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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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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NAPLAN-Style Reading Magazine – Year 5
5 reading texts with multiple choice questions for NAPLAN Reading Year 5.
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The Birthday Ride – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 3).
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Advertisement Worksheet – K-9ine the Robot Dog
A comprehension worksheet for a persuasive magazine advertisement about a robotic dog.
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Year 5 Reading Worksheets - The Business of Bees
Read and learn about bees, pollination and honey production with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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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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Bowerbird Comprehension Worksheets
Learn all about the wonderful world of Bowerbirds all while practising comprehension skills.
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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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Comprehension - Plums For Mrs Smith
A comprehension activity using a recount for lower grades.
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The Gingerbread Man - Comprehension Worksheet
Develop your students' reading comprehension skills with a well-known fairy tale.
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Character Development – Text Analysis Worksheets
Explore character development in narrative writing with this set of three engaging worksheets that help students understand how motivations, challenges and choices shape a character’s growth.
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Year 1 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 1) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 1 of Teach Starter's Year 1 magazine.
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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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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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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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The Force of Friction Comprehension Worksheets
Download this friction worksheet to teach your Year 4 students about the force of friction and its impact on our daily lives.
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Year 4 Magazine – What’s Buzzing? (Issue 2)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 4 students.
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Year 3 Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 22-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 3 students.
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Year 2 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically written for Year 2 students.
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Year 1 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically written for Year 1 students.
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Amazon Rainforest Facts - Reading Passage
Read and learn about conservation with a reading passage and comprehension worksheet on the Amazon Rainforest.
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Formation of Earth - Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Combine reading and science content with a reading comprehension worksheet that focuses on the formation of Earth.
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Fascinating Facts About Animals Worksheet
Build reading comprehension skills and learn about amazing animals with a printable year 1 reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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Welcome to Australia! – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a country profile from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 2).
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The Changing Seasons – Worksheet
Read and write about the changing seasons with a comprehension passage and worksheet.
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Understanding Sequence - Jack and the Beanstalk
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to understand sequence when reading.
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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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Narrative Tension – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach narrative tension with this set of three worksheets designed to help students explore how authors build suspense and keep readers hooked.
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The Needs of Birds – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore the needs of birds and build reading comprehension skills with a printable Year 1 reading passage and comprehension activity.
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Year 2 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 1) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 1 of Teach Starter's Year 2 magazine.
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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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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.