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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Subitising Worksheets Variety Pack
Incorporate these subitising worksheets into your lessons to give your students practise subitising collections up to 12.
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States of Matter - Colour by Code Worksheet
Engage your students and have fun identifying the states of matter with a colour-by-code worksheet.
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Identify and Colour 2D Shapes Worksheet
Use this 2D shapes worksheet to help your students identify 8 of the most common two-dimensional shapes.
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Gumball Compound Words Worksheet
Help your students learn to read and identify compound nouns with a printable colour-by-code worksheet.
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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.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals – Differentiated Mystery Image Worksheets
Have students practise adding and subtracting decimals with this mystery image worksheet.
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Comparing Decimals – Colour by Number Worksheet
Compare decimals and create a beautiful stained-glass picture with this colour-by-number worksheet.
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Multiplication With Equal Groups – Colour by Number Worksheet
Guide your students to determine a multiplication problem for an equal groups model with this colour-by-number worksheet.
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Remembrance Day Fact and Opinion Worksheet
Identify Remembrance Day facts and opinions with a printable colour-by-code worksheet.
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Halloween Shapes - Colour By 2D Shapes Worksheet
Don’t get too spooked while trying to identify 2D shapes with a printable Halloween Shapes Colour by Code worksheet!
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Rounding to 10, 100, and 1000 Worksheet — Halloween Colour-By-Number
Round each number to the place of the underlined digit with a fun Halloween colour-by-number worksheet.
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Halloween Colour by Number - Double Digit Multiplication Worksheets
Practise multiplying by double digits with a pair of engaging Halloween colour-by-number worksheets.
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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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Trick or Treat Digraphs Worksheet
Sort Halloween Digraphs and colour them by code with a fun Halloween Phonics worksheet.
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Firefighter Colour By Number Worksheet - Hundreds Chart
Print the perfect maths activity to accompany your fire safety lessons with a printable firefighter colour-by-number worksheet
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Halloween Multiplication Colour By Number Worksheet
Practise multiplying single-digit numbers with a Halloween colour-by-number worksheet.
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Homophone Mandala Flower Worksheets
Have your students create a colourful mandala flower while simultaneously demonstrating their understanding of common homophones.
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Scarecrow Division Colour by Number Worksheet
Have fun with your Halloween maths practice with a division colour-by-number worksheet!
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Halloween Area and Perimeter Colour by Number Worksheet
Use these Halloween colour-by-number worksheets to practise identifying the perimeter and area of regular polygons.
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Odd and Even Colour-by-Number Worksheets
Practise identifying if the sum of two numbers is odd or even with this fun set of colour-by-number worksheets.
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Batty for 2D Shapes - Halloween Shapes Worksheet
Go batty and identify the 2D shapes with a printable Halloween Shapes worksheet.
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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.
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Decimal Designs – Differentiated Decimal Rounding Worksheet
Guide your students to round decimals to different places and create a beautiful design with this differentiated worksheet.
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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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Adding within 1000 Mystery Image Reveal Worksheet
Practise using the bar model to work out addition sums within 1000 with this fun mystery picture reveal activity.
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Bar Model Subtraction - Maths Colour By Number Worksheet
Bring some spooky maths fun into the classroom with a Halloween colour-by-number worksheet focused on subtraction using a bar model.
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Colour by Number - Subtraction Task Cards
Practice subtracting single and double-digit numbers with a set of subtraction colour by number task cards.
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Prefixes and Suffixes - Colour By Code Worksheets
Practise identifying words with affixes with a fun colour-by-code worksheet.
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Real-World 3D Objects - Colouring Worksheet
Explore three-dimensional objects in the real world with this colouring worksheet.
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Colour By 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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Evaluate Expressions (One Variable) – Mystery Picture Worksheet
Substitute values for variables and use your understanding of the order of operations to solve expressions with this worksheet.
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Parts of Speech - Colour by Code Mystery Picture Worksheet
Follow the colour-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.