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
A Pizza [Past Simple Reading]

A Pizza [Past Simple Reading]

, Reading Comprehension
A reading comprehension, followed by different activities. It can be used with children at an elementary level to review verbs in the simple past, to test reading comprehension, and to practice wr ...
38 Views 256,377 Elem
Teens

Teens

Reading Comprehension
In this worksheet our students will read different short texts about what teens from different places of the world do everyday. Each text is divided into three small paragraphs: one on food, anoth ...
12 Views 11,297 Elem
Obama Acceptance Speech Activity

Obama Acceptance Speech Activity

, , , Reading Comprehension
Students can read part of President Obama's acceptance speech and practice new vocabulary, synonyms, and figures of speech. Discussion questions are included for partners or small groups to pract ...
12 Views 28,435 IntAdv
S and Z Sound Words

S and Z Sound Words

, , Reading Comprehension
This worksheet is used to introduce students to the sounds S and Z. I used a video from YouTube so they could hear the sounds and then used my worksheet. The SS match the pictures to the words and ...
6 Views 18,563 Beg
Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare's Globe

A computer class is needed or students should do this task at home. Students go to the site of "Shakespeare's Globe" and try to answer the questions in the worksheet. We did the activity in class, ...
12 Views 14,437 Pre-IntInt
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.

Cartoon Captions Matching Game

Cartoon Captions Matching Game

, , Reading Comprehension
Here is a read-and-match activity devised to get your students talking, laughing and learning/revising vocabulary in an unusual context. Use it to generate a discussion about gender stereotypes, d ...
23 Views 20,146 IntAdv
How to Write a (GOOD) Summary

How to Write a (GOOD) Summary

, Reading Comprehension,
This handout has been developed to guide students when they have to write a summary in English from a narrative text. It divides the process into different stages to make it easier and more meanin ...
20 Views 29,065 ElemPre-Int
Bonfire Night [Guy Fawkes]

Bonfire Night [Guy Fawkes]

, Reading Comprehension, ,
This is a range of activities for all levels of students based on the plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Use the activity for your level of students. There are various activi ...
12 Views 29,304 BegElemPre-IntIntAdv
Halloween for Elementary Students

Halloween for Elementary Students

, , Reading Comprehension,
The worksheet contains a short article about Halloween and two exercises on reading comprehension. It is good for low elementary students, just present simple was used. Vocabulary is included on ...
54 Views 170,887 Elem
Exploring Scotland's Historic Whisky Trail

Exploring Scotland's Historic Whisky Trail

, Reading Comprehension
This reading worksheet contains a text and some questions so teachers can be sure that their students have understood the text. This worksheet can be used as a reading or listening activity. Ideal ...
6 Views 9,310 IntAdvExam
Ireland's Unusual Places to Stay

Ireland's Unusual Places to Stay

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading worksheet with some questions so teachers can know that their students have understood the text. It is very useful because it is a real text taken from a BBC source. Ideal for pe ...
11 Views 14,551 IntAdvExam
The Story of Chicken Licken

The Story of Chicken Licken

, , , , Reading Comprehension
Slovak ppt about fairy tale about Chicken Licken and her friends. It can be used for practicising must. It includes crossword, wordsearch and talking about pictures. There are animated pictures. I ...
12 Views 22,230 BegElem
Reading and Writing Practice: I've Got/I Haven't Got

Reading and Writing Practice: I've Got/I Haven't Got

, , , Reading Comprehension
This worksheet will help your little students to study the Have got/Haven't got grammar. Your kids can practise their reading and writing skills, see how plural and singular nouns are formed. You ...
10 Views 21,032 BegElem
Comprehension Question Types for Chinese ESL learners

Comprehension Question Types for Chinese ESL learners

Reading Comprehension
This note includes 5 of the frequently asked questions in comprehension, with keywords and suggested problem solving steps. When doing comprehension, students were asked to first identify the ques ...
2 Views 9,735 IntAdv
Video Lesson: FRIENDS - The One With The Halloween Party

Video Lesson: FRIENDS - The One With The Halloween Party

This worksheet is a video lesson based on Friends episode "The One With The Halloween Party". It includes while-viewing and post-viewing activities (assigning quotes to characters and acting out a ...
20 Views 33,363 IntAdv
The Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading tasks with follow up discussion tasks. I have added some explanations to the words I thought my students would find problematic to deal with. We also discussed the grammar struct ...
6 Views 11,132 Int
Life In The 1500 - Intermediate Reading

Life In The 1500 - Intermediate Reading

, , Reading Comprehension
This is a very interesting text about how some of the today's popular customs, proverbs and everyday expressions came into being. The worksheet starts with a speaking warm-up, followed by the main ...
16 Views 14,619 IntAdv
Books and Reading

Books and Reading

, , Reading Comprehension
A worksheet with vocabulary that describes types of books. This also includes ed-ing adjectives and a short text about the author Roald Dahl with some questions. Finally students are asked to prod ...
28 Views 26,879 ElemPre-Int
Felix Baumgartner Gives You Goosebumps

Felix Baumgartner Gives You Goosebumps

, Reading Comprehension
I am convinced that at least one third of your students watched Baumgartner's freefall live. The information gathered that way will make it easier to understand the text. Above all, the students w ...
10 Views 7,795 IntAdv
Bill Gates On Life - Intermediate Reading

Bill Gates On Life - Intermediate Reading

This is a reading worksheet for intermediate and upper-intermediate students. It starts with a speaking warm-up where students are to discuss a few work-related quotes. Next, they move on to a spe ...
16 Views 17,595 IntAdv
Women Make the News [UNESCO Program]

Women Make the News [UNESCO Program]

Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet I made for students about the UNESCO program Women Make the News. I have provided a small article, multiple choice test, and key. This is for students with a higher vocabulary ...
4 Views 11,787 AdvExam
Bruce and the Cat

Bruce and the Cat

, , , Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension activity, with different exercises, true/false, questions, drawing, etc. It can be used with children at elementary or intermediate levels. It is a good way to review verb te ...
11 Views 11,187 ElemPre-Int
Talking about the Past: Detective and Suspect Dialogue and Activity

Talking about the Past: Detective and Suspect Dialogue and Activity

Two part, past simple, past continuous, and questions, police and suspect activity cards. The first is a 'partner' reading or role play activity. The second is a speaking, gap fill role play activ ...
28 Views 64,460 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
Adverb or Adjective? - Class 'gap fill' Powerpoint Activity

Adverb or Adjective? - Class 'gap fill' Powerpoint Activity

, , Reading Comprehension
A funny doctor and patient joke activity. An adverb versus adjective gap fill powerpoint activity. Great for a class or group activity, or a warmer / cooler. Suitable for teenagers and adults. I h ...
26 Views 26,783 Pre-IntIntAdvExam
Joke - Adverb or Adjective?

Joke - Adverb or Adjective?

, , Reading Comprehension
A very funny doctor, patient 'joke' worksheet with adverb or adjective gap fill. It can be used as a reading, or adverb / adjective exercise, or as a fun warmer or cooler. Suitable for teenagers a ...
27 Views 36,440 Pre-IntIntAdvExam

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

Submit a Worksheet