Reading Passages Teaching Resources
Explore reading passages ready to be used in your primary classroom to assess your students' comprehension skills and build their confidence as readers!
Created by teachers for teachers, each reading passage in this extensive collection has been designed to enhance student comprehension skills and build understanding. This collection of Australian English curriculum-aligned comprehension passages was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team, and each has undergone a review by an expert on our team to ensure it’s ready for your classroom.
Not sure where to begin? Here’s a quick primer from our teacher team to help you get the most out of this teacher tool!
What Are Reading Passages?
Reading passages are a set of written texts that are typically used for reading comprehension exercises and assessments. They can come in various forms, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama. They are used to provide a text for students to read and analyse and are often accompanied by questions or tasks to assess comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and other language skills.
How to Use Reading Passages in the Classroom
This collection of short reading passages can be used for a variety of needs, including:
- Practising reading fluency
- Provide students with practise in reading comprehension and critical thinking skills
- Measuring students’ reading level
- Exposing students to different genres, authors and writing styles
Best of all? Teach Starter's reading passages have been developed so they can be used for individual or group activities.
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Great Barrier Reef Comprehension and Note Taking Worksheet
Learn about The Great Barrier Reef with a reading comprehension and note-taking activity.
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Drowning in Plastic – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Teach your students facts about ocean pollution with this comprehensive article with accompanying comprehension activities.
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Monster Magic - Reading Comprehension Activity
Read and comprehend a set of instructions to create a magical monster!
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Baby Animals Reading Worksheets - Year 1-2
Learn about animals and their babies with a pack of printable Animal Babies Reading Worksheets for Years 1 & 2.
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Decodable Text Worksheets – Common Consonant Digraphs (Set 1)
A set of 10 decodable text worksheets for early readers.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Finding The Main Idea
A set of comprehension task cards to help students find the main idea when reading.
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Year 2 Reading Comprehension Test - Being a Good Pet Parent
Build comprehension skills and learn about being a good pet parent by limiting pets' impact on ecosystems with a reading passage and comprehension questions.
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Note-Taking Practice Worksheets
Use this set of note-taking practice worksheets to help your students identify key facts, details and vocabulary when researching information.
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The Water Cycle – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Enhance your students’ comprehension and science vocabulary skills with this water cycle worksheet.
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Decodable Text Worksheets – Common Consonant Digraphs (Set 2)
A set of 10 decodable text worksheets for early readers.
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What Is Climate Change? Comprehension Worksheet
Teach your students about the perils of climate change with this comprehensive article with accompanying comprehension questions.
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The Olympic Games - Comprehension Task
Encourage students to apply a range of comprehension and writing skills when finding out interesting fun facts about the Olympics with a printable reading comprehension task.
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Penguin Adaptations - Year 3 Reading Comprehension
Explore the fascinating world of penguins and their adaptations with our set of printable Year 3 Reading Comprehension worksheets.
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Paired Passage Worksheets - Thunderstorms
Use paired passages to help your student practise applying reading comprehension strategies.
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Giant Squid Reading Comprehension Worksheets - Year 5
Read and learn about the features and adaptations of the giant squid with reading comprehension worksheets for years 5 and 6.
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The Force of Gravity Comprehension Worksheets
Download this gravity worksheet to teach your Year 4 students about the force of gravity and its impact on our daily lives.
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Hansel and Gretel – Comprehension Worksheet
Develop your students' reading comprehension skills with a well-known fairy tale.
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Giraffe Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Year 3
Read and learn about adaptations of the giraffe with a set of printable Year 3 comprehension activities.
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Procedural Writing Sequencing Worksheet – How to Wash Your Dog
Use this procedural writing worksheet to teach your students about the importance of sequence in procedure texts.
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Renewable vs Non-Renewable Energy Sources – Worksheet
Discover the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources with a comprehension passage and worksheet.
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Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Discover polar bear structural adaptations with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 3.
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Recess Rules: True Friends – Worksheet
Learn about being a good friend while also brushing up on those reading comprehension skills with this comic strip activity.
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Phases of the Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Analyse different moon phases and how their visual appearances change over time with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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Identifying Descriptive and Figurative Language Worksheets
Help your students identify descriptive and figurative language in narrative texts with this set of colour-coding worksheets.
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Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Persuasive Text)
A sequencing task using a persuasive text.
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The Three Little Pigs – Comprehension Worksheet
Develop your students' reading comprehension skills with a well-known fairy tale.
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Free Desert Animal Adaptations Worksheets - Comprehension
Discover desert animal adaptations with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for Grade 4.
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Sequencing Activity - Dogs Make the Best Pets (Persuasive Text) - Simplified Version
A sequencing task using a simple persuasive text.
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Year 3 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 3 students.
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Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Malala Yousafzai Biography – Read and Respond Worksheet
A comprehension activity related to a biographical text.
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The Poet's Lament - Comprehension
A comprehension activity using a poem.