1,314 FREE Reading Comprehension Worksheets, Games and Tests
BusyTeacher Home » Reading Comprehension

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!

Filter by Level
NEW
  • Complete Beginner (84)
  • Elementary (604)
  • Pre-Intermediate (473)
  • Intermediate (521)
  • Upper-Intermediate Advanced (330)
  • Exam Level (103)
  • Suitable for All Levels (20)
Clear filters
Filter
Dramatically improve the way you teach:




Make A Word Search:

Create awesome-looking custom word searches in seconds!

Make A Word Scramble:

Instantly create custom word/sentence scrambles for your class!

Make A Double Puzzle:

Generate double puzzles your students will love - hours of fun!

ESL Articles
Rate this Category
4.1 out of 5, rated by 53 teachers




Sort by: Most Recent | Most Viewed | Rating
Words That Rhyme With 'Cat'

Words That Rhyme With 'Cat'

, Reading Comprehension
This English worksheet focuses on rhyming words. Ss must look at the words in the boxes. All of the words that rhyme with cat must be coloured green. The rest of the words must be coloured red. Ss ...
3 Views 20,487 Elem
Percy the Pig - Reading Comprehension

Percy the Pig - Reading Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension
The title of this worksheet is 'Percy the pig'. It is a reading comprehension for children of 5 - 7 years old. The passage is about a pig called Percy. What colour is Percy? Can Percy swim? Ss rea ...
8 Views 15,880 Elem
Farley the Fox - Reading Comprehension

Farley the Fox - Reading Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension
The title of this English worksheet is 'Farley the fox'. It is a reading comprehension for children of 5 - 7 years old. Ss read the comprehension about a fox called Farley and answer the multiple ...
7 Views 20,229 Elem
Chipmunks - Reading Comprehension

Chipmunks - Reading Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension
This English worksheet is a reading comprehension all about chipmunks. Find out what they look like and where they live. What is the largest species of chipmunk? What is an omnivore? This workshee ...
6 Views 10,552 Elem
Deep-Sea Wildlife - Reading Comprehension

Deep-Sea Wildlife - Reading Comprehension

, , Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is a reading comprehension all about deep-sea wildlife. Discover some interesting facts about the creatures that live on the deep-sea floor. What does bioluminescence mean? Why can' ...
7 Views 30,042 Elem
Put BusyTeacher in your inbox

Sign up for the BusyTeacher Weekly and be the first to get direct links to our latest teaching articles, worksheets and lesson plans. Goes out to 323,134 subscribers every Wednesday.
See last week's issue.

Fitness /Crossfit Reading and Vocabulary Worksheet

Fitness /Crossfit Reading and Vocabulary Worksheet

, , Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is about a young female CrossFit competitor. You can introduce this topic by clicking the YouTube url on top of the worksheet, or let the students watch the video for themselves. In ...
13 Views 14,395 ElemPre-IntInt
Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher

, , Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet I used with my 4th graders. It contains the biography of this popular singer as well as of his band. They work with vocabulary from the biographies and it also contains 2 readi ...
6 Views 8,811 Pre-Int
Australia Day Reading

Australia Day Reading

The worksheet entitled 'Australia Day' has been prepared in order to get the students familiar with Australia and its regions. It may be used in the classes devoted to culture as well as mastering ...
14 Views 33,862 Pre-IntInt
Voluntary Work

Voluntary Work

, Reading Comprehension
Voluntary work in the USA. Original text retrieved from www.widegeek.com: text, activities,workcamps by Elix.Oral & writing activities and a fill in vocabulary exercise retrieved from www.elix ...
6 Views 15,643 Adv
Visas and Realpolitik [for Russian Speakers]

Visas and Realpolitik [for Russian Speakers]

, , Reading Comprehension
This worksheet will be helpful if you want to teach your students speak real every-day English and use active vocabulary at a high level. Unlike traditional vocabulary sections, that provide only ...
9 Views 8,535 IntAdv
Past Simple through Reading Elementary Worksheet

Past Simple through Reading Elementary Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet for revising the past simple tense through reading at elementary level. Students are asked to read the text, mark the sentences as true or false and answer the questions given.
12 Views 31,245 Elem
Effects of Social Demographic Issues on Language Attainment for Adult ESL Learners from El Salvador, 2012

Effects of Social Demographic Issues on Language Attainment for Adult ESL Learners from El Salvador, 2012

Reading Comprehension
This is a study on the extent to which social demographic issues affect positively and negatively the language acquisition process on adult EFL learners from El Salvador at an academy. It also out ...
2 Views 5,335 IntAdvExam
Education in Britain Part 2

Education in Britain Part 2

, , Reading Comprehension
It is the second part of Education in Britain I. Text, tables, oral & written activities. Appropriate for teaching comparison of educational systems in different countries. Intermediate/Upper- ...
14 Views 15,028 Int
Education in Britain Part 1

Education in Britain Part 1

, Reading Comprehension
Text, tables, oral activities (followed by part 2). Text retrieved and adapted from www.projectbritain.com. Suitable for intemediate/upper-intermediate secondary-education students.Appropriate for ...
14 Views 29,585 Int
Basic Short Story Comprehension

Basic Short Story Comprehension

Reading Comprehension
These five short stories can be used in a myriad of ways, including (but not limited to) reading fluency, sequencing, re-telling, pronunciation, and vocabulary building. The first five pages are a ...
3 Views 30,883 Elem
By the Water

By the Water

, , Reading Comprehension
It is a simple comprehension reading using simple present and descriptive vocabulary, this exercise is a good suggestion for beginners. It is a beautiful description about a man that lives by the ...
23 Views 28,655 Beg
Helen of Troy

Helen of Troy

Reading Comprehension
Greek Myths in order of publication. The story of the Helen of Troy, the “face that launched a thousand ships”. Helen was married to a Greek King, but the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, p ...
5 Views 24,765 Pre-IntInt
Advertisement

Advertisement

, Reading Comprehension
It is a persuasive text about the influence of adverts on children followed by different level questions. The questions are divided into five tasks. The first task tests the understanding of the m ...
15 Views 16,106 IntAdv
The Flinstones

The Flinstones

, , Reading Comprehension
This is a two pages worksheet for first year students. It is an easy reading comprehension worksheet about the Flinstones, then they have some clues to write a short paragraph about Bam Bam. They ...
10 Views 13,357 Beg
Reading Tips

Reading Tips

Reading Comprehension
Visually interesting graphic/flowchart which gives a step by step reading tips. A good way to reinforce the steps to be a better reader. Very useful to hang in class or as a tool for revision as f ...
10 Views 12,860 Pre-Int
Reading Comprehension: If I Listened to my Parents, I Would Never Lose my Leg.

Reading Comprehension: If I Listened to my Parents, I Would Never Lose my Leg.

This is a readig comprehension text about a fifteen-year-old boy who disobeyed his parents. After reading the text my learners are asked to do some activities. It is suitable for intermediate stud ...
22 Views 22,963 ElemPre-IntInt
A Trip to a Volcano

A Trip to a Volcano

, Reading Comprehension
An authentic reading skills task that is using an internet webpage of a volcano holiday trip. Aimed to encourage readers to scan for the key words and main idea rather than read everything on the ...
6 Views 9,443 Pre-IntInt
Food- Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Food- Reading Comprehension Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading comprehension worksheet about food.Recommended for pre-intermediate students who are asked to read the text, answer the questions, find evidence for the statements about the text ...
17 Views 98,802 Pre-IntInt
Mike in the Library -Reading Comprehension

Mike in the Library -Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension Level 4. Mike in the Library.Directions: 1. Read the text and answer the questions below.2. Translate the passage orally or written. 3. And retell the story in your own words ...
6 Views 15,203 Elem
James and the Animals- Reading Comprehension

James and the Animals- Reading Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension
James and the animals. Reading Comprehension Level 2.Directions: 1. Read the text, then take out the unknown words, before, look them up in the bilingual dictionary and finally, answer the questio ...
9 Views 11,256 Elem

Got a great worksheet on Reading Comprehension? Tell us about it and become a BusyTeacher contributor!

Submit a Worksheet