A selection of English ESL reading comprehension printables

Reading comprehension. Topic - the death of the former One-Direction singer Liam Payne and the lack of support for the young upcoming artists. Two vocabulary tasks with the answers provided.

Liam Payne (reading - more advanced)

There are two sheets to my reading, scanning and comprehension exercise. The exercise includes speaking, listening and comprehension.

1.	An article for the student to read.

2.	A question sheet for you to read to the student.

I suggest you copy and paste into two different documents.

I convert the article to pdf format, as the student’s device doesn’t need MS Word installed for it to display.

Send or give the article to the student to read aloud to you. Then ask the student questions from the question sheet, they’re in the same order as the article. Most of the answers are one or two words; just be aware that some students will read a whole paragraph knowing that the answer is somewhere in it. For me, that’s not good enough! 

Finally ask the student to read the article again and while you correct their pronunciation, as necessary.  


Chinese Animal Years, a simple reading article

A short reading exercise where a little elephant gets left behind and gets lost. It has two sets of questions to answer and a third to discuss. Hope you find it useful. Thank you! :)

SANDO IS LOST READING IN PAST SIMPLE FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS


The US flag was hung upside-down over El Capitan in Yosemite to protest Trump’s federal worker cuts. Reading lesson with multiple choice critical questions and writing/speaking prompts. https://eslfrog.com/canada-usa-hockey/

Reading Lesson: Upside-Down Flag Signals Protest Against Job Cuts in National Parks


This reading comprehension worksheet focuses on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), exploring their origins, characters, and cultural impact since their debut in 1984. Students will read about how these iconic characters were created, their adventures, and their influence on pop culture. 


Questions accompanying the text will test students' understanding of the material, covering topics such as the creators of TMNT, character traits, and the franchise's expansion into various media. For additional vocabulary support, students are encouraged to scan the QR code provided, which links to definitions and context for key terms used in the text.

Reading Activity: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Heroes in a Half Shell

it is about Merchant of Venice for secondary and high schools. It can be used for testing students reading comprehension skills. it is suitable for intermediate and upper intermediate levels.

Merchant of Venice level 6 quiz

ESLFrog.com presents: Intermediate reading lesson made in May 2025. Includes original article, reading quiz, prompts for speaking and writing, and an answer key. https://eslfrog.com/animal-puppets/

Animal Puppets Travel From Africa to Arctic Circle

Reading lesson about the recent hockey game between Canada and USA. Multiple choice questions that test critical thinking. Also has prompts for speaking and writing. https://eslfrog.com/canada-usa-hockey/

Canada Defeats US in Hockey Game Filled with Political Tension

Reading lesson based on the new animated Chinese film called "Ne Zha 2". The article is written for intermediate ESL students with 10 multiple choice questions that use higher-order thinking skills. Also has prompts that can be used for speaking and writing. https://eslfrog.com/ne-zha/

“Ne Zha 2” Makes History as the Highest-Earning Animated Film

True or False
Students must decide whether statements based on the reading are correct (True) or incorrect (False). This checks their understanding of key facts from the text.
Answer the Questions
This activity involves open-ended comprehension questions to encourage deeper thinking and recall specific details from the reading.
Superlatives in the Reading
Students identify superlative adjectives in the reading (e.g., driest, biggest, most difficult). Then, they write down their base forms to reinforce grammar skills.

Natural Wonders Short Reading

You must find the titles of the 16 books thanks to the opening lines. It's a good activity if you're teaching literature and want a fun activity to work on their general knowledge. 

Opening lines in books

This is an easy reading comprehension activity. Students must read a passage about Britain's blue plaques, then they must do a true false exercise and answer the questions.

Easy reading - Britain's blue plaques

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

3,419 Reading Comprehension English ESL worksheets pdf & doc