Worksheets for Teachers
Did someone say printable worksheets? From year 1 maths worksheets to reading comprehension worksheets to printables for kindergarten and beyond, our collection of teacher-created teaching tools is ready to make learning fun and engaging for your students in all subject areas and on all primary year levels.
Explore printable activities, free worksheets, homework sheets and more — all aligned to the Australian curriculum and all created by teachers, for teachers just like you!
Teach Starter worksheets undergo a careful review process by our expert teacher team to ensure they're ready for your lesson plans ... and your students! Best of all, you know each printable is designed with the goal of turning on that lightbulb over your students' heads and producing more of those 'aha!' moments in the classroom!
Curious about how to make worksheets more engaging? Or maybe you're just wondering how worksheets became a tool used in schools? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
Why Do Teachers Use Worksheets?
Worksheets are an important part of any teacher's toolkit — and yes, we say part because we believe in the importance of hands-on learning too (explore our full collection for plenty of student-led activities!) — but do you ever wonder how they ended up being so ubiquitous?
It was back in the mid-20th century that worksheets started to take hold in education.
The concept of individualised instruction was gaining traction, and educators recognised the need to tailor learning experiences to students' unique abilities, interests and learning styles.
Worksheets started to emerge because they were a means to provide students with both individualised practice and reinforcement of skills. Psychologists like Jean Piaget (you may know him best for his theories on children's cognitive development?) played a role here. The Swiss psychologist suggested teachers should be providing their students with materials that would advance their thinking, and worksheets offer a means for students to assess their own learning.
The real win for worksheets, however, was the invention of the photocopy machine! It made it easy for this supplemental tool to spread like wildfire!
How Do You Make Worksheets Engaging?
You already know educational printables are a beneficial learning tool. They enable students to work independently, practising and applying the concepts they've been learning in your classroom.
So how do you keep them from putting your students in boxes?
At Teach Starter, our worksheets aren't 'just worksheets.' Our expert teacher team works every day to create the tools you need to create impactful classroom experiences. That means our teacher team creates our school worksheets specifically to engage students with eye-catching graphics and creative formats. Here are some of their tips to ensure worksheets are used effectively in the classroom — and truly help engage your students!
- Use worksheets as just part of your toolbox. These are great tools to support classroom instruction and provide independent practise, and they should be balanced with a mix of other teaching tools!
- Mix up your worksheet types. Teach Starter's cut-and-paste worksheets, for example, add an interactive element to help hold students' attention.
- Encourage students to doodle. Doodle notes have taken education by storm in recent years as the visual note-taking method has been proven to improve students' focus and memory. Apply those benefits to your worksheets, and you may be surprised by how it pulls kids' attention to the page!
- Add plastic sleeves. Slipping worksheets into plastic sleeves and allow students to use wipe-away pens on the sleeves is a good way to extend the life of a worksheet — and it adds and element of fun for kids who love the chance to use pens!
- Use digital worksheets. Allow students to fill out their worksheets on classroom tablets as a means to add an extra level of engagement.
It's Not Just a Worksheet
The key to effective worksheets comes down to how you use them — a balanced approach to education combines worksheets with other instructional strategies — from hands-on activities to group work to project-based learning.
So what can you get from worksheets?
Consider this — early years students can work on their fine motor skills with our mini books, cut-and-paste worksheets and more while their upper years peers get pulled into the fun of vocabulary fun with word searches and crossword puzzle worksheets. Printable puzzles that engage students in the form of a brain game and colour by worksheets that bring art elements into maths and reading.
Worksheets also provide the opportunity for formative assessment and give your students a chance to practice problem-solving while they work independently.
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How To Make A Sandwich – Procedural Writing Activity
Get your students writing a procedure for their favourite sandwich with this example procedure text and writing scaffold.
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Location and Transformation Worksheets - Year 2
6 location and transformation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 5
8 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Geometric Reasoning Worksheets - Year 5
4 geometric reasoning worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Ordering Numbers Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Give students our ordering numbers cut-and-paste worksheets for a fun way to practise ordering numbers 1 through 100.
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The Three States of Matter – Year 5 Reading Worksheets
Use a Year 5 Reading Comprehension passage and worksheet to teach your students about the three states of matter.
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How Do Rocks Form? – Informative Text Sequencing Task
Help students learn about informative text structure and how rocks are formed with an engaging cut-and-paste sorting activity.
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Measuring Length Drawing Challenge Worksheeets
Make learning to use a centimetre ruler fun with an engaging set of Measurement Drawing Challenge Worksheets.
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Year 6 Metric Conversions Practice Sheets - Length
Practise converting, comparing, and ordering metric measurements with a Year 6 Metric Conversions worksheet pack.
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Measuring Length with Informal Units Worksheets
A worksheet to use when learning about measuring length using informal units.
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Dealing With Direct Speech - Worksheet
Use this worksheet when teaching students the rules for punctuating direct speech using double quotation marks.
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Paired Passage Worksheets - Thunderstorms
Use paired passages to help your student practise applying reading comprehension strategies.
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Creative Writing Prompt Choice Boards - Lower Primary
Encourage your little learners to write with fun writing prompts for years 1 and 2.
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Writing Out Loud: Dialogue Punctuation Worksheet
Practise using double quotation marks in writing with a Punctuating Dialogue worksheet.
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Year 7 Maths Test - Measuring Volume
Assess your students' skills with measuring volume using a printable Year 6 Volume Assessment.
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Who’s in Your Circle? Icebreaker Activity
Help your students find like-minded friends on the first day of school with a ‘Who’s in Your Circle?’ icebreaker activity.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages, and worksheets.
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Inferencing Worksheet
Use this worksheet with your students when teaching them how to make an inference.
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How to Draw a Gingerbread House Directed Drawing
Teach your students how to draw a gingerbread house with a printable guided drawing worksheet.
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Hooray Arrays! Multiplication Worksheet Pack
Download this set of array worksheets to use when teaching your students how to relate addition and multiplication.
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Expanded Form Worksheet Pack
Practise expanding 2-digit to 6-digit numbers with this set of 5 worksheets.
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Adjectives and Adverbs Worksheets (Silly Stories)
Have fun with your students creating silly stories together while teaching and learning about parts of speech (adverbs and adjectives)!
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Dot Day Pointillism Art Activity
Celebrate Dot Day and introduce your students to the artistic style of Pointillism with an exciting dot art project.
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Split Strategy Addition Worksheet Pack
Practise using the split strategy with this worksheet set.
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One More, One Less - Worksheet
Practise foundational addition and subtraction facts using the concepts of one more and one less.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Passage
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations.
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Spelling Words with -s, -es, and -ies Worksheets
Practise using the inflectional endings -s, -es, and -ies with a pack of printable spelling worksheets.
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Part-Part-Whole Addition and Subtraction Worksheets
Reinforce your students' understanding of how a bar model is used to solve 1-digit addition and subtraction number facts using the part-part-whole strategy.
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2D Shapes Comparison Worksheet
A set of two 2D shape worksheets for students to record their observations whilst comparing properties of 2D shapes.
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Identifying Fractions – Worksheet
Strengthen student understanding of fraction models, how to identify fractions on a number line and determine a fraction of a collection with this free worksheet.
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Map of the World - Labelling Activity
Discover and label the world's continents and oceans with this blank map of the world.
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Features of Maps - Worksheet
Apply knowledge of the components of a map to this map elements worksheet.