Reading Passages Teaching Resources
Explore reading passages ready to be used in your 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 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. The collection encompasses kindergarten through sixth grade, with reading worksheets that can be easily edited to differentiate instruction for individual learners.
New to teaching ELA this school year? Here’s a quick primer from our teacher team to help you add reading passages to our teacher toolkit, whether you’re teaching first grade, fifth grade, or somewhere in between!
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 analyze 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:
- Practicing reading fluency
- Provide students with practice in reading comprehension and critical thinking skills
- Measuring students’ reading level
- Exposing students to different genres, authors, and writing styles
The reading passages in this collection of teaching resources can be used for individual or group activities.
- Free Plan

Black History Profile: Shirley Chisholm - Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on Congresswoman and first Black presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm, and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
- Free Plan

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.
- Plus Plan

Black History Profile: Carol Moseley Braun - Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
- Plus Plan

The Olympic Games - Reading 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 worksheet pack.
- Free Plan

Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read and learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
- Free Plan

Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
- Plus Plan

Historical Heroes - Harriet Tubman Worksheets
Learn about the life and contributions of Harriet Tubman with a comprehensive pack of Women’s History Month worksheets.
- Plus Plan

Soccer vs. Football -Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Differentiate reading instruction with nonfiction texts, compare and contrast activities, and response to text writing opportunities.
- Plus Plan

Black History Profile: Barack Obama - Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on the first African American President of the United States, and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
- Plus Plan

Innovative Inventors - Comprehension Worksheet
Meet famous Black History Month figures with this informational text and comprehension questions activity.
- Plus Plan

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.
- Plus Plan

Barack Obama - Biography Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Barack Obama with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
- Plus Plan

Abraham Lincoln - 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Pack
Celebrate Presidents' Day and discover the accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln with a printable reading comprehension activity pack for 3rd grade and up.
- Plus Plan

Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Activity Pack
Apply a range of reading comprehension strategies to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Plus Plan

Ruby Bridges – Comprehension Task
Review our profile on 6-year-old civil rights figure Ruby Bridges, and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
- Plus Plan

Black History Profile: Thomas Mundy Peterson - Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on history-maker Thomas Mundy Peterson and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
- Plus Plan

Valentines Around the World – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore five global Valentine’s Day traditions with this informational text and comprehension questions activity.
- Plus Plan

Character Description – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach character description with this set of four worksheets that help students explore how authors use the STEAL technique to bring characters to life.
- Plus Plan

Immigration Worksheets - 4th & 5th Grade Reading Comprehension Pack
Use our printable Immigration Worksheets to introduce your students to the concept of immigration and the reasons why people migrate to new countries.
- Plus Plan

Dogs Make The Best Pets - Reading Comprehension PDF
Assess 3rd grade reading comprehension skills with a printable Reading Comprehension Test using an opinion text.
- Plus Plan

Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the role of producers, consumers and decomposers within ecosystems with this comprehension task.
- Plus Plan

13 Colonies Reading Passages - New England, Southern, and Middle Colonies
Build reading comprehension skills and knowledge of the New England, Southern, and Middle colonies with printable comprehension worksheets.
- Free Plan

Henry Hudson Worksheet Pack
Discover famous explorers like Henry Hudson with a Henry Hudson Worksheet Pack
- Plus Plan

Mars vs. Earth - Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Learn about the planets with differentiated compare and contrast passages, activities, and writing opportunities.
- Plus Plan

2nd Grade Hurricane Worksheets - Reading Comprehension
Read and learn about hurricanes with our 2nd Grade Hurricane Worksheets resource pack.
- Plus Plan

2nd Grade Reading Passage & Worksheet- Being a Good Pet Parent
Print a 2nd grade reading comprehension passage and worksheet to teach comprehension skills and learn about being a good pet parent by limiting pets' impact on ecosystems.
- Free Plan

Uses of Magnets Comprehension Worksheet
Download this magnets worksheet to teach your 2nd grade students about the uses of magnets in our everyday lives.
- Plus Plan

Plant and Animal Adaptations - Comprehension Worksheets
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations.
- Plus Plan

The Moon – Reading Passage and Response Sheet
Engage your students with a high-interest reading passage about the moon with this informative article and accompanying response sheet.
- Plus Plan

Who was Marie Maynard Daly? Women in History Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Marie Maynard Daly with a comprehensive pack of inspirational women worksheets.
- Plus Plan

Abraham Lincoln Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Abraham Lincoln with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
- Plus Plan

George Washington Carver Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of George Washington Carver with a comprehensive pack of biographical worksheets.