This year is the 100th anniversary of the first public demonstration of television. Ten years later the BBC launched the world’s first high-definition TV service, on November 2nd 1936 and to celebrate these events we have written some brand-new comprehension worksheets about the development of TV.

Over 100 years ago people did not have televisions to watch. They listened to the radio or read newspapers. But inventors were thinking it might be possible to send moving pictures through the air, just like radios sent sound. Our newest comprehension worksheets will tell you all about the early days of TV when John Logie Baird created a machine that showed simple, tiny, blurry pictures in black and white with no sound right through to the digital TV that we enjoy today.

Check out the worksheets to find out what an old hatbox, darning needles and a ventriloquist’s dummy called Stooky Bill have to do with TV sets.

The comprehensions are written at three different ability levels, making it easy to provide material for a range of reading abilities, or ages, and allows for differentiation in the classroom.

We also have a template for a newspaper report to use alongside the comprehension worksheets.

KS1 Comprehensions

Lower KS2 Comprehensions

Upper KS2 Comprehensions