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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The Celebration of Diwali - Comprehension

The Celebration of Diwali - Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension, ,
This comprehension is all about the celebration of Diwali. Did you know that Diwali is known as the 'festival of lights'? Students read through the article and answer the accompanying study questi ...
17 Views 33,291 Elem
Present Simple - Simple Text and Exercises

Present Simple - Simple Text and Exercises

, , Reading Comprehension
The worksheet contains an easy text about a schoolgirl. She describes her everyday activities, school, hobbies, family. Then two exercises follow. In the first exercise children have to find inco ...
24 Views 97,422 Elem
The Wolf and the Shepherd by Aesop

The Wolf and the Shepherd by Aesop

Reading Comprehension
This worksheet has Aesop's "The Wolf and The Shepherd" and questions to go along with it. It can be used for the students to really read the story and understand the situation the characters are i ...
7 Views 11,407 Pre-Int
Reading: Married to a Bridge

Reading: Married to a Bridge

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading activity on a newspaper article, about a woman who decided to get married... to a bridge. It's a surprisingly  good way to make students read, discuss the vocabulary and tal ...
18 Views 14,179 Pre-IntInt
Reading: Kids and Bedtime Stories

Reading: Kids and Bedtime Stories

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading activity on a newspaper article, about parents who do not tell bedtime stories to their children anymore. It's a surprisingly good way to make students read, discuss the vocabula ...
9 Views 13,276 Int
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Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Reading Comprehension
A few exercises to understand the play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Level A2+ reading and writing exercises to help pupils understand each act of the play ( Penguin reader) A good wa ...
13 Views 18,810 ElemPre-Int
Prejudice, Discrimination and Intolerance in Schools

Prejudice, Discrimination and Intolerance in Schools

, , Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet with two recent news about discrimination against kids. It's in the format of a newspaper. The objective is to discuss individuality, diversity, discrimination, school regulari ...
11 Views 17,780 Pre-IntIntAdv
Reading Comprehension 1

Reading Comprehension 1

, Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension for beginner and elementary students 1, including work on comprehension, the simple present tense, vocabulary,  and a key for teachers, it is about winter it might be us ...
17 Views 31,383 BegElem
Present Simple and Continuous - Trekking Journal

Present Simple and Continuous - Trekking Journal

, Reading Comprehension
This is a usual worksheet where your students have to put the verbs in brackets into appropriate present tense. There is a scheme that can help them understand the differences between the two pres ...
26 Views 21,902 Pre-IntInt
Top 5 Adrenalin Holidays

Top 5 Adrenalin Holidays

, Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is addressed to adults or teenagers who are studying the topic "travelling". It gives some information about some extreme holidays which are now popular in the world. The worksheet ...
13 Views 10,113 AdvExam
Healthy Diet for Teenagers

Healthy Diet for Teenagers

, , Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet containing an article originally taken from the internet. The article is about a healthy diet for teenagers. I added a few comprehension exercises. The worksheet also includes ...
17 Views 46,419 Pre-IntInt
The Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert

, , Reading Comprehension
The Atacama desert…The perfect place for people who are looking for adventure... This text about one of the most attractive places in the world is supported with a number of exercises which ...
18 Views 20,278 ElemPre-Int
Teens

Teens

, , Reading Comprehension
This fill-in the gap exercise provides a range of vocabulary to the topics of "Family relations", "Life stages", "Teenagers" and will be useful for those who would like to introduce these topics t ...
14 Views 15,348 IntAdv
Countries and Nationalities Reading Worksheet

Countries and Nationalities Reading Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading comprehension worksheet for teaching  countries and nationalities related vocabulary at elementary level. Students are asked to read the text, complete the sentences an ...
13 Views 78,080 Elem
Healthy Lifestyle

Healthy Lifestyle

, , Reading Comprehension
A 2 page lesson plan on the topic of "Healthy Lifestyle". Includes: reading, vocabulary, discussion questions, grammar and phrasal verbs. How to use these lesson plans: 1. Start with voc ...
28 Views 65,987 Pre-IntInt
Kim's Choice

Kim's Choice

Reading Comprehension
This is a reading guide about the reader Kim's choice. It has activities related to vocabulary and the plot, too. I hope you find it useful. It has been divided in four lessons, students found it ...
5 Views 6,855 BegElem
Restaurants & Eating Out

Restaurants & Eating Out

2 pages lesson plan on the topic of "Restaurants & Eating Out". Includes: reading, vocabulary, discussion questions, grammar and phrasal verbs. Level: beginner (pre-A1), elementary (A1), ...
42 Views 76,829 ElemPre-Int
English Study

English Study

, Reading Comprehension
A 2 page lesson plan on the topic of "English Study". Includes: reading, vocabulary, discussion questions, grammar and phrasal verbs. How to use these lesson plans: 1. Start with vocabul ...
14 Views 17,601 Pre-IntInt
After a Vacation

After a Vacation

A 2 page lesson plan on topic of "After a Vacation". Includes: reading, vocabulary, discussion questions, grammar and phrasal verbs. How to use these lesson plans: 1. Start with vocabula ...
29 Views 57,999 ElemPre-Int
Fish Cheeks Story by Amy Tan

Fish Cheeks Story by Amy Tan

Reading Comprehension,
Students read the story "Fish Cheeks," which is included, and analyze the text based on meaning, language, and writing style. Students also do writing extension activities to make connections wit ...
7 Views 27,745 Adv
Fairy Tale :The Old Fisherman and His Ambitious Wife

Fairy Tale :The Old Fisherman and His Ambitious Wife

, , Reading Comprehension
A story you can learn from with questions you can discuss or write about after the reading. I used this story for home reading and later in classroom kids tell me the story with their own words an ...
16 Views 18,810 ElemPre-IntInt
Reading Comprehension - Polar Bears

Reading Comprehension - Polar Bears

, Reading Comprehension
This reading comprehension includes some interesting facts about polar bears including their diet, appearance, behaviour, habitat etc. Children must read through the text and then answer the accom ...
15 Views 29,690 Elem
Reading Practice: Extreme Sports

Reading Practice: Extreme Sports

, Reading Comprehension
I use this text to develop reading skills while covering the topic "Extreme Sports". This activity contains a gap-filling task (removed sentences). It can be used as the introduction to the topic ...
15 Views 53,184 Int
Library Record Sheet

Library Record Sheet

Reading Comprehension
This worksheet has a card to work with children at the school library. It pretends to make a record about the books students read along the course year. The teacher can make a big poster with the ...
5 Views 9,220 All
Reading Comprehension - The Aardvark

Reading Comprehension - The Aardvark

, Reading Comprehension
This reading comprehension is all about the Aardvark. Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) live south of the Sahara desert in Africa. They are greyish-brown in colour with large ears, sharp claws and a co ...
7 Views 11,139 Elem

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