How to Teach Reading Comprehension to 2nd Graders

Teaching reading comprehension skills to kids requires a multifaceted but structured approach.

A combination of comprehension strategies are taught sometimes one at a time or often, in an integrated manner.

It is important that reading passages are engaging and at a developmental level.

Guided reading sessions are an effective way to teach and consolidate comprehension skills.

How to Teach Reading Comprehension to 2nd Graders

These are taught in 3 parts – prereading, during reading and after reading.

The prereading stage is important for:

• Reading the title, author, illustrator
• Studying the front cover illustrations
• Making predictions about what the text is about
• Introduce tricky topic-specific vocabularyNext is the during reading stage, which is when:
• the teacher models effective reading strategies
• students take turns reading and ask clarifying questions
• ask 5Ws questions to build text understanding (eg. who is the main character, when and where is the story set, what is the problem, why did the author write the story)Then comes the after reading stage, where teacher and student/s discuss the text and:
  • connect the text to their life experiences
  • summarize the main details and key events
  • predict what might happen next if the author were to write part two
  • retell the story by sequencing the main events

The final stage is having the student/s complete a reader response activity which includes:

• Story Mapping
• Story Sequencing
• Venn Diagram to compare and contrast 2 characters
• Identifying author’s purpose

How to Teach Reading Comprehension to 2nd Graders

These story sequencing activities with reading passages are great for back to school or anytime of the year! These interactive google slides consists of fiction and non-fiction reading comprehension passages that will help students learn how to sequence events. Each worksheet requires students to read, sequence and write a sentence in the correct order. Furthermore, each worksheet has an embedded writing checklist to foster strong writing skills. A great resource for distance learning and literacy centers!

This no prep resource consists of the following reading passages:

1. A Butterfly
2. Tess Can Swim
3. Tim the Fire-fighter
4. The Seed
5. Tom’s Dog
6. Friends
7. Fun in The Sun
8. A Monster Story
9. Ted Can Paint A Room
10. The Vet
11. My Dentist
12. Jen Visits the Library
13. Pam Can Bake
14. In the Garden
15. Ava Can Make Lunch
16. My Bunny
17. A Frog
18. The Weather Can Change
19. We Like Reading (US version)
20. We Like Reading (UK version)
21. Ari Like Art
22. I Can Count On
23. Penguins
24. Leo Can Brush His Teeth
25. I Spy a Spotty Bug
26. At The Farm
27. Whole Body Listening
28. Our Class Pet

Skills Covered:

• Reading Comprehension
• Sequencing
• Reading Fluency
• Writing
• CVC words
• Digraphs
• Sight Words
• High Frequency Words
• Digital Technology Skills (google slides)

Ideal for:

• Guided Reading Sessions
• Whole class (project on smartboard)
• Morning Work
• Homework
• Early Finishers

Each activity requires students to:

• Read the passage.
• Highlight the sequence words in the text (first, then, next, after, finally)
• Complete the sentences
• Tick the embedded check list (capital letters, finger space, punctuation)
• Re-read passage with fluency

How to use this resource:

• Students can use this digitally as text boxes are included and they can type their answers directly or;
• Simply delete text boxes and print slides as worksheets!

Join my Free Resource Library to receive exclusive FREE content!