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.
- Free Plan
Great Barrier Reef Comprehension and Note Taking Worksheet
Learn about The Great Barrier Reef with a reading comprehension and note-taking activity.
- Plus Plan
Build an Animal Fact File – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these animal fact file cut-and-paste worksheets as a precursor to information report writing.
- Plus Plan
Year 5 Mental Maths Drills Workbook
Get the mental strategies flowing with this ten-page mental maths booklet covering the four operations.
- Plus Plan
Introduction to Unit Fractions Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to unit fractions with this set of teacher-created worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Fluency Reading Passage Pack- Year 1
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for Year 1.
- Plus Plan
Mother's Day Questionnaires
Celebrate the special ladies in your students’ lives with a fun and funny Mother’s Day Questionnaire.
- Plus Plan
Fluency Reading Passages (Year 2)
Download a printable pack of Year 2 reading fluency passages with a printable ORF assessment pack.
- Plus Plan
Compound Sentences Worksheet Pack
Build your students' knowledge of using coordinating conjunctions using this compound sentences worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Area and Perimeter Paddock Problems – Worksheets
Use these worksheets when working on finding the area and perimeter of shapes using familiar metric units.
- Free Plan
1–120 Number Charts With Missing Numbers
A set of 5 worksheets with missing numbers from 1–120.
- Free Plan
Multiples and Factors Worksheet Set
Use this multiples and factors worksheet set to help your students identify factor and multiple number pairs.
- Plus Plan
Narrative Sentence Starter Worksheets
Use our printable narrative writing prompt worksheets to boost your students' imaginative writing skills.
- Plus Plan
Identifying Prime and Composite Numbers – Worksheet
Use understanding of factors to identify composite and prime numbers with this worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Information Report Structure Worksheet – The Apple iPad
Teach your students about information report structure with this cut-and-paste sequencing worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Year 3 Reading Fluency Passages
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for Year 3.
- Plus Plan
Shape Worksheet Sets (Foundation to Grade 6 Level)
Use these levelled worksheets sets with your primary school students to explore 2D shapes and 3D objects!
- Plus Plan
Analogue Time to the Half Hour – Worksheets
Practise telling time to the half-hour with a fun set of printable Telling Time Worksheets for Grade 1.
- Plus Plan
List of Persuasive Devices
Download this list of persuasive devices for your students to refer to when writing a persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
Equivalent Fractions – Worksheet Pack
Use fraction models, strip diagrams and number lines to determine equivalent fractions with this worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
All About My Mum - Worksheet
Describe what they love about their mother, aunt, or grandmother with this fill-in-the-boxes worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Fact Families Multiplication and Division Worksheets
Download these fact families multiplication and division worksheets to help your students visualise fact families with arrays.
- Plus Plan
Area Model Multiplication Worksheets
Guide your students to use the area model when solving multi-digit multiplication problems with this 20-page worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Biography Examples and Analysis Worksheet
Use these biography examples with accompanying analysis worksheets to teach your students about the purpose, structure and language features of biographical texts.
- Plus Plan
Converting Time Worksheet - 12 to 24 Hour Time
Review how to convert 12-hour to 24 hour time with a printable converting time worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Decimal Place Value Worksheets
Use these decimal place value worksheets to help your students analyse patterns in decimal place values out to the thousandths place.
- Plus Plan
Place Value Colour by Number Worksheets
Share these place value colour by number worksheets with your students for a fun way to review place value up to the hundred thousands place.
- Free Plan
Free Letter Tracing Worksheets - State Fonts
Use letter tracing worksheets to help your students develop their handwriting and fine motor skills.
- Free Plan
Comparing Unit Fractions Worksheets
Compare different unit fractions using this teacher-created set of worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Changing Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers Worksheet Set
Give students this changing improper fractions to mixed numbers worksheet set to build their understanding through shading models.
- Plus Plan
Women In World War One Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Read to learn about women in World War I with a printable reading passage and comprehension worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Fact Family Houses Worksheet Pack
Use these fact family houses worksheet set to practise addition and subtraction fact families with your students.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Minute Maths Booklet
A maths mentals booklet with ten pages of multiplication and division questions.