Colour By Code Worksheets for Teachers
Bring printable colour by numbers, letters and more foundational concepts into your classroom with fun worksheets created by teachers for teachers.
This collection of Australian curriculum-aligned teaching resources is designed to add an engaging element to your worksheets for maths, science, English and more! Best of all, each printable has been carefully reviewed and selected by an expert on the Teach Starter teaching team, so you know it's ready for your classroom, your lesson plans and your students!
Not familiar with the term colour by code, or just looking for some fresh ideas to use these worksheets in the classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is a Colour By Code Worksheet?
Haven't heard the term colour by code? That's OK! Maybe you've heard of colour by numbers or colouring by maths? Or maybe you call them mystery picture worksheets?
These fun worksheets allow students to pull out their crayons or coloured pencils to colour a picture based on a predetermined colour key or code, where each colour corresponds to a specific number or symbol. The goal is to match the numbers or symbols on the picture with the corresponding colours to reveal a mystery picture.
Colour by code refers to not just colour by numbers but also colour by parts of speech, synonyms, addition and other educational concepts!
History of Colour by Numbers
Ever wonder how colouring by numbers became so popular?
The exact history of these sheets is hard to track down, but as far back as the early 20th century, people were 'painting by number' as a recreational activity. Then an activity mainly for adults, it involved painting pre-drawn canvases with numbered sections that corresponded to specific paint colours.
In the 1950s, an American artist called Dan Robbins developed a commercial version of the concept called 'Paint by Numbers' that helped the idea go mainstream and give life to what we now call colour by numbers in schools! His kits included pre-printed canvases, numbered paints and brushes, and his idea was soon adapted to make colouring books for kids.
In the versions for kids, numbers or symbols were added to line drawings instead of canvases, and young children could easily colour within the lines using crayons or coloured pencils!
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Colour by Missing Angles Worksheets
Get students to find the size of missing angles on right angles, straight angles and angles at a point with this maths worksheet with a difference!
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Christmas Colour By Number - Hundreds Chart Mystery Pictures Activity
Print the perfect maths activity for Christmas: a set of 12 Christmas-inspired mystery hundreds charts.
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Crazy Boxes - 1 to 12 Times Tables
Practise multiplication facts with crazy boxes, an engaging collection of colour-by-number worksheets designed to make times tables revision more enjoyable and effective.
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Addition Practice Worksheets
Support student fluency with addition practice worksheets that build confidence with addition facts from 0–20 through fun, varied and engaging tasks.
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Colour by Sight Word Worksheet Pack
Use this set of colour by sight words worksheets to help students master the tricky elements in each word.
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Colour by Number - Mixed 1 - 12 Division
Make times tables practice more engaging with this division colour by number worksheet, designed to strengthen division fact fluency while giving students a fun, self-checking maths activity.
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Multiples of 4 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build Multiples of 4 fact fluency with this engaging worksheet pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication recall through a variety of purposeful and low-prep activities.
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Year 3 and Year 4 English Worksheets - Christmas Printables
Add some Christmas spirit to your December grammar lessons with a printable pack of Christmas-themed Year 3 and Year 4 English worksheets.
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Parts of Speech Colouring Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs)
Use this colour by part of speech worksheet as a fun Autumn activity with your students.
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Fraction Flags Worksheet
Create fraction models with different flags by dividing rectangles and colouring them according to the guide.
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Half the Fun – Fractions Colouring Worksheet
A colouring worksheet to help students learn about half.
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Colour by Factor – Worksheet
Solve missing factor equations and colour a picture according to a colour-by-number guide.
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Division Fact Fluency Pack - ÷12
Practise division 12 facts with an engaging worksheet pack that helps teachers reinforce division strategies and build stronger fact recall through purposeful activities.
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Colour by Letter Worksheet Pack (SATPIN)
Help students with their recognition of the letters – s,a,t,p,i,n with this colour by letter worksheet pack.
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The Number of Days in Each Month - Colour By Code
Help your students remember the number of days in each month with a colour-by-code worksheet.
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Subtraction within 20 - Colour-by-Number Worksheet
Reveal the mystery picture by solving the subtraction problems with a colour-by-number worksheet.
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Christmas Colouring - Simple Addition Colour by Number
Boost addition skills even at the end of a school year with this colour by number addition worksheet set.
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Colour By Shape Christmas Worksheets
Use knowledge of 2D shapes to colour in these Christmas-themed colour by shape worksheets.
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Colour by 2D Shape (Basic Shapes)
A set of five colour by shape worksheets.
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Multiples of 5 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build multiples of 5 fact fluency with this engaging worksheet pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication skills through a variety of purposeful and low-prep activities.
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Fractions Greater Than 1 Worksheet Pack (Colour-by-Number)
Use our Fractions Greater Than 1 Worksheet Pack to give your students a fun way to practise converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers.
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Colour By 3D Objects - Worksheet
Practise identifying 3D objects and their attributes with a printable code-based colouring task!
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Colour By Plural Suffix Worksheet
Reveal the hidden picture and practise using the inflectional endings -s, -es, -ies, and -ves with a colour-by-code worksheet.
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Mental Maths Addition and Subtraction - Colour By Number
Build confidence with mental maths addition and subtraction through an engaging colour‑by‑number activity.
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Colouring 2D Shapes Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate students' understanding of rectangles, squares, circles and triangles.
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Multiples of 6 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build multiples of 6 fact fluency with this engaging worksheet pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication recall through a variety of purposeful and low-prep activities.
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Multiples of 2 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build multiples of 2 fact fluency with this engaging worksheet pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication recall through a variety of purposeful, low-prep activities.
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Multiples of 8 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build confidence with multiples of 8 using this engaging fact fluency pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication recall through a variety of purposeful and low-prep activities.
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Letter, Word or Sentence Activity Pack
Support young learners as they develop foundational literacy skills with this simple, hands‑on Letter, Word or Sentence Activity Pack.
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Colour By Code - Simple or Compound Sentence Worksheet
Use a Colour By Code Simple or Compound Sentence worksheet to help your students practise identifying simple and compound sentence types.
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Number Recognition 0-5 Colour-by-Number Pack
Practise number recognition with this colour-by-number activity pack! Students colour varied representations of the numbers 0-5 to solidify their understanding.
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Colour By Code Worksheet- Time to 5 Minutes
Practise telling time to the nearest five minutes with a fun Colour By Code worksheet.