely beneficial. In fact, software engineers call this technique "rubber duck debugging," wherein they explain a coding problem to a rubber duck. This forces them to work through a problem aloud, which has proven time and time again to help people solve problems. So if a piece of text has your head spinning from trying to work through it by yourself, start chatting with your nearest friend/pet/rubber duck. You'll be surprised with how much easier it is to understand a text once you've talked it through with someone.

Even if that someone is a duck.

The Take-Aways

Improving reading comprehension takes time and effort, but it can be done. Be patient with yourself, work through your reading comprehension steps, and try not to get frustrated with yourself if you feel your progress is slow or if you feel you're "falling behind." You will utilize your reading skills throughout your life, so go at a pace that works for you, and take care to maintain that balance between reading for pure pleasure and reading for dedicated improvement.

As you begin to incorporate more and more reading into your daily life, you'll find that comprehension will become easier, and reading will become more fun. In every piece of text, there are worlds of meaning to explore, and learning how to uncover them can be the ultimate rewarding journey.

What's Next?

Can't get enough reading? Whether as part of your reading practice or just for fun, check out our picks for the 31 best books to read in high school.

Problems with procrastination? Whether you're studying for the SAT's or studying your reading comprehension vocabulary check out how to beat procrastination and get your studies back on track.

Want to earn better grades? Our guide will help you get that 4.0 you're striving for .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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Courtney scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT in high school and went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology. She is passionate about bringing education and the tools to succeed to students from all backgrounds and walks of life, as she believes open education is one of the great societal equalizers. She has years of tutoring experience and writes creative works in her free time.

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10 Strategies to Improve Your Reading Comprehension for College

Some college students struggle with assignments because they lack sufficient reading comprehension skills. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy , 43% of U.S. adults lacked the basic skills to read and understand college-type and other such dense texts. They also can’t determine cause and effect, make simple inferences, summarize, or recognize an author's purpose.

In high school, some savvy students can get by with doing little reading and relying on class discussions to prepare them for quizzes and tests. It’s not easy to do the same in college—especially if you’re taking classes online. If some reading is assigned, you are expected to do it.

If you are out of practice or your comprehension isn’t up to standard, you can find yourself in trouble. Putting assignments off until the last minute won’t help, either.

One way to make sure you’re getting all you can from your assignments is to brush up on your reading comprehension skills. Here are some active reading strategies and tools you can use to bolster your reading for college.

1. Find Your Reading Corner

The right reading environment should fit with your learning style. The right spot will increase your focus and concentration. Consider four factors:

Atmosphere: Is there sufficient lighting? Do you have a comfortable chair?
Distractions: Is there enough quiet? Have you muted or turned off your phone?
Location: Is this spot convenient to things you need?
Schedule: Have you given yourself enough time to complete the reading and assignments?

2. Preview the Text

Survey the material and ask some questions before you start reading. What’s the topic? What do you already know? What can you learn from the text from any table of contents, glossary, or introduction? What do titles, subheadings, charts, and graphs tell you?

3. Use Smart Starting Strategies

When you start reading, don’t let the text overwhelm you. Use these strategies to keep your reading assignment under control.

Break up the reading: If an assignment seems daunting, break it into bite-sized sections.
Pace yourself: Dense material, such as that in textbooks, can be tough to read. Manage your time well and schedule regular breaks.
Check for understanding: As you read, occasionally ask yourself if you understand what is being communicated. If not, you may need to go back and reread a paragraph or section.

4. Highlight or Annotate the Text

Watch for important terms, definitions, facts, and phrases and highlight them or add annotations within the document—digitally if you’re on a computer. However, don't get carried away with the highlighting.

If you would rather not use a highlighter, try to annotate the text with notes in the margins or in comment mode, or underline key phrases. Also, look for and mark the main idea or thesis.

5. Take Notes on Main Points

This is different from highlighting because you can take your own notes separately. Here are a few note-taking strategies:

Have your own style: Try bullet points, mind mapping, outlines, or whatever method works for you.
Turn subtitles into questions: By making section headers into questions, that can help you find the answers.
Summarize as you read: After reading a paragraph, write a sentence to summarize the paragraph’s main points. Is the author’s thesis supported? Is an opposing view introduced?

6. Write Questions as You Read

Asking questions can help your comprehension. The tactic also works when reading. Ask questions in your notes—who, what, when, where, how—and then look for answers as you continue. That helps you understand what you read.

7. Look Up Words You Don’t Know

Don’t let unfamiliar words derail you. Look them up in a dictionary before you go any further. It can be hard to recover if you miss the main point because of new words. You may want to bookmark an online dictionary, like Merriam-Webster , so you can easily find word definitions.

8. Make Connections

Look for links and connections between the text and your experiences, thoughts, ideas, and other texts.

9. Review and Summarize

After you finish reading, summarize the text in your own words. This will help you understand main ideas and take better notes. If you don’t understand what you’ve read, reread carefully.

10. Discuss What You've Read

Describe what you have learned to someone else. Talk to your professor or another classmate. Join discussion groups. This will move the information (or content) from short-term to long-term memory.

Additional Reading Comprehension Strategies and Tools

Sometimes, charting what you learned will help you digest what you’ve read. Here are some sites and tools you can use to help.

10 Tips to Improve Your Reading Comprehension —This YouTube video features an instructor talking about reading and sharing tips.
Inspiration —Create concept or mind maps, graphic organizers, webs, and more to make sense of reading materials.
Purdue Global Academic Success Centers —Assistance with business, math, science, technology, and writing is available through Purdue Global’s online Academic Success Centers.
Purdue Global Study Essentials —This student support website offers action plans, study skills, hints on time management, and other tools to help students.
Quizlet —Create flashcards, quizzes, and other study aids with this website.
Rewordify —Turn arcane language into readable modern words with this free tool.
Snap&Read —Rephrase complicated text into simpler language with this Google Chrome extension.

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Home » Literacy Lines » The Listening and Reading Comprehension Link

The Listening and Reading Comprehension Link

I recently read a piece by Monica Brady-Myerov in Language Magazine in which she addresses the importance of teaching students listening skills. That same day I was reviewing the final proof for my updated training book, The Key Comprehension Routine: Primary Grades that includes an updated chapter about the foundational role of oral language and listening comprehension. The coincidence caused me to devote this blog post to listening comprehension!

After identifying the importance of listening comprehension in general, Brady-Myerov’s piece goes on to focus on how important teaching listening skills is for students with English as a second language. In particular, she talks about how TV and radio can be used as a valuable teaching tool to promote second-language acquisition. Some of you may recognize Monica’s name – she is an award-winning public radio reporter. I often listened to her on NPR when she was a senior reporter at WBUR here in Boston. Listening to her reporting certainly gave me an opportunity to improve my listening comprehension! In her piece, she provides excellent suggestions for how to use radio and video to develop listening comprehension and academic vocabulary knowledge for English language learning students.

Brady-Myerov references a paper by Tiffany Hogan published last year in the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in 2014 that reviews evidence showing that listening comprehension becomes the dominating influence for all students on reading comprehension starting in the elementary grades. It is great piece if you want to review the research related to this topic.

Here is what is included about the connection between listening and reading comprehension in the new Key Comprehension Routine book I referred to above:

Oral Language Leads to Literacy: Listening and Reading Comprehension

The simple view of reading comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Hoover & Gough, 1990) is a widely accepted model of the reading process (Hoffman, 2009). According to the simple view, development in two basic areas makes reading comprehension possible: decoding  skills and listening skills. Comprehension requires increased automaticity of decoding accompanied by an increase in the same general cognitive and language abilities that enable listening comprehension. The simple view has been represented in the following formula (Moats, 2009; Hoffman, 2009):

Reading = Decoding x Language Comprehension

According to the simple view, decoding and language (i.e., listening) comprehension ability are necessary for reading comprehension. If students lack decoding skills, they can still comprehend with strong listening comprehension ability – as long they can listen to text being read. However, if students have weak listening comprehension ability, they will also have difficulty with reading comprehension, even if they learn how to decode well.

Carlisle and Rice (2002) explain how the relationship between reading and listening comprehension changes as children learn to read:

In the first few years of learning to read, children with age-appropriate language development can understand much more challenging books through listening than they can read. As first graders, for example, they might listen to books like Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg with comprehension and enjoyment. However, they do not have the necessary word reading skills to read such a book on their own. They can read Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham because the simple words in this story are in their reading vocabulary; however, this book, while it is enjoyed for its humor, presents few challenges to their language comprehension. (p. 22)

They go on to explain that the relationship between listening and reading comprehension becomes stronger over the elementary years, as children gain the word-reading skills they need to read text that matches the level of their language comprehension. By about fifth grade, reading comprehension and listening comprehension are more closely related than they are for younger students.

This does not mean teachers should wait to teach comprehension until decoding skills are in place! It is essential for teachers to teach comprehension strategies, such as identifying and stating main ideas, summarizing and retelling, generating and answering questions, and using graphic organizers or story maps to aid in the recall of stories or information from expository text. Discussion of text, development of vocabulary and background knowledge, and analytic thinking can all be done through oral language and discussion before students are able to read material that is challenging enough to teach comprehension.

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Fascinating the need for great listening skills/comprehension.

How phonemic awareness is essential for reading.

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Unveiling the 3 Key Stages of a Reading Comprehension Lesson Plan: Pre-reading, While Reading, and Post-reading

Reading Comprehension Activities PDF – 16 Pages of Engaging Lesson Plans and Strategies

Introduction:, reading comprehension lesson plan stages and activities, reading comprehension lesson plan structure:, 1. pre-reading stage:.

Pre-reading activities help create a mental framework for students , providing context and making the text more accessible. By tapping into prior knowledge and generating interest, this stage primes students for better comprehension during the reading phase.

2. While Reading Stage:

3. post-reading stage:.

Definition:

Pre-reading Stage

What are pre-reading activities, examples of pre-reading activities, while-reading stage, what are while-reading activities, examples of while reading activities, post-reading stage, what are post reading activities, examples of post-reading activities, conclusion:.

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Chapter 5 Study Skills

5.2 Critical Reading Skills

Learning to read critically is an important part of developing good study habits, and ultimately strong reading skills will enhance almost every area of your life.

Most students entering college have not yet dealt with the level of difficulty involved in reading–and comprehending–scholarly textbooks and articles. The challenge may even surprise some who have pretty good reading and comprehension skills so far. Other students for whom reading has mostly consisted of social media, texts, forum chat rooms, and emails, find they are intimidated by the sheer amount of reading there is in college classes.

What is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a message. In other words, how well do you understand what you read? This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the written message. Comprehension is a “creative, multi-faceted process” dependent upon four language skills: phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Proficient reading depends on the ability to recognize words quickly and effortlessly. It is also determined by an individual’s cognitive development, which is “the construction of thought processes”. Reading comprehension involves both the ability to decode (figure out) words (i.e. know what the words are) and also the ability to make meaning of the words strung together (comprehension) Some people learn through education or instruction and others through direct experiences.

There are specific traits that determine how successfully an individual will comprehend text, including prior knowledge about the subject, well-developed language, and the ability to make inferences. Having the skill to monitor comprehension is a factor: “Why is this important?” and “Do I need to read the entire text?” are examples. Another trait is the ability to be self-correcting, which allows for solutions to comprehension challenges.

Reading comprehension and vocabulary are inextricably linked. The ability to decode or identify and pronounce words is self-evidently important, but knowing what the words mean has a major and direct effect on knowing what any specific passage means. Students with a smaller vocabulary than other students comprehend less of what they read, and it has been suggested that the most impactful way to improve comprehension is to improve vocabulary.

Most words are learned gradually through a wide variety of environments: television, books, and conversations. Some words are more complex and difficult to learn, such as homonyms, words that have multiple meanings and those with figurative meanings, like idioms, similes, and metaphors.

Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal teaching requires students to predict, summarize, clarify, and ask questions for sections of a text. The use of strategies like summarizing after each paragraph have come to be seen as effective strategies for building students’ comprehension. The idea is that students will develop stronger reading comprehension skills on their own if the teacher gives them explicit mental tools for unpacking text.

Instructional Conversations

“Instructional conversations”, or comprehension through discussion, creates higher-level thinking opportunities for students by promoting critical and aesthetic thinking about the text. There are several types of questions to focus on: remembering; testing understanding; application or solving; synthesis or creating; and evaluation and judging. It is helpful to use these types of questions through “think-alouds” before, during, and after reading a text. When a student can relate a passage to an experience, another book, or other facts about the world, they are “making a connection”. Making connections helps students understand the author’s purpose in a fiction or non-fiction story.

Text Factors

There are factors that, once discerned, make it easier for the reader to understand the written text. One is the genre, like folktales, historical fiction, biographies or poetry. Each genre has its own characteristics for text structure that, once understood, help the reader comprehend it. A story is composed of a plot, characters, setting, point of view, and theme. Informational books provide real world knowledge for students and have unique features such as: headings, maps, vocabulary, and an index. Poems are written in different forms and the most commonly used are: rhymed verse, haiku, free verse, and narratives. Poetry uses devices such as: alliteration, repetition, rhyme, metaphors, and similes. Students who are familiar with genres, organizational patterns, and text features in books they read are better able to create those text factors in their own writing.

The SQ3R Strategy

The SQ3R method has been a popular method of reading to learn. Textbooks require different reading methods than you might use for a novel, magazine, or website. When you approach a textbook, you are using it as a tool to learn the material that you need to know for your course. To achieve your aims, you will want to read with a purpose. One method for reading purposefully is called SQ3R. The acronym SQ3R reminds you of the elements of this reading method – Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review – that will help you become a more effective reader.

Before diving in to read the chapter – look over some of the key aspects.

Survey the title: Think about what you may already know about that topic.
Survey the introduction: It gives you an idea about how the chapter is organized, and what you will be learning. If your chapter includes a list of Learning Objectives, you will want to pay particular attention to these. The Learning Objectives outline the key content you will want to master as a result of your reading.
Survey anything in bold: Subtitles are labels. Other bolded items may be definitions that you will need to know.
Survey the pictures, charts and graphs: Glance at these to pick out things that seem interesting or informative.
Survey the summary at the end: This will review and give you the key points in the chapter.
Survey the questions at the end of the chapter: These will help focus your attention on the main points.
Survey your course syllabus/course presentation and see what topics the instructor is focusing on.

When you have completed your survey, you will begin reading, focusing especially on items that you identified as important when you survey. Think of questions you would like to see answered in the chapter. Think of the 5 Ws and H questions. Think of “Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How” questions for each subtitle or definition (you can do this as you progress through the reading). These questions will become the headings in your notes.

Read the chapter. Read to answer the questions you have created. Reread captions under pictures, graphs, and visuals. Note all underlined, italicized, and bolded words or phrases. Stop and reread parts that aren’t clear. Once you have found the key information needed, move to the next step.

Recite the answer to your question out loud. Do this as if you are explaining to a study partner. Better yet, actually explain it to a study partner, family member, or friend who is interested in supporting you. Explaining it to someone else helps you understand it better yourself.

After reciting, write this information down.
Repeat this step for each question that you created.

Stand back and look at the chapter as a whole.

How do the ideas and facts you learned from each subsection fit together?
Review your notes to be sure they make sense to you.

Exercise: The SQ3R Reading Method

Open your textbook to the chapter you are reading and complete the steps below. Download this SQ3R printable worksheet [PDF] for a template to guide you as you read and take notes.

SURVEY: After surveying the chapter, what do you think it will be about?

QUESTION: Turn the first subtitle into a question.

READ: The section to answer the question.

RECITE: Answer the question in your words. (Repeat for the rest of the chapter.)

REVIEW: After reading the chapter, what new things did you learn?

KWL Reading Strategy

KWL is a method that can guide you in reading and understanding a text. You can do it working alone, but discussions definitely help. It is composed of only three stages which can be reflected on a worksheet of three columns with the three letters:

What we	what we	what we

K stands for Know

Think first about what you already know about the topic before reading and jot it down in the first column, marked K. Discuss with others if possible.

W stands for Want to know

In the W column list the things you want to learn about the topic. Record questions, thinking of the 5 Ws and H questions. These questions will help you focus your attention during reading.

L stands for Learned

The final stage is to answer your questions, as well as to list what new information you have learned. You can do this either while reading or after you have finished.

Exercise: KWL Reading Method

Try using the KWL method on a simple task that you would like to know more about. For example, how to make a great cup of coffee, how to make a delicious margarita, information about a medical issue someone you know has been diagnosed with, tips for painting a bedroom… anything you like.

The Reading Apprenticeship (RA) Approach to Comprehension

A method called Reading Apprenticeship is based on the premise that people who have become expert readers can assist learners by modeling what they have learned to do. The idea is that a more proficient reader is present to support the beginner, engaging the beginner in the activity and calling attention to often overlooked or hidden strategies.

This strategy takes a metacognitive approach to comprehension, utilizing various strategies readers may already know they know how to do, then adding more. For example, most readers have learned to make predictions, ask questions concerning meanings (“I wonder about…”), visualize a scene being described, associate the material being read to some other material, and, at the end, summarize the material. By reading together, the more experienced reader walks the beginner through the process by leading them through similar processes.

Now review and affirm important comprehension skills you already possess and complete the exercise below.

Exercise: Reading Apprenticeship Approach

Go back through the excerpt above on reading comprehension and this time, write marginal notes where you used any of the comprehension tools listed below:

Predicting – guessing what the author would write next.
Asking questions of the material such as, “I wonder about,” “Could this mean?”
Visualizing – trying to picture it in your mind.
Connecting this material to something else you have learned – “It’s like…”
Noting where you think you might need to read something over again for comprehension. This is important! It’s not a weakness to read things over several times to understand them!
Summarizing – excellent for testing to see if you really understood the main point of the reading.

Key Takeaways

Being able to read a section of writing doesn’t necessarily mean you understand it well.
There are key strategies to increase reading comprehension.
Practices such as discussion, reciprocal teaching, questioning, and summarizing help to increase understanding.
Taking into account text factors such as genres, literary features, organizational patterns, and text features such as headings, maps, charts, and indexes – all aid comprehension.
The SQ3R reading method uses survey, question, read, recite, and review as a structure to deepen understanding.
The KWL reading method uses 3 stages: what you know, what you want to know, and what you learned.
The Reading Apprenticeship approach uses a mentorship model where a strong reader helps a weaker reader gain useful reading strategies.
Try some of these reading approaches and see if one works well for you. These strategies help to engage you and make you active in the reading process rather than just be a passive receiver of information. This helps you to remember and understand.

Text Attributions

The first paragraph and text under “What is Reading Comprehension” has been adapted from “ Comprehending College Level Reading by Using the Reading Apprenticeship Approach ” in Blueprint for Success in College and Career by Phyllis Nissila. Adapted by Mary Shier. CC BY .
Text under the “The SQ3R Strategy” heading was adapted from “ Read with a Purpose: The SQ3R Strategy ” in University 101: Study, Strategize and Succeed by Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Adapted by Mary Shier. CC BY-SA .

Media Attributions

Books © Hermann Traube (Pixabay) is licensed under a Public Domain license
SQ3R Strategy © Rawia Inaim is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license

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What new information have you learned from this page?
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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Reading Comprehension Worksheets Grades 1 - 10

Use our free, printable reading comprehension passage exercises to improve your student's reading skills! Recognizing letters and words is an important first step in learning to read. However, it is only a first step; it is vital that students comprehend, or understand, what they are reading. They must be able to get the meaning of the text: What is the author telling the reader? This is reading comprehension, and it is an essential skill for success in school and in the real world. Below are our reading comprehension worksheets grouped by grade, that include passages and related questions. Click on the title to view the printable activities in each grade range, or to read the details of each worksheet. They are free for use in the home or in the classroom. Be sure to check out our spelling words activities too!

1st Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

This 36 week first grade worksheet program for reading comprehension provides grade-appropriate passages and related questions, and can be used for other grades as appropriate.

2nd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

This 36 week second grade worksheet program for reading comprehension provides passages and questions that are grade appropriate, but can be used with additional grades.

3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 36 week third grade worksheet program for reading comprehension that we’ve organized here provides reading passages and activities designed for 3rd grade but can be used for other grades.

4th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 36 week fourth grade comprehension program that is included here provides reading passages and questions that are grade appropriate, but can be used with additional grades.

5th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 36 week fifth grade comprehension program provides passages and related questions that are grade appropriate, but can be used with additional grades.

6th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

7th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

8th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

9th - 10th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Inferences Worksheets

Context Clues Worksheets
Theme Worksheets

Main Idea Worksheets

Reading Games
Summary Worksheets
Online Tests
Figurative Language Worksheets
Short Stories with Questions
Nonfiction Passages
Genre Worksheets

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Reading worksheets.

Ereading Worksheets has the best reading worksheets on the internet, and they're all free. These worksheets are skill focused and aligned to Common Core State Standards. You are free to save, edit, and print these worksheets for personal or classroom use. Many of these assignments can now be completed online. You're going to like this.

This page features a sampling of the reading worksheets on this website, organized by skills. You can find more activity by browsing the pages that are dedicated to each reading skill.

Fiction Reading Passages

Nonfiction reading passages.

Author's Purpose Worksheets
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Types of Conflict Worksheets

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104 Comments

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I’ve been using this website for getting great grades (alliteration is one of those things that your games inspired me to do; not that yours are bad though) at my examinations for atleast 2 years.

I will be forever grateful to Mr. Morton for his wonderful website!

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Thank you for visiting and the kind words!

English is my second language.

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Laura Stapel

Hi, Thanks so much for these reading worksheets. They are original and unique and perfect for my tuition of gifted and talented sudents. Just wondering if you have an answer key for the following sheets:

The Authors Purpose 3 Figurative Language Worksheet 3 Non Fiction Reading Test Garbage

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this is great.

Zainab Ali Asghar

Hello Mr Morton, WOW!! these worksheets, games and activities are simply outstanding!! I am a teacher from Pakistan and these worksheets have helped me immensely in my learning as well as in the school when I share them with my students!! Thank you SOOOO much! I came across figurative language activities which was just the thing I was looking for but I would really appreciate if you could put up activities related to other grammar content; for example, characterization, inferential, fact and opinion, and all other content which we can integrate in our classroom activities.

Forever grateful, Zainab

That’s awesome. I actually have all of that content posted already. I’ve got to figure out some way to make the content more visible. Thanks for visiting!

it helped me in my exams

Hello Mr. Morton,

Thank you for using this great website for my daughter and me. It helps me and my daughter a lot. Do you have answers below***** those tests? If you have can I have it?

***** Jacob the Great Comprehension Test Nutrition Facts Comprehension Worksheet Pain Reliever Comprehension Worksheet

Here are those keys.

https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/jacob-the-great-answers.html

https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/medicine-comprehension-worksheet-answers.html

https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/nutrition-facts-comprehension-activity-answers.htm

Thanks for using the website!

well,these storys are…AWSOME

Michael Holson

Would I be able to post your Power points and worksheets on my webpage? I’ll leave all of them the same and i’ll also put your name on them.

I’m ok with that. Links back to my website as attribution are appreciated.

Samira El-Sabban

Such an outstanding work; i do appreciate the effort and i find it quite useful thanks a million Samira El-Sabban Head of English Department Rajac Schools Egypt

Sarah Madden

Thank you THank you!!!! This site is amazing! I cannot be more happy with it!

hello great passages but is there answers to these passages.

Answers are posted where available, typically under a link that says “View Answers.”

great website!!!!!! I am using your materials for my home school kids

steward Pheirim

This is brilliant, Thank you so much. Absolutely a treasure!!!

My tutor absolutely LOVES this website(so do I) but I was just wondering where the answer key for Jacob the Great? Awesome stories too. I love how detailed they are!

You make teaching easier! Thank you!

Just amazing thanks a lot really

very helpful, exercises are enriching.

I’ve read three of the passages you have here.

The first one was about metal detectors, was amusing, I like it and it’s good to know some of this facts.

The second one was a persuasive text about seat belts, how them keep us safe and the author keeps telling us to use them.

And the third one, my favourite, was about the pony express and how they carry the mail and how hard was and the complications, it’s interesting because they had a problem and they sorted it out in a clever way.

I like your website, thank you very much.

I’m so happy that you do. Best wishes!

hello my name is gabby i like this app it is really fun

It was very good and it is also enriching