1,314 FREE Reading Comprehension Worksheets, Games and Tests
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FREE Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Reading is a very important part of learning a language. It's considered a receptive skill, otherwise known as a passive skill, which means that students don’t necessarily have to produce language - just receive it. But more often than not, students have difficulty reading because of vocabulary and/or the context involved. BusyTeacher.org offers 1,314 reading comprehension worksheets that are sure to help your students stay engaged in their reading, by providing interesting stories and effective exercises.

We as teachers don’t always have the time to make up our own stories, or go through books to pick out excerpts to present in our lessons. The reading worksheets on BusyTeacher.org offer a variety of different stories and texts in different categories and genres to help your students improve their reading ability and learn the language, all the while enjoying the stories they're reading. Depending on what you're aiming to teach, you can use these worksheets in a whole variety of different ways in the classroom. If a worksheet has a story that contains dialogue, you could assign roles to students and have them act out what the characters say. You can also use the stories on the worksheets to create comprehension questions. Some worksheets can even make for classroom discussion topics. After reading a passage, you can present a question to students, and ask them to give their opinions of where the story is going. These are just some of the many things you can do to make use of these worksheets in the classroom.

Whether you're teaching scanning, skimming, critical thinking, or reading for gist, BusyTeacher.org has the worksheet(s) you need for your lessons. There are worksheets on just about any topic you can think of - sports, business, history, and holidays to name a few. Another handy feature on BusyTeacher.org is that each worksheet has the level shown in the description, which makes it easy for you to find an appropriate worksheet for your students. The thumbnail can be opened to full page view, so you can check if the worksheet is right for your lesson. Some worksheets you'll find here are appropriate for several - or even for all levels, which means they're reusable for a future lessons with students at different levels.

No registration or subscription is necessary to download our worksheets. They’re all free to download, copy, and use in your lessons. Plus, all of them were created and uploaded by fellow ESL teachers from all around the globe, and have helped other ESL teachers in their lessons. In addition, if you have a worksheet you've created and would like to submit it to this site, you can do so by clicking the “Submit a worksheet” link at the bottom of this page. Join thousands of other ESL teachers using BusyTeacher.org, and bookmark us as your number-one stop for worksheets to use in your lessons daily! With 1,314 reading worksheets, planning your lessons has never been easier. Get started by checking out the most popular worksheets below. Try downloading one and using it in your lesson today!

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School Uniform Reading Comprehension

School Uniform Reading Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension is about a debate on school uniform. Students read and answer the multiple-choice questions. Some people think that the debate about school uniform is just about whether ...
8 Views 41,281 Pre-Int
The Battle of Marathon - Reading Comprehension

The Battle of Marathon - Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension
The battle of Marathon is one of the earliest recorded battles in history. After the Ionian Revolt in 499BC the Persians and their king Darius wanted to conquer Greece. Students are asked to ...
6 Views 14,150 Elem
Water Pollution - Reading and Speaking

Water Pollution - Reading and Speaking

, Reading Comprehension
This ppt contains a text for reading as a stimulus for speaking. The topic is water pollution, it includes many pictures and at the end there are suggestions for the teacher what to do with this p ...
11 Views 33,232 IntAdv
Movie Worksheet: Workaholism

Movie Worksheet: Workaholism

This worksheet is to be used while listening to the BBC 6mn English programme about workaholism (link provided at the top of the page). It is then followed by a questionnaire from Workaholic Anony ...
11 Views 15,015 IntAdvExam
Can't Quit

Can't Quit

, Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension, read the passage then answer the questions that follow. The passage is about a man trying to quit smoking. Succeeds for a few days, but in the end goes back to his old habit ...
8 Views 20,563 Int
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Healthy Life Expectancy Is Shorter in the UK Than Abroad

Healthy Life Expectancy Is Shorter in the UK Than Abroad

A text dealing with health and five different tasks for advanced students. 1) True/ False sentences; 2) Answer questions about the text in your own words; 3) Rephrasing; 4) Find synomys; 5) A topi ...
9 Views 15,710 AdvExam
Reading Text B1 History of Pizza

Reading Text B1 History of Pizza

, Reading Comprehension
It is only a reading text about history of pizza. It is appropriate for intermediate students. You formulate some questions about the text and give it your students. The text has been simplified t ...
10 Views 50,317 Int
Waiting for Godot - Ready Made Questions

Waiting for Godot - Ready Made Questions

Reading Comprehension
52 detailed questions on the plot. The file also provides the link to the web page with the plot. This easily editable .doc file is not colourful or cute looking, but it is the content I wanted to ...
2 Views 6,562 IntAdv
Read about Cristiano Ronaldo

Read about Cristiano Ronaldo

, , Reading Comprehension
Read about Cristiano Ronaldo, his career and his family and things that had made him a great soccer player and known all over the world. This has a activity for beginner and elementary studen ...
9 Views 27,399 BegElem
Song Worksheet: All Is Full of Love by Björk (Passive Voice)

Song Worksheet: All Is Full of Love by Björk (Passive Voice)

A nice way to introduce the passive voice using one of the best songs ever written (I'm a Björk fan). There are additional exercises to practice some key expressions found in the song, readin ...
11 Views 33,380 Pre-IntIntAdv
The Most Extraordinary Jobs

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

, Reading Comprehension
The worksheet contains 8 short stories for reading about the most extraordinary jobs, teacher’s notes and discussion questions. I used it as a piece of interesting information while talking ...
71 Views 215,868 IntAdv
Reading Dreams

Reading Dreams

This worksheet deals with the topic of dreams. It does not focus on any grammatical aspect in particular. It consists of a fill-in the blanks listening about analyzing dreams that I adapted from h ...
13 Views 29,518 IntAdvExam
The Mystery of

The Mystery of "Nasca Lines" (Listening/Reading Activity)

, , , Reading Comprehension
Nasca Lines are one of the greatest mysteries in the world. The worksheet offers you pictures for guessing the story and meaning of these lines using modals of deduction; a running dictation; list ...
14 Views 23,149 Pre-IntIntAdv
Mother's Day

Mother's Day

, Reading Comprehension
This is a very simple and brief reading worksheet about Mother's Day. You can use it before talking about Mother's Day in class and it will help children to compare this holiday with the similar o ...
6 Views 27,571 BegElem
Mr. Yes and Mr. No Rhyming Poetry Worksheet

Mr. Yes and Mr. No Rhyming Poetry Worksheet

Reading Comprehension
The title of this poem is 'Mr. Yes and Mr. No'. This activity is great for practicing rhyming. Students must read through the poem and underline the correct missing word in brackets to complete ea ...
9 Views 15,294 Elem
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Part 1 by R. Bach

Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Part 1 by R. Bach

Reading Comprehension
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach is an inspirational story for people who follow their dreams. The book itself is not more than about 40 pages long and consists of three p ...
5 Views 11,498 Adv
Who Are the Media?

Who Are the Media?

, Reading Comprehension
This worksheet has been created for classes of students studying for a technical degree. It is meant to help them learn more about the various sources that are used in their exam. They often deal ...
7 Views 21,576 IntAdv
The Hunger Games Basics. Power-Point

The Hunger Games Basics. Power-Point

Reading Comprehension
This power-point presents some basic (background) facts about Suzanne Collin's novel. It is meant to draw the attention of students - who have read the first part of the book - on some points. As ...
3 Views 10,695 IntAdvExam
Reading Worksheet: The Princess and the Tin Box by James Thurber

Reading Worksheet: The Princess and the Tin Box by James Thurber

, Reading Comprehension
Who wins the hand of the Princess in marriage? An entertaining parody great for grades 5, 6, and 7. Students will enjoy filling missing details and predicting whom  the princess shall choose ...
8 Views 20,658 Pre-IntInt
Reading Comprehension - Alexander Graham Bell

Reading Comprehension - Alexander Graham Bell

, , Reading Comprehension
Alexander Graham Bell was born on the 3rd March, 1847. Teach your students some interesting facts about one of the most famous inventors of all time with this reading comprehension. Students read ...
13 Views 33,156 Elem
Frankie's Funny Ear for Phonics

Frankie's Funny Ear for Phonics

, Reading Comprehension
I wrote it around Christmas time  for my students to read a simple story with ear sounds. It talks about a reindeer having an earache. The reason for the earache is explained, but I didn't ex ...
2 Views 5,939 Elem
Cold Weather Survival Tips

Cold Weather Survival Tips

, , Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is a reading activity created as one of the tasks in winter English speaking camp. It’s quite informative and deals with the question how to survive/keep warm in cold weather. ...
4 Views 13,301 Pre-IntIntAdv
The Story of Man. Cavemen & Modern Men

The Story of Man. Cavemen & Modern Men

, , , Reading Comprehension
The worksheet contains a brief history of evolution, a brainstorming activity, discussion questions, a story for dictation (dictogloss) and additional pictures to be used. The focus is the differe ...
9 Views 14,625 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
Pizza History

Pizza History

, Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is about the history of pizza making. Most students enjoy eating pizza so this should generate some interest. Students will try to understand vocabulary without a dictionary and lea ...
13 Views 24,512 ElemPre-IntInt
Professional Small Talk Conversation Comprehension

Professional Small Talk Conversation Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension
This worksheet was designed to help a student going to a professional conference. It presents an example conversation that might happen and comprehension questions to draw students' attention to t ...
9 Views 19,865 Adv

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