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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Olympics History

Olympics History

, , Reading Comprehension
The brief history of the Olympics, their origin and revival plus some interesting facts about Games. Good for practicing past simple and revision of sport topic. You can read and discuss it in cl ...
15 Views 16,300 BegElem
Non-fiction Book Talk

Non-fiction Book Talk

, Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet that students need to keep with them while reading a non-fiction book in order to prepare their oral presentation. When reading one of the books from the series http://www.barn ...
3 Views 11,068 Elem
Crime Mystery

Crime Mystery

, , Reading Comprehension
Who is the criminal? An engaging jigsaw reading comprehension mystery. It is an excellent role play reading best for upper-high intermediate who find working in groups an enjoyable activity. The i ...
13 Views 46,093 Adv
Reading Comprehension - Abraham Lincoln

Reading Comprehension - Abraham Lincoln

, Reading Comprehension
Help your students learn some interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln with this reading comprehension. In 1831 he moved to Illinois and worked as a surveyor, storekeeper and postmaster while he st ...
10 Views 18,159 Elem
Reading Comprehension - John F. Kennedy

Reading Comprehension - John F. Kennedy

, Reading Comprehension
Presidents Day is on the 17th February so why not help your students learn some interesting facts about John F. Kennedy with this reading comprehension. Students read the passage and answer the mu ...
13 Views 13,907 Elem
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Reading Comprehension - George Washington

Reading Comprehension - George Washington

, Reading Comprehension
Presidents Day is on the 17th February so why not help your students learn some interesting facts about George Washington? When was he born? When did he become the president of the United States? ...
13 Views 15,111 Elem
Reading Comprehension - Air Balloon

Reading Comprehension - Air Balloon

Reading Comprehension
This resource was designed for primary/elementary children. Who invented the air balloon? Two French brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, born in Annonay, France, were the inventors of the fir ...
8 Views 15,502 Elem
Reading Comprehension - The Wheel

Reading Comprehension - The Wheel

, Reading Comprehension
Who invented the wheel? This page includes information about who invented the wheel. This resource was created for primary/elementary children. Students are asked to read through this article and ...
10 Views 27,547 Elem
Reading Comprehension - Australian Wildlife

Reading Comprehension - Australian Wildlife

, Reading Comprehension
Almost half of the world's population of marsupials are found only in Australia. Marsupials include koalas, kangaroos, wombats, possums, and bandicoots. This reading comprehension includes some in ...
9 Views 58,061 Elem
Famous People - Reading Comprehension: Charles Dickens

Famous People - Reading Comprehension: Charles Dickens

Reading Comprehension
Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812. He was an English writer and created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters. This reading comprehension has been created for prim ...
13 Views 29,783 Elem
Conservation of Species - Reading Activity

Conservation of Species - Reading Activity

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading activity that I have used with my pre-intermediate students. It contains a semi-authentic newspaper article in the first page and a few comprehension questions as well as a pairw ...
7 Views 14,784 Pre-IntInt
Reading Reminder

Reading Reminder

, Reading Comprehension
This printable is very useful if you want kids to keep track on how many books they have read so far in the school year. The circle on the left allows you to write the number and on its right is a ...
3 Views 8,388 Elem
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz -Word Cloze

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz -Word Cloze

Reading Comprehension
Students read a brief summary of the classic, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and must choose the correct word in the sentences. Students are introduced to this classic piece of literature and also ...
3 Views 8,851 IntAdv
The Notebook- The Present Simple Tense

The Notebook- The Present Simple Tense

, Reading Comprehension
Students read a summary of Nicholas Sparks' book, "The Notebook" and must check the verb tense. The summary is meant to be written in  present simple, but some verbs are in a different tense ...
4 Views 15,153 Adv
The Bridge to Terabithia - Spelling Check

The Bridge to Terabithia - Spelling Check

, Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is a brief summary of the book, "The Bridge to Terabithia". Students must find the spelling mistakes and make the necessary corrections. An answer sheet is included so students ca ...
2 Views 12,859 IntAdv
For One More Day- Understanding Meaning from Context

For One More Day- Understanding Meaning from Context

Reading Comprehension
This worksheet provides practice finding meaning through context. Students read a short summary of Mitch Albom's "For One More Day". Several descriptive phrases are selected from the summary and ...
7 Views 9,330 Adv
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Word Definition from Context

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Word Definition from Context

Reading Comprehension
This worksheet provides a brief summary of the book, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". Students read the summary and then answer multiple choice questions about definitions of vocabulary from th ...
2 Views 10,430 Adv
Types of Books

Types of Books

Reading Comprehension
This presentation was made to teach my students different kinds of books. With the help of the presentation they remembered words much faster than just writing them down. This presentation can be ...
10 Views 9,840 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
Famous People - Reading Comprehension: Elizabeth Fry

Famous People - Reading Comprehension: Elizabeth Fry

, Reading Comprehension
Elizabeth Fry was born on 21st May 1780 in Norwich, England. This reading comprehension includes facts about Elizabeth Fry. Students are asked to read the article and answer the accompanying study ...
9 Views 22,480 Elem
Kidnapped- Reading Test

Kidnapped- Reading Test

Reading Comprehension
This is an English test for the story 'Kidnapped' by Robert Louis Stevenson, Level 3 ( eighth grade) by Eric Cohen books. The story takes place in Scotland in the middle of the 18th century. ...
2 Views 12,931 Exam
Prague's Witches' Night Festival - Reading Activity

Prague's Witches' Night Festival - Reading Activity

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading activity that I have prepared for my pre-intermediate students. It contains two pages: the first one has a semi-authentic article from The Guardian (I have made a few changes in ...
3 Views 12,165 Pre-Int
The Thirsty Crow

The Thirsty Crow

, Reading Comprehension
The thirsty Crow is a folk story . It's an inspirational story . It teaches young learners a moral lesson about preseverence, patience and passion for the things they want to do . This worksheet ...
7 Views 19,641 ElemPre-Int
Burns Night Quiz and Poem

Burns Night Quiz and Poem

, Reading Comprehension,
This worksheet is about a festival in Scotland in January. Students can test their knowledge about Scotland and Burns Night, when and how it is celebrated in Scotland. There is a quiz containing t ...
8 Views 24,275 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
Teens and Mobile Phones Reading

Teens and Mobile Phones Reading

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading comprehension worksheet for intermediate students on the topic teens and mobile phones. Students are asked to read the text, say if the statements are true or false and supp ...
10 Views 41,324 Pre-IntInt
American Holidays

American Holidays

, Reading Comprehension
It is a simple text about American holidays such as Independence Day, Labour Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and so on. The paper contains a short description of the holidays. It may be a reading ...
9 Views 17,630 Int

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