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, backing 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.
From their very first reading comprehension exercise to Cloze tests, classic works and finding clues, everything you need to is right here.
Articles
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.
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.
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
Use this reading comprehension to help your child with reading aloud and answering questions on a text.
Reading comprehension: a biography of Winston Churchill
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
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.
Also see:
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.
