This article addresses reading from the perspective of the reading process in teaching and learning in elementary school, encompassing: reading and teaching and learning, reading in the early years of elementary school, reading in the later years of elementary school, and intervention proposals. The main objective was to discuss how the teaching and learning of reading takes place within the early and later years of elementary school. Reading has been a concern for teachers, due to the fact that many students are unaware of the importance of this practice not only in school, but, above all, in society. The methodological process for producing this work is a qualitative bibliographic research approach, considering the thoughts of various authors who address the topic. It highlights the relevance of critical reading to understand the world, seeking to clarify the meaning of the different languages ​​around us, in the desire to clarify the meaning of the languages ​​that surround us. Thus, reading is a specific activity of enormous importance for the teaching-learning process in school, especially in elementary school.