Comprehension
One reading researcher describes reading comprehension as the "essence of reading." Find out more about how to improve all students' reading comprehension, from young preschoolers to students who are struggling and children with learning disabilities. Included are tips from the experts written for parents and teachers.
Featured partner:
National Education Association
Featured video
Our shows on PBS
Reading roundtable
Professional development webcasts
- Establishing an Effective Reading Program
- Reading to Learn: ELL in Grades 4-6
- Make Reading Count: Effective Strategies for Teaching Comprehension
- Comprehension: Helping English Language Learners Grasp the Full Picture
- Assessment of ELLs
- From Babbling To Books
- Differentiated Reading Instruction
Interactive tools
In our blogs
Sound It Out
- Pictures in the Mind: Magicians and Elephants
- Building comprehension, one corpse at a time
- Whodunnit? Spring break mysteries
- You'll love 'First Lines'
- I'd give this report card comment an N (for needs improvement)
- More...
Page by Page
Top articles
Basics
- Knowledge in the Classroom
- How We Neglect Knowledge and Why
- What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky’s Song
- What Works in Comprehension Instruction
- Text Comprehension
For parents
For teachers
- Building World Knowledge: Motivating Children to Read and Enjoy Informational Text
- Teaching Metalinguistic Awareness and Reading Comprehension with Riddles
- Instruction of Metacognitive Strategies Enhances Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Achievement of Third-Grade Students
- Repeated Interactive Read-Alouds in Preschool and Kindergarten
- Knowledge in the Classroom
Comprehension strategies
- Teaching Metalinguistic Awareness and Reading Comprehension with Riddles
- Instruction of Metacognitive Strategies Enhances Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Achievement of Third-Grade Students
- Repeated Interactive Read-Alouds in Preschool and Kindergarten
- Story Skeletons: Teaching Plot Structure with Picture Books
- Improving Reading Skills in the Science Classroom
Classroom strategies
Download and print
- Reading Tips for Parents in English and 10 Other Languages
- Adventures in Reading: Family Literacy Bags
- What's This About? Reading for Meaning with Your Child
- Use Summer Fun to Build Background Knowledge
FAQs
Reading 101
Research
- What Classroom Observations Reveal About Reading Comprehension Instruction
- Comprehension Instruction: What Makes Sense Now, What Might Make Sense Soon
In our LearningStore
- Story Comprehension To Go
- Getting Into Words: Vocabulary Instruction that Strengthens Comprehension
- No-Glamour Language Game