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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Mood in Narrative Writing – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach mood in narrative writing with this set of four worksheets designed to help students explore narrative atmosphere in the context of real texts.
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The Story of Gulaga - Comprehension and Activity Worksheet
A comprehension and linked activity based on an Aboriginal Dreaming Story.
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NAPLAN Reading Magazine – Year 3 - PowerPoint
5 reading texts with multiple choice questions for NAPLAN Reading Year 3 on PowerPoint.
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Tropical Cyclone Worksheet - Year 5/6 Comprehension
Use our Tropical Cyclone worksheet pack to teach your students about natural disasters.
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Earth’s Resources Worksheet - Natural Resources & Fossil Fuels (3-4)
Explore what's buried in rocks underground with a printable Earth’s Resources Worksheet for Year 4.
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Bowerbird Comprehension Worksheets
Learn all about the wonderful world of Bowerbirds all while practising comprehension skills.
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Echidna Adaptations – Reading Worksheet Pack
Discover the adaptations of the echidna with a printable reading passage and comprehension worksheet pack.
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Naked Mole Rat - Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn facts about the naked mole rat with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for year 4 and 5.
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Finding The Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Turtles)
Explore the wonderful world of turtles with this comprehension task focusing on the main idea.
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Angry Outbursts – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore emotional awareness and healthy calming strategies with this comic-style comprehension passage and accompanying questions.
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Extreme Environments: Lands of Ice and Sand – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an information report from the Year 4 magazine (Issue 3).
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Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: Find Your Sport – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a comic about the importance of physical activity to a healthy lifestyle.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
A set of comprehension task cards to help students distinguish between fact and opinion when reading.
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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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Character Description – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach character description with this set of four worksheets that help students explore how authors use the STEAL technique to bring characters to life.
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Cause and Effect Comprehension Worksheets
Use these cause and effect comprehension worksheets to give your students practice reading, sequencing and matching effects to their causes.
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Printable Worksheets About Bees - Year 2-3 Comprehension
Use our worksheets about bees to discover what there is to know about bees, how they help plants, and how they make honey.
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Australian Immigration – Analysing Infographics Worksheet
Explore Australian immigration trends with your students by analysing a kid-friendly infographic and answering guided questions.
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Read & Comprehend Worksheets - Celebrity Biography Passages
Download our celebrity biography reading comprehension worksheets to help your Year 4 and 5 students practise reading comprehension skills.
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The Three States of Matter – Year 5 Reading Worksheets
Use a Year 5 Reading Comprehension passage and worksheet to teach your students about the three states of matter.
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Let's Get Ready to Rock! – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Read and discover the three types of rock with a set of Year 3 Reading Comprehension Worksheets.
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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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Paired Passage Worksheets - Thunderstorms
Use paired passages to help your student practise applying reading comprehension strategies.
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Poison Dart Frog Adaptations – Year 5 Reading Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of a poison dart frog with printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 5.
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Platypus Adaptations - Reading Passage & Questions
Learn about the physical and behavioural adaptations of the platypus with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for Years 3-5.
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Dogs Make The Best Pets - Reading Comprehension Test
Assess reading comprehension skills with printable Reading and Writing Comprehension worksheets.
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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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Uses of Magnets Comprehension Worksheet
Download this magnets worksheet to teach your Year 4 students about the uses of magnets in our everyday lives.
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Empathy vs. Sympathy Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Challenge your students to learn the differences between empathy and sympathy with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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Year 6 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 26-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 6 students.
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Reading Comprehension Worksheets - The History of Electricity
Read to learn about the history of electricity with printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
Teach your students how to identify the main idea of a piece of text with this worksheet pack.