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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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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Australian Endangered Species Snapshots – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore some Australian endangered species with your students using this set of reading passages with comprehension questions.
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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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Camel Adaptations - Year Five Reading Comprehension
Learn about the physical and behavioural adaptations of a camel with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 5.
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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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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of free Reading Comprehension Worksheets for Years 2 and 3.
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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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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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Rio de Janeiro - Reading Comprehension Activities
Take your students on a trip to Rio de Janeiro with engaging reading comprehension activities and Carnival Mask template.
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Planet Fact File Pack with Comprehension Worksheets
Learn the facts of each of the planets in our solar system with these planet fact file sheets and accompanying comprehension worksheets.
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Koala Adaptations Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Learn about the physical and behavioural adaptations of the koala with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 4.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages, and worksheets.
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The Egyptian Pyramids - Comprehension Task
A 2 page comprehension task for students to use in the classroom when learning about the Egyptian pyramids.
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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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Reading Comprehension Worksheets - The History of Electricity
Read to learn about the history of electricity with printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read to learn about the Great Pacific Garbage patch with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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The Wonders of the Human Body – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an information report from the Year 6 magazine (Issue 2).
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NAPLAN Reading Magazine – Year 5 - PowerPoint
5 reading texts with multiple choice questions for NAPLAN Reading Year 5 on PowerPoint.
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What Are Pollinators? Year 2 Comprehension Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to the world of pollinators and nonfiction text comrpehension with a printable Year 2 Reading Comprehension worksheet pack.
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Australian Conservationists: The Irwins – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the Irwin family and their conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Fennec Fox Adaptations - Close Reading Worksheets
Read and learn about Fennec Fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for Year 5.
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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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Mars vs. Earth - Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Learn about the planets with differentiated compare and contrast passages, activities and writing opportunities.
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The Poet's Lament - Comprehension
A comprehension activity using a poem.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Recognising Cause And Effect
A set of comprehension task cards to help students recognise cause and effect when reading.
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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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What are Bushfires? Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about bushfires.
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Fiction and Non-Fiction Cloze Activities
A set of 7 fiction and non-fiction cloze worksheets with answer sheets.
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Properties of Matter Reading Comprehension Pack (Year 3)
Read and discover the properties of matter with a set of Year 3 Reading Comprehension Worksheets.
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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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Year 6 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 2)
Issue 2 of our beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 6 students.
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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.