Skip to main content

Reading comprehension

Little girl concentrating

Learning to read is just the start of your child's literacy journey. From the early years of primary school, they will be encouraged to understand what they read and really engage with words in their English lessons. There are set National Curriculum reading comprehension objectives and it is also a big part of KS2 English SATs.

Help your child develop vital reading comprehension skills

In this section of the site, you can find out how to improve your child's reading comprehension ability at home, discuss a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts, develop deduction skills, understand inference and tackle tricky reading comprehension questions, back up answers with evidence from the text. We also have hundreds of teacher-created reading comprehension resources, divided by school year, and covering a range of different text types, such as biography and autobiography, argument texts, storyboarding, newspaper articles and more.

You can also find out about a fantastic KS2 reading comprehension pack.

Benefits of our reading comprehension resources

From their very first reading comprehension exercise to Cloze tests, classic works and finding clues, everything you need to is right here.

Presenting your child with a wide range of different text types and topics will help boost their confidence. Our worksheets will help them with reading aloud, and developing a positive attitude toward reading. This can increase children's vocabulary, encourage imagination and help them to make sense of the world around them. As part of the evening routine, sharing reading time with your child can be also a wonderful bonding experience and is universally recommended by childhood specialists. 

Articles

Father and son reading together
Reading comprehension explained for parents
Once your child can read they’ll be working on understanding what they read and really engaging with words in their literacy lessons. Reading comprehension is also a big part of SATs. Teacher Alice Hart explains how you can help boost your child’s skills at home.
Writing a book report
Book reports: what parents need to know
Helping your child engage with their reading matter and improve their literacy skills, book reports are a homework staple. So what’s involved, and how can you make them easier for your child? Lucy Dimbylow explains.
Reading comprehension: teachers' tips
Teachers’ tips for reading comprehension
Reading comprehension exercises are a staple homework activity, not to mention a significant part of SATs. Lucy Dimbylow asked teachers for their insider tips on getting to grips with comprehension and how to help your child at home.

Worksheets

First reading comprehension worksheets
First reading comprehension
Use this teacher-created reading comprehension activity to help your child with reading aloud and answering questions on a text.
Reading comprehension: a biography of Winston Churchill
Reading comprehension activity: biography of Winston Churchill
This KS2 reading comprehension activity was created by an experienced teacher to help build your primary-school child's comprehension strategies and skills.

Winston Churchill is an important figure in history because he was Prime Minister of Britain during the Second World War. Read this biography and then see if you can answer the questions.
Reading comprehension: An argument for zoos
Reading comprehension: An argument for zoos
A zoos a good place for animals to live or not. Here is an argument for zoos. Read it and see if you agree with the writer's viewpoint or not.
See all Reading comprehension worksheets here ►

Search all Reading comprehension worksheets by year 
Also see:

Stolen book of spells

The Stolen Book of Spells – Reading comprehension workbook

Reading comprehension doesn't have to be dull! The Stolen Book of Spells offers KS2 students an engaging story, challenging questions and a riddle to solve – they'll be so immersed in the narrative they won't even realise they're working on their literacy. Answers are provided so you can mark your child's work and help them improve their ability to comprehend, decode and interpret what they read.