Reading Comprehension (4-6)

Reading / Comprehension

Fiction

  1. 500 Words’ Bedtime Stories (Podcast) – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02tkm27/episodes/downloads – Bedtime stories for kids, written by kids. A selection of sensational stories from the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show 500 Words competition.
  2. A Book and A Hug – https://abookandahug.com/ – Explore distant lands and read stories from around the globe with the cool interactive map. Write reviews of your favorite books. Lots of information for educators as well.
  3. American Literature – https://americanliterature.com/ – There isn’t a lot of messaging or resources here… just links to books for all ages. There are short stories and novels from all different genres. Some poetry has also been included. Worth checking out if you are looking for classic stories.
  4. Adapted Mind – https://www.adaptedmind.com/reading.php – Developed by graduates of Stanford, Berkeley and Harvard to improve the way children learn. It creates a custom learning experience for each student that identifies the strengths and weaknesses by delivering a curriculum and exercises that adapts to those needs. 
  5. Amplify Reading – https://amplify.com/programs/amplify-reading/ – Leveraging compelling storytelling and the latest research, Amplify Reading helps students achieve true mastery of the concepts they need to become strong, life-long readers. It engages students with the five areas of social and emotional learning—self-awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making—through its storylines, diverse communities, and extension activities.
  6. Audio Book Cloud – https://www.audiobookcloud.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f – Database of streaming audio books with a children’s section. Contact your local public library to see if there is free access through a library membership. Recommended for students grade 3 and up.
  7. Barbershop Books – https://barbershopbooks.org/ – Creates child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops and provides early-literacy training to barbers. Their specific target is to get boys to read more.
  8. Biblionasium – https://www.biblionasium.com/ – A place where childern can set up a virtual bookshelf, complete a reading log, review and share books with others. It is for grades 2 – 8.
  9. Bookopolis – https://bookopolis.com/ – Students can browse and discover books that interest them. Teachers can comment on the reading logs, reports, reviews and track student reading by group or by individual. There is a separate login for students, parents and teachers.
  10. Bookshare – https://www.bookshare.org/ – A digital library service that provides eBooks for individuals with reading barriers (e.g. dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, etc). This website is free for U.S. citizens and some low-income countries but there is a yearly fee for other countries.
  11. Children’s Storybooks Online – http://www.magickeys.com/books/ – Simple website with illustrated children’s storgbooks for all ages available online.
  12. CommonLit – https://www.commonlit.org/ – Provides teachers with all the resources needed to set students up for success; built on a foundation of over 2,000 high-quality free reading passages starting in grade 3 and complimented by interim assessments, growth-oriented data and teacher development.
  13. Dial-a-Story – https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/services/dial-a-story.jsp – Kids and their families can listen to a story by phone any time of day by calling 1-416-395-5400. There are stories for children up to 12. It is available in 16 languages.
  14. Dreamscape – https://www.playdreamscape.com/ – Available to all students, educators, parents, and administrators at no cost, ensuring all students have the right to access quality education. As students progress in the game, Dreamscape’s adaptive algorithms deliver passages and skill-based questions to students, personalized to their level of reading skill, keeping them motivated in their Zone of Proximal Development.
  15. East of the Web – http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/childrenindex.html – Designed for K-8 students, this site offers hundreds of stories your students can read online, and many of these include reading comprehension worksheets you can print and use in class.
  16. EL Education – https://eleducation.org/ – There is a library and tools to use towards your language arts curriculum for K-8 students. They even have some pre-built units for the various elements of language arts. Not everything is free, though. If you want to gain access to over 1,000 resources, save (resources, collections, and PD packs) to your own folders or create new folders and share with others, you will have to purchase the premium membership.
  17. eNotes – https://www.enotes.com/ – This website will help you with any book or any question. The summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers.
  18. Epic! – https://www.getepic.com/ – Epic has grown into an award-winning subscription service, which gives millions of families and classrooms instant, unlimited access to thousands of books, videos and quizzes from leading publishers to help kids everywhere read, learn and grow. Note: Free to educators but free trial to parents.
  19. Free Children Stories – https://www.freechildrenstories.com/ – Founded in 2008, this website operates on the principle that children’s development is paramount so their mission is to offer meaningful storytelling to everyone.
  20. Fun4TheBrain – https://www.fun4thebrain.com/g/reading – This site predominately focuses on math skills but there is a section for books and reading games. Right now, the selection is small due to the end of Adobe Flash Player but hopefully the material that has to be recoded will reappear soon.
  21. FunBrain (Books) – https://www.funbrain.com/books – Since 1997, this website has been enthusiastically used by students, teachers, librarians and parents as a free education tool. It has been created for children from preschool to grade 8. Beyond the fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading and literacy, this website also provides children with a variety of popular books and comics (including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again and Brewster Rocket.
  22. Guidebooks – https://learnzillion.com/p/guidebooks/ – Guidebooks centers around the texts students love. It connects across multiple genres, creating a web of meaning critical to the development of reading and writing skills. Each Guidebooks lesson supports whole class and small group instruction and supports teachers in moving to strategic instruction.
  23. Guys Read – http://www.guysread.com/ – A web-based literacy program for boys. Their mission is to help boys become self-motivated and lifelong readers. It offers a list of books recommended by children’s author Jon Sczieska, and other visitors to the website.  Note: It is currently under reconstruction after 15 years of service.
  24. Harry Potter Reading Club – http://hpread.scholastic.com/ – This website will allow teachers or parents to start their own Harry Potter Reading Club and even provides a free starter kit along with access to discussion guides, monthly activities and more. Recommended for grade 3 and up.
  25. International Children’s Digitial Library – http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ – Discover books from around the world. Although there are no read aloud books, students can read independently during “Read to Self” or free time. This can also be a good choice for extension activities when learning about different regions of the world.
  26. Into The Book – https://reading.ecb.org/ – An excellent reading comprehension site that focuses on reading strategies including prior knowledge, making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring, summarizing, evaluating and synthesizing. A great way for K-6 teachers and home educators to introduce and reinforce the different strategies.
  27. Khan Academy (ELA) – https://www.khanacademy.org/ela – Courses are currently being created for grades up to grade 9. Topics are broken down into sections including: building knowledge, close reading, vocabulary knowledge and reading for understanding. There is a grammar section at the bottom of the page (before choosing the appropriate grade).
  28. KidsRead2Kids – https://kidsread2kids.com/ – Provides video-audio books read by kids for kids – filmed chapter by chapter for easy listening. A great resource for both homeschooling parents and primary teachers.
  29. Lit2Go – https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/ – An online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom.
  30. Magic Blox – https://magicblox.com/ – With a large and growing collection of eBooks for children ages 1 to 13 years old, children get to enjoy new books all the time from award-winning authors and publishers from around the world.  In addition to titles from traditional publishers, students can discover new stories from authors they’ve never heard of or try out new languages they’ve never seen.
  31. Magic of Storytelling – www.magicofstorytelling.com – In collaboration with First Book, Disney is inspiring imagination and a lifelong love of reading while helping to provide books to educators who serve children in need.
  32. Magic Tree House Kids – https://www.magictreehouse.com/ – A companion website to the Magic Tree House books, aimed at students starting in grade 2/3 (depending on reading level). There is a Parents section and a Teacher’s section (which includes Educator’s guides and activities for every book).
  33. Mr. Nussbaum Learning & Fun – https://mrnussbaum.com/lang-arts – This approach to literacy education strongly believes that students need to not only learn the basic principles of reading but also employ those principles in everyday tasks. Students put their skills to use as they scour real scholarly materials, research concepts and actively read in pursuit of a final goal. It’s this practical approach that helps students connect theory with practice in a meaningful way.
  34. Official Roald Dahl Website – https://www.roalddahl.com/teach/ – Not only does it showcase all of this author’s books but it has lesson plans for teachers to use. There are suggestions to more ways to use the books in a classroom, a ection on meeting the characters and a link to the museum and story centre.
  35. OxfordOwl: Reading – https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/ – Find an eBook library, phonics and other reading supports for various age levels. Note: it is a UK website but it has some excellent material.
  36. PebbleGoNext – https://www.pebblego.com/ – Engaging read aloud articles. Text appropriate for grade 3-5 readers. Simple navigation and learning opportunities with video and/or audio accompanying most articles, source citation resource, and a “Share What You Know” activity with a printable template.
  37. Project Gutenberg – https://www.gutenberg.org/ – This is a library with over 60,000 free e-books from countries all over the world. There is a particular focus on classics that are no longer used in schools but are still considered literary masterpieces.
  38. Raz Kids – https://www.raz-kids.com/ – This website delivers hundreds of interactive, levelsed eBooks spanning 29 levels with open-book quizzes that test comprehension, providing teachers with skill reports for data-driven instruction.  There are online running records which let teachers digitally assess each student and saving valuable classroom time.
  39. Raz Plus – https://www.raz-plus.com/ – Differentiate printable or digital resources for independent practice; customize small-group activities and lessons.  Help students “Level Up” with level-appropriate independent reading practice.  Quickly find resources aligned to your state standards.  Students see personalized reading recommendations and can favorite books for easy access later.  Students also earn fun badges and awards for completing activities.
  40. Reading Eggs – https://www.3plearning.com/software/reading-eggs/ – Find a book that speaks to every student in a library of over 2500+ titles. Create personal learning literacy experiences. Assign fun and meaningful homework. Find and use time-saving resources for students up to age 13. Available worldwide excluding USA and Canada.
  41. Reading Horizons Elevate – https://www.readinghorizons.com/reading-curriculum/reading-intervention/overview – When older learners have reading difficulties, it is often because they have gaps in the foundational decoding skills needed for fluent reading. This program helps older learners fill these gaps with assessment-driven explicit phonics instruction based on the principles of reading science.
  42. Reading IQ – https://www.readingiq.com/ – Unlimited access to thousands of books carefully curated for readers 12 and under. Book recommendations for every child based on his or her level. Guided Reading and Lexile® levels available for thousands of books.
  43. Read Theory – https://www.readtheory.org/ – Offers online and downloadable reading activities for all ages or ability levels. The program adapts to individual ability levels and provides necessary skill-building exercises for students from K-12 and ESL. Recommended for teachers with no budget.
  44. Read to Me International – https://www.readtomeintl.org/ – Similar to Storyline Online, this website features popular children’s books that are read by famous performers. There are activity guides with ideas, discussion questions and lesson plans available as well.
  45. Read Works – https://www.readworks.org/ – Choose from thousands of nonfiction & fiction passages with supports designed to improve comprehension three different ways: Stepreads, eBooks and Audio. There are differentiation options, Article-a-day sets and Paired Texts activities for students from K-12.
  46. Renaissance Accelerated Reader – https://www.renaissance.com/products/accelerated-reader/ – Individual reading recommendations use students’ interests and reading levels to suggest “just-right” titles—or students can self-select from over 200,000 choices! Reading quizzes monitor comprehension, while literacy skills and vocabulary quizzes extend student learning and build skills mastery. Detailed reports provide insights into students’ progress.
  47. Sparknotes – https://www.sparknotes.com/ – Sometimes you don’t understand your teacher, your textbooks make no sense, and you have to read sixteen chapters by tomorrow. SparkNotes is a resource you can turn to when you’re “confuzzled”. It will help you understand books, write papers, and study for tests. It is clear and concise and doesn’t leave out important info.
  48. Squiggle Park – https://www.squigglepark.com/ – Squiggle Park focuses on making sure that students are continually mastering the content presented. This keeps frustration low, while allowing students to continually feel success. Ultimately students learn through practice and play, all the while building confidence that they are growing their toolkit to be able to decode any word they encounter. Also a great tool for ELL students.
  49. Storyline Online – https://www.storylineonline.net/ – This is a program of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation that streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.
  50. Storynory – https://www.storynory.com/ – Featuring a collection of original, fairy tale and classic children’s stories, students can follow along with the story as it is read to them with the included text. Other features include the ability to download the audio to your computer, listening to “catch phrase” explanations, translating text into different languages (great for ELL students) and more.
  51. Storytime from Space – https://storytimefromspace.com/ – Within each unit you will find science background information for educators, science activities and cross-content activities (such as Language Arts, Social Studies, Physical Ed. etc.) that help support the STEM concepts.
  52. Teach Your Monster to Read – https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/ – The game takes children on a magical journey, meeting colourful characters along the way and collecting fantastic rewards. As they progress, they rehearse a range of essential reading skills; matching letters to sounds, blending, segmenting, tricky words and reading full sentences. (Although this is primarily meant for primary grades K-3, it could also be used for struggling students in grade 4.) Recommended for teachers with no budget.
  53. Tumble Book Library – https://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f – This is a paid subscription service for schools and public libraries. However, many public libraries offer free access to this service with a library membership so it is a good idea to check with your local library.
  54. Unite for Literacy – https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/ – More than 400 original picture books with audio narrations in more than 40 languages. This would be a good tool for ELL students.
  55. Vooks – http://vooks.com – An ever-growing library that inspires children to discover their interests and fall in love with reading. Features all the elements that make storytime so special: read-along pacing, valuable life lessons, and a visual connection between words and text.
  56. Wordville (Reading Comprehension) – https://wordville.com/ReadingComp/index.html – Literary short stories and informational texts from diverse cultures with questions to test comprehension and close reading skills. Read and answer online or print a text and quiz worksheet. The graded reading includes a range of fiction and non-fiction stories appropriate for classrooms of learners at varying reading levels from K-5.

Non-Fiction

  1. Classroom Connection – https://www.classroomconnection.ca/ – A collection of publications and resources dealing with issues important to students and educators. Most of the resource sections are free.
  2. DOGOnews – https://www.dogonews.com/ – A great reading resource offering a variety of non-fiction content covering current events, sports, science and more. Each article is kid-friendly with links to definitions of words that students may find complicated. It is searchable by grade level or category and articles are free to view. Premium access, at cost, is available for teachers interested in worksheets, activities and more that can accompany articles.
  3. Explorer Magazine (National Geographic) – https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/classroom-resources/explorer-magazine/ – Leveled in six editions for grades K-5, the non-fiction content supports national reading and science standards. For more nonfiction articles, videos, photographs, maps, infographics, and assessments, explore the free Resource Library.
  4. The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/gnmeducationcentre/resources-for-teachers – Tips and suggestions for grade 4-12 teachers covering news media, plus information about how the news is made. Printable sheets with information on news report writing, types of news stories and newspaper and web terminology. Resource material from the GNM Archive including photography, cartoons and coverage of significant past events. Plus, so much more.
  5. Kids Post – https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/ – In the Lifestyle section of The Washington Post is “Kids Post” with interesting articles geared at children of all ages. Read special reports with kid-friendly language, browse the section on crafts and recipes or visit the Readers Corner.
  6. Newsela – https://newsela.com – Non-fiction content comes from the real world, about people and topics students relate to; it is provided at 5 reading levels, so the differentiation is built-in. The PRO version features more, at a cost.
  7. Newsround – https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround – BBC created a kid-friendly news area that provides articles and video clips about current affairs, mental wellbeing, space, sports and more. It even has quizzes.
  8. Readorium – https://readorium.com/ – It teaches reading comprehension to students in grades 3 through 8 using science text that automatically adapts to each child’s level, as they progress. Parents and teachers can get as involved as they want with progress reports and supplemental resources. Note: It looks like it is currently only available to U.S. residents.
  9. Scholastic Kids Press – https://kpcnotebook.scholastic.com/ – Scholastic Kids Press is a group of talented “Kid Reporters” (aged 10–14) from across the country and around the world. This young journalists cover politics, entertainment, the environment, sports and more in their hometowns as well as the national stage. 
  10. Science News for Students – https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/ – Articles are posted daily and provide educators a readability score (based on grade level). Many articles have “Classroom Questions” to save time from creating your own.  Use it to supplement units in science, math and language arts. Many articles contain “Power Words” and their definitions (which you can review in advance) so kids can better understand the text. Buttons on each reading allow you to post the resource to Google Classroom, so you can assign readings for homework.
  11. Smithsonian TweenTribune – https://www.tweentribune.com/category/tween56/ – A great introduction to reading non-fictionliterature by providing news articles for students. It is regularly updated from the Associated Press and each article includes comprehension and vocabulary-based quizzes with adjustable Lexile levels. A critical-thinking challenge question ends each article.
  12. Sports Illustrated Kids – https://www.sikids.com/ – It is a very simplistic website with non-fiction sports articles about the latest news in sports with kid-friendly language.
  13. StoryCorps – https://storycorps.org/ – StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. It has been done to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, it is creating an invaluable archive for future generations.
  14. Teaching Kids News – http://teachingkidsnews.com/ – Great news website for students from grades 2 – 8. Started by a third grade teacher in Toronto with the goal of teaching students about what’s going on in the world in a kid-friendly way. The site is updated weekly and crafted by a team of professional journalists and educators. There is an archive of over 900 articles and resources searchable by year, category and grade level.
  15. Time for Kids – https://www.timeforkids.com/g34/ or https://www.timeforkids.com/g56/ – There are three different web addresses included here as it depends on what grade level your student is. Click the appropriate link for the appropriate grade level. This is Time Magazine aimed at children and it is a great way to encourage young readers to evaluate non-fiction. It is strictly reading material and does not include any supplementary material.
  16. The Week Junior – https://theweekjunior.com/ – A news and current events magazine for middle schoolers – one way for students to work on reading non-fiction material.
  17. Youngzine – https://youngzine.org/ – A one-of-a-kind Web site where children can learn about current news and events shaping their world — in a simple, engaging and interactive manner. It provides a safe and private blog environment for classrooms with a constructive, creative and controlled way for teachers to create classroom assignments and foster discussions on current events.