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.
- Plus Plan
Colour-Coding Summarising Fiction Text Worksheets
Practise summarising small fiction texts with this fun colour-coding set of worksheets.
- Free Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Amazing Ants! – Comprehension Worksheet Year 1-2
Review reading skills with comprehension worksheet for an article about ants from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 3).
- Plus Plan
Multiplication With Equal Groups – Colour by Number Worksheet
Guide your students to determine a multiplication problem for an equal groups model with this colour-by-number worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Subordinating Conjunctions Worksheet
Use this worksheet to enable students to practise identifying and constructing sentences using subordinating conjunctions.
- Free Plan
Consonant Digraph Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Reinforce your students' knowledge of digraphs with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Inferencing Worksheet
Use this worksheet with your students when teaching them how to make an inference.
- Plus Plan
Match the Arrays Worksheet Pack
Give your students practise matching arrays and multiplication facts with these math worksheets for years 2 and 3.
- Plus Plan
Parts of Speech Word Search (Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs) – Worksheet
A word search where students find and categorise nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
- Plus Plan
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)!
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Device Examples – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Match the persuasive writing techniques with the correct examples using this simple cut-and-paste worksheet perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
- Plus Plan
Innovative Inventors - Year 4 Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Meet famous inventors in history with this informational text and comprehension questions activity
- Free Plan
My Safety Plan Worksheet
Create a safety plan to help understand what to do or who to go to when you feel unsafe.
- Plus Plan
Basic Subtraction Word Problems - Worksheet
Solve subtraction word problems by drawing picture models with a printable subtraction worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Spelling Words with -s, -es, and -ies Worksheets
Practise using the inflectional endings -s, -es, and -ies with a pack of printable spelling worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Scissor Skills Worksheets — Printable Snowflake Templates
Build scissor skills and create wintry classroom decorations with a pack of easy snowflake templates.
- Plus Plan
Adding and Subtracting Integers - Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the positive and negative number code with four adding and subtracting integers worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Deforestation – Infographic Poster and Worksheet
Read and learn about deforestation with an engaging infographic and comprehension worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Evaluating Expressions With Exponents – Worksheet
Practise evaluating expressions with exponents with this order of operations worksheet for year 6 and 7 students.
- Plus Plan
Create Your Own Map - Worksheet
Create simple maps of familiar places with this set of map templates and accompanying comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan
Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Practice 2-digit subtraction with regrouping with this drill and practice worksheet.
- Free Plan
The Enigma of AX29 - Narrative Plot Worksheet
Explore the features of narrative plot structure with this gripping science fiction story.
- Plus Plan
Read, Find and Colour – CVC Words
Consolidate your students' decoding skills with this set of search and find worksheets.
- Free Plan
Linking Addition and Subtraction Worksheet
Explore the relationship between addition and subtraction with a fact family worksheet.
- Free Plan
Colour by Number - 3 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 12
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the twelve times tables.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 9
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the nine times tables.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 4
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the four times tables.
- Plus Plan
Stage-Themed Book Review Worksheet
Use this book review worksheet with children after they have read a story.
- Plus Plan
Grammar and Punctuation Assessment Tool – Year 4
A set of 5 grammar and punctuation assessment tools suited to Year 4 students.
- Plus Plan
Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Persuasive Text) - Simplified Version
A sequencing task using a simple persuasive text.
- Free Plan
Bumping-Up Procedure Texts Worksheet
Download these procedural writing worksheets to get your students bumping-up some simple procedure texts.