The Doing What Works LibraryLibrary
Reading Comprehension

Strong reading skills open the door to a wide range of opportunities in education, employment, and social and civic life, but many students never reach proficiency in reading. By focusing on supporting reading comprehension, teachers can help even the youngest students develop the skills required to understand increasingly difficult material and continue their growth as readers. Teachers can give students the tools they need by carefully selecting texts and using them to explicitly teach comprehension strategies, help students understand and use text structure to aid comprehension, and engage students in reading and discussions about their readers.

To learn more about the research underlying these practices, view the IES Practice Guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade.