Comprehension! It is the most important part of reading, isn’t it? I am always looking for ways to help my students with their comprehension and providing stopping points to think aloud has helped tremendously. The conscious act of checking in it a strategy many students use to help them determine when they might need to re-read.

These Stop & Think Passages are a simple tool for you to use in your primary classroom!

“Why do we need to comprehend our stories?

It is one thing to be able to decode words, but what is reading without understanding? What would the purpose be? It would be like trying to communicate with someone in another language – you can hear all the words they are saying, but you are trying to understand them and you cannot. It can be frustrating. I like to model and teach students to think aloud as they read and focus on the important parts in the story to help us better understand what the author is communicating.

These stop and think passages are meant for most first graders to read with a teacher (during a guided reading group would be great). They provide 3 different stopping points with questions for students to ponder while they read. These check ins help students keep their minds on the text and engage in what is happening.

In this freebie:

There are (3) different Stop & Think passages included in this mini-unit along with a recording sheet.

I usually use passages like these in small group, guided reading lessons where we are practicing our comprehension. The stop and think questions are designed to keep students attention on the text. We usually think aloud the questions together at the table and I model a few first.

I did also include a recording sheet in case you wanted students to write their answers down as you read aloud. Your above grade level students also may be able to read and respond themselves.

In order to grab these free passages, you just need to subscribe to my monthly newsletter (all fun, no spam!) where I send out different, exclusive free items every week. You can subscribe by clicking the image below and entering your email:

I created a bunch more of these Stop & Think passages (both fiction and nonfiction) for you to purchase in my TpT Store if you liked these free ones. Just click below:

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