You know those moments during a read aloud when your students are leaning in— eyes wide, totally pulled into the story?

It feels like magic. But here’s the secret:
That moment isn’t just fun—it’s powerful.

Because even if your students can’t sound out big words like volcano or brilliant, they can still understand what those words mean… if you give them the chance to talk about it.

And that’s what makes read alouds so special:
Reading isn’t just about saying the words.
It’s about understanding them.

And that understanding starts with spoken language—something kids are wired to learn naturally.

So before decoding clicks into place, we can help students grow their comprehension by asking thoughtful, simple questions.

Let them think.
Let them talk.
Let them connect to the story.

To make it easy, I put together a list of 20 kid-friendly comprehension questions you can use with any read aloud: