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.
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Year 2 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 2) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 2 of Teach Starter’s Year 2 magazine.
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Year 1 Magazine – "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 3) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 3 of Teach Starter’s Year 1 magazine.
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Year 1 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 1) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 1 of Teach Starter's Year 1 magazine.
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Australian Conservationists: Ian Kiernan – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Ian Kiernan and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Sound Energy Didjeridu Reading Passage
Delve into learning about the didjeridu, its characteristic sounds, and its significance in First Nations Culture with this Sound Energy Didgeridu Reading Passage.
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Halloween vs. Dia De Los Muertos - Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Integrate reading, writing, and celebration of world cultures with differentiated paired passages comparing Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.
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Year 5 Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 5 students.
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Year 4 Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 4 students.
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Year 2 Magazine – What's Buzzing (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 22-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 2 students.
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Henry Ford Mini Book - Famous Inventor Activity Book
Provide students with cross-curricular history, science and reading instruction with a printable Henry Ford mini book.
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Plant Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about unusual plants and their adaptations with a pack of printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Australian Inventions — The Black Box Comprehension Worksheets
Discover amazing Australian inventions like the Black Box In-Flight data recorder with a printable reading comprehension activity.
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Famous Inventors Fact File — Alessandro Volta Comprehension Worksheet
Print an Alessandro Volta fact file worksheet to introduce students to this famous inventor and expand their understanding of electricity!
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NAPLAN Reading Magazine – Year 3
5 reading texts with multiple choice questions for NAPLAN Reading Year 3.
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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.
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Remembrance Day Comprehension Worksheet
Explain Remembrance Day history and traditions to your students with a printable cloze reading passage and comprehension questions.
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5 Fascinating Facts About Dinosaurs – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fascinating facts article from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 2).
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Time Jigger Remote – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fake advertisement from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 2).
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Art Attack! Shape – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 3).
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Blast Off with Space Rex 2000 – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fake advertisement from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 2).
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Letter to the Editor (Huckle Finn Park Disgrace) – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a letter to the editor from the Year 6 magazine (Issue 2).
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The Hovering Hoverboard – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fake advertisement from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 2).
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5 Fun Facts About Food – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Foundation magazine (Issue 3).
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When Winter Comes - Keeping Warm Worksheet
A poem to activate students' prior knowledge about keeping warm.
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The Escape Key - Story and Task Cards
An exciting short story about escaping a maze with a set of task cards to explore after the text has been read.
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MP3 Players and Your Hearing Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about MP3 players and hearing.
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Exploring Australia’s Geothermal Hot Springs Worksheet Pack
Explore examples of geothermal energy in Australia with a Geothermal Hot Springs Worksheet Pack.
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Fascinating Facts About Sound Worksheet Pack
Use this sound energy worksheet pack to boost comprehension and teach your student some interesting facts about sound.
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The Effects of Urban Lighting Worksheet Pack
Read and learn about the impact of light pollution with our Effects of Urban Lighting Worksheet Pack.
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Year 1 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 2) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 2 of Teach Starter’s Year 1 magazine.
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Australian Conservationists: John Walmsley – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Dr John Walmsley and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Torpor vs Hibernation - Reading Worksheets
Help your students learn the difference between torpor and hibernation with a printable pack of reading comprehension worksheets.