• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Member Login

The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

  • Alphabet
  • Reading
    • Structured literacy
    • Printable Books
    • Pre-Reading
    • Phonics
    • Sight Words
    • Comprehension
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
  • Writing
    • Grammar
    • Handwriting
    • Spelling
    • Writing in Pre-K
    • Writing Workshop in K-3
  • Math
    • Counting
    • Number Recognition
    • Addition & Subtraction
    • Colors, Shapes & Patterns
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Time, Money & Measurement
    • Place Value
    • Graphs
    • Multiplication & Division
    • Fractions
    • Problem Solving
  • Book Lists
    • Letter of the Week
    • Early Childhood Themes
    • Pre-Reading Skills
    • Math Concepts
    • Writing Mentor Texts
    • Versions of Familiar Tales
    • Holidays and Seasonal
    • History
    • Leveled Book Lists
  • Join Membership
Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • Alphabet
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Book Lists
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Membership
  • Contact

PSPKK123March 26, 2017 •  35 Comments

Reading comprehension passage in a book: Kenya

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

We hope you enjoy this free printable book to help improve reading comprehension!

When you think about reading, what’s do you consider the toughest thing to teach?

I think it’s reading comprehension.

After all, many kids can read the words, but when you ask them what the book was about they give you a blank stare.

It’s especially hard to help children understand nonfiction.

There’s just so much to see on a page, isn’t there?

  • Headings
  • Maps
  • Captions
  • Key words
  • Charts

It’s just a little much, especially if you’re a young reader.

Introducing … my new reading comprehension readers!

I’ve decided to create a series of printable reading comprehension readers. This set of books will teach your learners all about countries around the world. But more than that – the books will help them use text features to understand nonfiction.

Each book comes in two reading levels – one for grades 2/3 and one for grades 3/4.

Let’s take a peek at our first book: If You Lived in Kenya.

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

How to print and assemble

But first – a quick tutorial to assemble your book. Choose the version you’d like, and print the four pages of the book FRONT TO BACK. And this is important: make sure you FLIP ON THE SHORT EDGE. Otherwise the pages will be upside down.

Then fold in half and open back up.

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

Use a long armed stapler to bind the book. Easy peasy!

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

And there it is – a black and white reader that will help students improve their comprehension. (The questions are even included!)

How we used it

I decided to use this book with my Six. He’s near the end of first grade and is an above-average reader. But his comprehension isn’t always the best.

To begin, we looked at the cover, and he told me what he might learn in the book.

“What do you think we’ll learn about Kenya?”

“Like about Africa, and Indians, and stuff.”

I didn’t correct him. Not yet, anyway.

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

“Well, let’s find out. First, let’s go through the book and look at the headings. Let’s read them before we actually read the book so we know a little about what to expect. Can you read me the headings?

“Geo-graph-y?

“Geography.”

“Daily Life. Food. Wildlife. Culture. Sports.”

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

“Oh, what’s this in the back?”

“A glossary?”

“Yes  – it’s a special place that tells you the meanings of some words in the book.”

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

After this little preview, it was time to get started! I listened to my Six read each section aloud.

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

When he came to a word he didn’t know, he immediately went to the glossary to find out what it meant. I had no idea he would do this all on his own. Yay!

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

“What’s a matutu?”

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

“Oh, a minibus.”

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

After reading the entire book, it was time to answer the questions. He didn’t have much trouble until he got to #4.

“What are two ways your daily life might be different if you lived in Kenya?”

His answer was, “They have Indians.”

Besides being completely untrue, it didn’t really answer the question.

“Hmm. Do you remember reading about that in the book?”

“Well, no.”

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

So we went back to the text. I showed him the key word in the question: “daily life.” Then we found the “daily life” section of the book, and he read some of it again. Finally, he changed his answer to say:

  1. You might not have electricity.
  2. Your house could be made of wood, grass, or mud.

Print this free children's book about Kenya to help improve reading comprehension. It even has questions in the back! Perfect for kids in grades 2-4.

Another challenge came with #7. The question asks students to use a word from the glossary to fill in the blank.

____________ is a popular sport in Kenya.

My son wrote, “soccer or running,” which was correct, but not in the glossary.

I directed him to the glossary, where he found the correct word: “cricket.”

And there you have it!

Suggestions for use

  • Print just one copy to use in a tutoring session or at home.
  • Print a small set of books to use with a guided reading group.
  • Print and copy enough books for an entire class set, but be sure to print a simpler version for readers who need it.

Questions you might have

  • What reading level is the book?

The easier book is at a mid to late 2nd grade reading level. It roughly corresponds to a level L or M in Fountas & Pinnell.

The harder book is at a mid to late 3rd grade reading level. It roughly corresponds to a level O or P in Fountas & Pinnell.

  • Can you give a specific Lexile measure?

Legally I have to pay a significant amount to get a certified Lexile measure and share it publicly. I will consider this if enough readers would find this useful. Please comment below if you’d like a specific Lexile measure. If I decide to include this, I will reply to your comment to let you know.

  • Why is it printing funny? The backs are upside down.

You have to make sure that you choose “flip on the short edge when you choose front to back” or “short edge binding” after you choose “print front to back.” The wording will vary, depending on your printer.

Get your free reading comprehension reader: Kenya!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

BUILD COMPREHENSION WITH OUR RESPONSE PACK!

$18.00

Help your readers find chapter books they’ll love with these leveled book lists. Then use the 75 reading response sheets to help them make sense of what they read. The response sheets focus on character, setting, plot, and vocabulary.

BUY NOW

Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Reading, Comprehension Tagged With: second grade, third grade, reading comprehension

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

Beginning blends game Phonics books for VCV words Follow the path game for u-e words
Sight word worksheets
Letter V Activities for 2-year-olds

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS Preschool (ages 2-3 years)
  • PK Pre-K (ages 4-5 years)
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 1st grade
  • 2 2nd grade
  • 3 3rd grade

Teach your child a foreign language in just 5 minutes a day!

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Hello, I’m Anna!

Welcome to The Measured Mom. I’m so glad you’re here!

Meet Our Team

Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!

Shop these popular reading resources!

Editable Reading Games for Every Season – MEGA PACK!

$24.00

Phonics Books & Games – Complete Set

$49.00

Reading response sheets & Early chapter book lists

$18.00

Shop All Resources

Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is the perfect online membership for Pre-K to third grade educators.

Learn More

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Join our online courses and get the tools you need to teach every learner in K-2!

Confidently teach every reader in your classroom. Still have time to live your life.

Learn More

Get everything you need to teach writing well, including over 200 ready-to-use lessons.

Learn More

Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Lindsay Kemeny
  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Heidi Jane
  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Christina Winter
More Episodes

Check out these FREE email courses...

Get strategies and tools to teach a particular topic with a free 5-day email series! Just click an image to sign up. We recommend signing up for just one at a time.

For Pre-K Educators

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

Learn my must-follow tips for teaching the alphabet in this free 5-day email series!

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

Learn how to develop this important pre-reading skill with a free 5-day email series!

How to teach preschool math

How to teach preschool math

Learn exactly what to teach your preschoolers in this free 5-day series!

For Kinder & 1st Grade Educators

How to teach kids to sound out words

How to teach kids to sound out words

Learn my top strategies for teaching kids to "sound it out"

How to teach sight words

How to teach sight words

Get strategies and tools for teaching sight words to young learners!

Tips for teaching phonics

Tips for teaching phonics

Sign up for our free 5-day email series to learn what phonics skills to teach and how to structure your phonics lessons!

For 2nd & 3rd Grade Educators

How to build reading fluency

How to build reading fluency

Learn smart strategies for helping your learners become fluent readers with this free 5-day series!

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

Learn the most important writing skills to teach to 2nd & 3rd graders in this free 5-day series!

How to build reading comprehension

How to build reading comprehension

Discover the essential reading comprehension strategies for 2nd & 3rd grade and how to teach them!

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

Copyright © 2022 The Measured Mom •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy & Disclosure Statement  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs