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.
- Plus Plan

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.
- Plus Plan

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.
- Plus Plan

Australian Conservationists: Tim Flannery – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Tim Flannery and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan

Christmas Around the World - Year 3 Reading Comprehension
Discover how Christmas is celebrated in the northern and southern hemispheres with printable reading comprehension sheets for Year 3.
- Plus Plan

Empathy vs. Sympathy Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Challenge your students to learn the differences between empathy and sympathy with this reading comprehension worksheet.
- Plus Plan

Halloween Printables - Read and Draw Worksheet
Practise comprehension skills with an exciting Halloween reading comprehension worksheet for year 4.
- Plus Plan

Foundation Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 16-page reading magazine specifically designed for Foundation students.
- Plus Plan

The History of Codes - Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the history and development of Morse code with a comprehension worksheet.
- Plus Plan

Australia's Voting System – Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the history and systems of voting in Australia with this differentiated reading comprehension activity.
- Plus Plan

The World's Oceans - Comprehension Worksheet
Explore the world’s five oceans with this detailed comprehension passage and related questions.
- Plus Plan

National Tree Day – Why Plant a Tree? Infographic Analysis Activity
Teach about the importance of trees on National Tree Day with an infographic poster and cloze note-taking worksheet.
- Plus Plan

NAPLAN-Style Reading Magazine – Year 5
5 reading texts with multiple choice questions for NAPLAN Reading Year 5.
- Plus Plan

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Comprehension Activity
Learn about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a famous women's rights advocate, with a reading comprehension passage, assessment, and vocabulary practice worksheets.
- Plus Plan

Remembrance Day Comprehension Worksheet
Explain Remembrance Day history and traditions to your students with a printable cloze reading passage and comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan

Community Helpers: Doctor – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an article from the Foundation magazine (Bonus Issue).
- Plus Plan

Community Helpers: Fire Fighter – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an article from the Foundation magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

My Dog Max – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Foundation magazine (Issue 1).
- Plus Plan

Community Helpers: Nurse – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an article from the Foundation magazine (Issue 2).
- Plus Plan

I Wish I Could – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a comic from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

Win a Trip to the Moon – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fake advertisement from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

Angry Outbursts – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore emotional awareness and healthy calming strategies with this comic-style comprehension passage and accompanying questions.
- Plus Plan

The Discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an information report from the Year 6 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

Art Attack! Shape – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

The Aether – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

10 Fascinating Facts About Water – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 3).
- Free Plan

Digital Warriors: Scroll Trolls – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for the comic from the Year 4 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan

The Hovering Hoverboard – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fake advertisement from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 2).
- Plus Plan

Comprehension - The Humble Hamburger
A comprehension activity about the humble hamburger.
- Plus Plan

Comprehension - King Tutankhamun
A comprehension activity about King Tutankhamun.
- Plus Plan

Comprehension - Why Bears Have Stumpy Tails
A comprehension activity using a narrative text for lower grades.
- Plus Plan

MP3 Players and Your Hearing Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about MP3 players and hearing.
- Plus Plan

Recalling Facts - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.