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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Epic Editing Workbook – Year 5 and Year 6
Use this edit a paragraph worksheet pack to get your students practising and refining their proofreading skills.
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Personal Recount Sequencing Activity - Surprise!
A worksheet to use in the classroom when learning the sequence of a personal recount.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Year 6
6 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Free Rainbow Writing Template Pack
Brighten up your spelling homework toolbox with a Free Rainbow Writing Template Pack!
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Cartesian Plane Printable Valentine’s Day Picture
Graph our Cartesian Plane Printable Valentine’s Day Picture with your students to share the love.
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Number Lines – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Cut and paste to complete the number lines with differentiated number line worksheets.
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Place Value Worksheets (Platypus Theme)
Practise expanded notation and writing numbers in words with the Place Value Platypus.
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Personal Recount Sequencing Activity - Police Car Ride
A worksheet to use in the classroom when learning the sequence of a personal recount.
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Very Important Verbs Worksheet
Explore verbs within the context of the well-known story of The Gingerbread Man.
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Run-On Sentence Editing Worksheet Pack
Practise editing examples of run-on sentences with a printable Run-On Sentence Worksheet pack.
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Odd and Even Properties Worksheet
Predict and confirm if the product of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing sums is odd or even.
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Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Persuasive Text)
A sequencing task using a persuasive text.
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Describe That Decimal Worksheet
Explore the place value of decimals with this versatile one-page printable worksheet.
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Number Sequencing to 100 - Worksheet
A raindrop themed place value worksheet to use when sequencing numbers to 100.
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Cartesian Planes Worksheets
Utilise this Cartesian plane worksheet set to give your students practise locating and plotting points on the Cartesian plane.
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Daily Maths Word Problems – Year 3
A set of 20 problem solving questions suited to year 3 students.
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Read, Find and Colour – CVC Words
Consolidate your students' decoding skills with this set of search and find worksheets.
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Build and Write a Sentence – Worksheets
A set of 10 worksheets to enable students to practise building and writing sentences.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 2
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the two times tables.
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Split Class/Fast Finisher Booklet - Middle Years
A booklet to use when classes are split or as fast finisher activities.
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Comprehension - Tia's Tantrum
A comprehension activity using a narrative text.
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Simple Addition Riddle Worksheet
Download this simple addition worksheet to provide your students with practice adding one- and two-digit numbers.
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Using Cardinal Directions – Worksheet
A worksheet to practise using cardinal directions.
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Read and Colour Worksheet – Common and Proper Nouns
A worksheet to practise identifying common and proper nouns.
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Year 2 Spelling Practice Worksheets - Weekly Homework
Make assigning homework easy all year with Year 2 Spelling Practice Worksheets.
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Using Persuasive Devices Worksheet
Use this persuasive devices worksheet to help your students create persuasive device examples based on a specific topic.
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Skip Counting by 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 Posters and Worksheets
Practise and review skip counting by 2,3,4,5,and 10 with a pack of printable skip counting charts and worksheets.
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Map of Australia - Labelling Activity
Discover and label Australia's states, capital cities and key landmarks on this blank map.
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Skip Counting Worksheet — Counting by 2, 5 and 10
Practise counting by 2, 5 and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.
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Tenterfield Oration - Fact Sheet and Comprehension
A fact sheet and comprehension task to use when learning about The Tenterfield Oration.
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Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 4
4 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Skip Counting Worksheet
A worksheet focusing on skip counting and number patterns.