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!
- Plus Plan
Multiples of 9 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build confidence with 9 multiplication facts using this engaging fact fluency pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication recall through a variety of purposeful and low-prep activities.
- Plus Plan
Multiples of 7 — Fact Fluency Pack
Build confidence with 7 facts using this engaging fact fluency pack, designed to help teachers strengthen multiplication recall through a variety of purposeful and low-prep activities.
- Plus Plan
Frog in a Pond - Colour by Numbers
Colour by numbers is a fun and easy way to help students recognise digits.
- Plus Plan
Differentiated Easter Multiplication Worksheets (2-4)
Hop into the Easter season with differentiated Easter Multiplication Worksheets for middle-and-upper primary students.
- Free Plan
Colour By Code Comma Splice Handout
Use a Colour By Code Comma Splice Handout to practise identifying and correcting comma splices.
- Plus Plan
Identify and Colour 2D Shapes Worksheet
Use this 2D shapes worksheet to help your students identify 8 of the most common two-dimensional shapes.
- Plus Plan
Trick or Treat Digraphs Worksheet
Sort Halloween Digraphs and colour them by code with a fun Halloween Phonics worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Homophone Mandala Flower Worksheets
Have your students create a colourful mandala flower while simultaneously demonstrating their understanding of common homophones.
- Plus Plan
Rounding Decimals – Differentiated Colour by Code Worksheet
Guide your students to round decimals to the nearest tenth and hundredth with this differentiated colour-by-code worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Prefixes and Suffixes - Colour By Code Worksheets
Practise identifying words with affixes with a fun colour-by-code worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Colour the Periodic Table - Worksheet and Poster
Colour the periodic table with a printable colour-coding worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Continents and Oceans - Roll and Colour Game
Learn to identify the continents and oceans of the world with an engaging partner game.
- Plus Plan
Easter Hundreds Board Mystery Pictures
A set of 9 Easter-inspired mystery hundreds charts.
- Free Plan
Colour It! Need or Want Worksheet
Identify examples of needs and wants with this colour-coding activity.
- Plus Plan
100th Day Mystery Picture Worksheets
Follow the colour-coded number guides to fill in the hundreds chart square and reveal 3 special 100th Day of School mystery pictures.
- Free Plan
Colour by Syllable Type - Worksheet
Practise identifying the six syllable types in common words with this colour-coding activity.
- Plus Plan
Christmas Colouring - Simple Multiplication Colour by Number
Boost multiplication skills even at the end of a school year with this colour by number multiplication worksheet set.
- Plus Plan
Gingerbread Colour the Vowels Worksheet
Use a Christmas-themed colour the vowels worksheet to help your students differentiate between long and short vowel sounds.
- Plus Plan
Christmas Colour by Number Worksheets
Use knowledge of numbers to 10 to colour in these Christmas-themed colour by number worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication Mystery Picture - Ice Cream
Use the colour-coded multiplication guide to complete the grid and reveal a mystery picture.
- Free Plan
Pixel Art Syllable Types
Consolidate understanding of syllable types with these appealing worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Colour by Parts of Speech Worksheet – Chameleon
Practise your parts of speech lesson by colouring nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions and pronouns on the chameleon.
- Plus Plan
Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Division Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to complete division problems and colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
- Plus Plan
Reading Colours Ordinal Numbers Worksheet
Consolidate reading colours and ordinal numbers with this worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Multiples of 11 — Fact Fluency Pack
Master multiples of 11 with a versatile fact fluency pack that helps teachers provide targeted multiplication practise through engaging, low-prep activities.
- Plus Plan
Easter Addition Colouring Pages (Differentiated)
Grab a fun set of Easter Addition Colouring pages to help your little learners practise adding 1 and 2-digit numbers without regrouping.
- Plus Plan
Alphabet Sounds Worksheets
Explore alphabet beginning sounds with this set of alphabet sounds worksheets to develop letter recognition.
- Plus Plan
Gumball Compound Words Worksheet
Help your students learn to read and identify compound nouns with a printable colour-by-code worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Time to 5 Minutes- Colour By Code Worksheet
Tell time to the nearest five minutes and have fun with a Telling Time Colour By Code Worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Comparing Decimals – Colour by Number Worksheet
Compare decimals and create a beautiful stained-glass picture with this colour-by-number worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Diphthong Colouring Activity Worksheets
Practise finding different vowel team diphthongs with this set of fun colour-by-code worksheets for your students.
- Plus Plan
Decimal Designs – Differentiated Decimal Rounding Worksheet
Guide your students to round decimals to different places and create a beautiful design with this differentiated worksheet.