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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Homophone Mandala Flower Worksheets
Have your students create a colourful mandala flower while simultaneously demonstrating their understanding of common homophones.
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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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Subtraction Across Zero - Colour By Number Worksheet
Practise subtraction across zeros with a fun colour-by-number worksheet.
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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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Colour by Number - 2, 3, 5, 10 Division
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of division facts.
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Colour by Number - 7 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Colour by Number - 6 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Crazy Boxes – 3 Times Tables
A fun multiplication worksheet where students create a colour pattern using 3 times tables.
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Firetruck Colour By Number Worksheet
Build number identification skills with a printable Firetruck Colour by Number Worksheet.
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The Number of Days in Each Month - Colour By Code
Help you rstudents remember the number of days in each month with a colour-by-code worksheet.
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Weathering, Erosion and Deposition Colour By Code Worksheet
Guide your students to differentiate between examples of weathering, erosion and deposition with this colour-by-code science worksheet.
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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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Gingerbread Vowels - Colour by Code Worksheet
Use this colour by vowel sound Christmas worksheet as for a bit of holiday fun in the classroom.
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Multiplication Mystery Picture (Pencil)
Use the colour-coded multiplication guide to complete the grid and reveal a mystery picture.
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Colour by Number - 10 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Colour by Number - 5 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Parts of Speech Word Search (Nouns, Adjectives and Verbs) – Worksheet
A word search where students find and categorise nouns, adjectives and verbs.
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Crazy Boxes – 5 Times Tables
A fun multiplication worksheet where students create a colour pattern using 5 times tables.
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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.
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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 Number - 2, 3, 5, 10 Multiplication
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Colour by Sight Words - 6 Words - Chicken
A fun colouring activity to use when working with sight words.
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Crazy Boxes – 2, 3, 5, 10 Times Tables
A fun multiplication worksheet where students create a colour pattern using 2, 3, 5 and 10 times tables.
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Colour by Parts of Speech - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Prepositions - Owl
Consolidate parts of speech by colouring nouns, verbs, adjectives and prepositions on the owl.
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Underwater Colour By Numbers
Colour by numbers is a fun and easy way to help students recognise digits.
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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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Colour the Periodic Table - Worksheet and Poster
Colour the periodic table with a printable colour-coding 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.
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Colour by Number Worksheet - Multiplication Facts (Rabbit)
Bring some colourful fun into your maths lessons with a multiplication colour by number worksheet.
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Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet - Colour by Code
Explore pairs of synonyms and antonyms with this colour-code worksheet.
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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.
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Multiplication Mystery Picture - Ice Cream
Use the colour-coded multiplication guide to complete the grid and reveal a mystery picture.