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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Year 2 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 2) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 2 of Teach Starter’s Year 2 magazine.
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Year 1 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 2) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 2 of Teach Starter’s Year 1 magazine.
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Analysing Text Context Worksheet Pack
Explore text context using this engaging set of comics designed to help students uncover the historical, social and cultural meaning behind the texts they read.
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Animals in Winter - Year 1 Reading Worksheets
Blend Year 1 Science and Reading with a printable pack of Animals in Winter reading comprehension worksheets.
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Year 5 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 2)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 5 students.
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Foundation Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 16-page reading magazine specifically designed for Foundation students.
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Plant Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about unusual plants and their adaptations with a pack of printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Finding the Central Idea Worksheet
Read a short article, answer 10 comprehension questions, and use the gathered knowledge to write a central idea sentence about the text.
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Earth Watch: Protecting Native Plants and Animals – Comprehension Worksheet
Build comprehension skills and learn about human impact on ecosystems with a reading passage and worksheets.
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Comprehension - What are Earthquakes?
A comprehension activity about 'What are Earthquakes?'
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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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Australian Conservationists: Miranda Gibson – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Miranda Gibson and her 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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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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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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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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Robot Hide and Seek – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 2).
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Art Attack! Shape – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 3).
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The Secret Society of Vegetable Venerators – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 2).
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Art Attack! Line – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 3).
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The Sinking of the RMS Titanic - Historical Recounts Comparison Task
A comprehension task to enable students to compare literary historical recounts and factual historical recounts.
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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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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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Comparing Narrative and Informational Text Worksheets
Use this set of comparing narrative and informational text worksheets to examine the purpose and features of these two common genres.
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Sloth Adaptations – Comprehension Skills Worksheet
Read and comprehend nonfiction text about the adaptations of a sloth with a printable pack of reading skills worksheets.
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Polar Bear Adaptations Worksheet Pack - Comprehension Passage
Discover polar bear structural adaptations with a set of printable 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 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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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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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 4 Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 4 students.
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Foundation Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Bonus Issue)
A bonus issue of our beautifully designed, 16-page reading magazine specifically designed for Foundation students.