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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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 7
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the seven times tables.
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Crazy Boxes – 3 Times Tables
A fun multiplication worksheet where students create a colour pattern using 3 times tables.
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The Birthday Ride – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 3).
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2D Shape Activity Sheets
A set of nine worksheets where students demonstrate their understanding of various 2D shapes.
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All About Triangles Mini Booklet
A mini booklet to assist younger students in recognising and drawing triangles.
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Inference Car Classifieds - Worksheet
A series of car classifieds worksheets to use when teaching your students how to infer information from written texts.
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Introduction to Hardware and Software Sorting Activity
Guide students in understanding the difference between hardware and software with this cut and sort activity.
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School Font Tracing Alphabet with Arrows
Full page upper and lower case alphabet letters with arrows for tracing.
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Sequencing Activity - Homework is Unnecessary (Persuasive Text) - Simplified Version
A sequencing task using a simple persuasive text.
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Make an Eggshell Disappear - Science Experiment Booklet
Investigate chemical reactions with this hands-on experiment booklet.
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Circuit Diagrams Worksheet
A worksheet that explores how to read and write circuit diagrams.
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Eureka Stockade Fact Sheet and Comprehension Questions
A fact sheet and comprehension task to use when learning about The Eureka Stockade.
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Facts and Opinions - Caterpillars
A fun activity for students to use when identifying facts and opinions about caterpillars.
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Drawing on Demand - It's a Piece of Cake
An art activity that incorporates both drawing and listening skills.
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Colouring 2D Shapes Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate students' understanding of rectangles, squares, circles and triangles.
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Comprehension - Stop Polluting The Ocean
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text.
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Persuasive Texts Sequencing Activity
3 jumbled persuasive texts for students to sequence in the correct order.
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Number Sequencing to 1 000 - Worksheet
A place value worksheet to use when sequencing numbers to 1 000.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Year 3
16 number worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Exploring Poetry Worksheet - Onomatopoeia
A worksheet to help students understand onomatopoeia in poetry.
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In My Eyes (Poem) - Comprehension
A comprehension activity using poetry.
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Heroic Homophones Cloze Worksheet
Help your students select the correct homophone to use in context with this one-page cloze passage worksheet.
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Measuring Area with Informal Units
A worksheet to use when exploring the concept of measuring area with informal units.
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Country Investigation - Worksheet
A recording worksheet for students to use in the classroom when researching different countries and cultures.
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The Egyptian Pyramids - Comprehension Task
A 2 page comprehension task for students to use in the classroom when learning about the Egyptian pyramids.
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Diagram of a Rock Cycle Worksheet Pack
Use our Rock Cycle Diagram Worksheet set and Cloze Passage to introduce your students to the processes in the rock cycle.
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Reflexive Pronouns Worksheet Pack
Use this reflexive pronouns worksheet pack to get your students identifying and using these essential parts of speech.
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Indefinite Pronouns Worksheet Pack
Use this indefinite pronouns worksheet pack to get your students identifying and using these essential parts of speech.
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Fair Testing in Science - Differentiated Experimental Design Worksheets
Use a differentiated experimental design worksheet to introduce your students to the concept of fair testing in science.
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Scientific Investigation Skills Worksheet
Help students begin the process of a scientific investigation with an introduction to the scientific method activity sheet.
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Year 5 Properties of Matter Activity - Scavenger Hunt
Explore the observable properties of matter in the classroom environment with a Year 5 Matter Scavenger hunt.
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Place Value Poster Set — Whole Numbers
Display this colourful place value poster set in your classroom to remind your students of place values to the millions and billions.