Due to the level of maturity and inconsistency in 1st grade students, research has not been strong for this reading level. The one thing we can grasp from research that has been done on the 1st grade level is that students that recognize the sounds made by paired letters (blends) and the elements of those sounds tend to be stronger readers at this grade. These worksheets contain short reading assignments for your 1st grade students. Students will read the story or article and then be asked to answer questions about what they have just read. Question sheets may include such activities as true/false, short answer, multiple choice, and more. There are multiple sheets for each reading passage, so be sure to print them all. Answer keys are not always available because most of the reading worksheets are in free or open response format. Note for Instructors: If you cannot use these worksheets in your regular curriculum, they make great review pieces or extra credit assignments for your students.
Printable 1st Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Click the buttons to print each worksheet and answer key.
Carl is a Cat Reading Passage
A simple passage followed by questions for you. The passage reads: Carl is a cat. Carl likes to take walks. Carl likes to play. Carl likes to eat fish. At the end of the day, Carl curls up and sleeps by the fire. You are a good cat, Carl!
Look What I Can Do! Reading Worksheet
What can you do with this worksheet? Read the five sentence passage and then answer the five questions.
Little Bat Worksheet
The reading passage says: Little Bat lived on a farm. During the day he slept high up in the barn. At night he woke up and looked for bugs to eat. Little Bat was friends with the lambs, the piglets, the calf, and the kittens. But Little Bat did not like the spider. The spider was not good to eat. The spider was not friendly. And Little Bat did not like to get sticky web on his wings. So Little Bat and the spider left each other alone!
Jim's Hat Reading
Jim put on his hat. He went outside. He found his friends. Hank threw a snowball. Jim threw a snowball. They had a snowball war.
Jim's Hat Question Sheet
Complete all the sentences that are put in front of you. They each just need a word, but add punctuation marks for extra credit.
The Birthday Cake
Who doesn't love a good birthday? It is Jill's birthday. Jill's favorite part of her birthday is the cake. Jill loves cake. Jill's mother made her a big, pink cake with cherries on top. Jill's friends came over for a party and shared the cake.
A Balloon Ride
Who got out of the balloon? What was at the bottom of the balloon? Who got in the basket first?
Short Reading: At the Park
There is a nice park in town. There is a bench in the park. There is a fountain in the park. There are trees in the park. Mike likes to bike in the park. Fran likes to run in the park. Kim likes to picnic in the park. Everyone loves the park!
The Rocking Horse
What is the boy's name? What is the horse's name? Is the horse real? How do you know?
A Day at the Beach
Linda’s mother took her to the beach. Linda wore a big hat to keep the sun off of her face. She brought her pail and her shovel. Linda walked along the beach and collected shells.
Coconuts! Worksheet
Which of the animals in the story: Suck the coconut milk? Play with the coconuts?
The Ladybug
The ladybug is an insect. Like all insects, it has six legs. The ladybug has two sets of wings. The outer set is the hard shell for protection. The inner set is what the ladybug uses to fly. Many ladybugs are red and black, but they can also be yellow and black or orange and black.
Ants Reading Worksheet
Ants like to be around other ants. They live in large groups called colonies. There are many kinds of ants in the world. One thing all ants have in common is that they can lift twenty times their body weight.
How To Help 1st Graders Read Better
Working on 1st graders' reading skills can be challenging. They need extra attention to comprehend things. Although they are familiar with the alphabet letters, it may be hard to understand their use. While this may be correct, the stories they read at this level may stick as crystal clear memories down the road. You can use many ways to help students with reading and comprehension.
Students in the 1st grade seem to understand the concept of reading left to right. The focus for teachers at this level sound be on increasing phonemic awareness and attention to sounding out words. Students should spend a good bit of time learning the spelling to sound correspondences to achieve a higher level of proficiency in this range. We advocate for a well-balanced phonics-based approach reading. To make the most of the student’s achievements we encourage you to monitor each child’s progress bi-weekly and provide them with the necessary materials to secure their interests in what they are reading. You will find a variety of reading passages below that will promote an array of broad interests in what is being presented. We feature some visual images as needed which you will find is helpful for readers with weaker phonemic awareness skills.
Reading books is a wholesome experience for the kids. Regardless of their comprehension abilities, they are curious to dive into the books. If you want to encourage them to read better, you can try some of the many ways listed below.
Ways to Improve 1st Graders' Reading Skills
Conceptual Reading
Since reading is a new concept for 1st graders, getting into minor details may be too much. You may help them understand the idea of a story first. As you help them read through a passage, ask them to share what they learned. Conceptual reading can help you analyze how good or bad they are doing with their comprehension.
You can accomplish this by helping them read the passage word by word. You may try to explain the meanings as you read the story with them. Once you close a paragraph, you can ask them to share what they understood. If they miss any information, you can help them go through it again.
Focusing on the Concept of Sequencing
Helping the students in sequencing is vital. If they understand the timeline of events occurring in the story, they may better understand the vocabulary. This practice also enables them to comprehend the structure of a story. You may help them identify the story's introduction, interval, and closure.
Understanding the sequence of a story can also help them in story development. As a part of the class activity, you may ask your students to create an account of their previously spent day. The students can start with the morning and describe it all the way to the night to describe the occurred events.
Characterization
Every story has characters. When 1st graders learn to read, they are more prone to understanding the turn of events. You may help them with characterization. If the story has a dog in it, they need to be able to identify if the dog is a puppy or a hound. Helping them to understand the positive or negative impact of a character in the story can improve their comprehension skills.
You can also help them improve their reading by creating their characters. Using positive and negative terms in defining characters can develop a sense of how different words portray different meanings. Moreover, helping them comprehend a character from visual aids can also improve their comprehension.
Factuality
By working on the 1st graders' reading skills, you can help them identify the sequencing and characterization of stories. You may also help them differentiate between facts and fantasy. 1st graders need to be able to distinguish factual information from made-up stories.
For example, if they read a story about a flying carpet, they should be able to identify it as fantasy. On the contrary, any story about a chef that bakes cookies can be confirmed.
As a teacher, you can create different scenarios based on facts and fantasies for your students. By asking them to distinguish between the two types, they can read and comprehend better. Factuality can play an influential role in a student's learning early stages.
Summing Up
If you want to improve your kid's reading and comprehension skills, you can find many fun activities online. While this may be valid, you can also think of ways to improve your kid's reading.