Free first grade reading comprehension worksheets

How to use these worksheets

One passage per sitting, about fifteen minutes. The child reads aloud first; you listen for whether the decoding is smooth enough that attention is free for meaning. If more than one word in ten is a struggle, read the passage to them and let them answer orally: the comprehension practice still counts.

• Read twice. Once to decode, once to understand. Then the questions. This habit matters more than any single answer.
• Questions 1 and 2 (multiple choice). The answer is in the text. Ask the child to point to the sentence that proves it before circling.
• Question 3 (short answer). A word or a phrase is enough at this grade. Copying the words from the passage is allowed and is how children learn to cite text.
• Question 4 (why do you think). Marked THINK on the sheet. There is no single right answer; the key gives a model. Accept any answer that uses the story. Ask "what in the story makes you think that?"
• Story map. Print several. Use it after a read-aloud or a leveled reader. Drawing in the boxes is fine for children who write slowly.
• Fact or opinion. Read the definitions in the box together first. The clue words (best, most, better, boring, prettiest) give a strategy, not just an answer.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Answering from memory of the first read. "Look back" is the skill. Keep a finger on the passage while answering.
• Picking the first choice that appears in the text. Distractors are often words from the story used in the wrong place. Read all three choices.
• One-word answers to the THINK question. Ask for "because": "Leo did not want to leave because...".
• Calling every sentence a fact. Ask "could someone else think differently?" If yes, it is an opinion.