Worksheets for Teachers
Did someone say printable worksheets? From 2nd-grade math worksheets and 4th-grade reading comprehension worksheets to Common Core worksheets 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 elementary grade levels.
Explore printable activities, free worksheets, homework sheets and more — 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 individualized instruction was gaining traction, and educators recognized 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 individualized 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, practicing 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 markers 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 markers!
- Use digital worksheets. Allow students to fill out their worksheets on classroom tablets as a means to add an extra level of engagement.
- Focus on rigor. It's important to differentiate instruction, and the worksheets assigned to students should be appropriate to their needs — but they should not just be busy work. Ensure there's a challenge at hand to hold kids' attention!
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 — primary-aged students can work on their fine motor skills with our mini book, cut and paste worksheets, and more while their older elementary peers get pulled into the fun of vocabulary fun with word searches and crossword puzzle worksheets.
Printable puzzles engage students in the form of a brain game, and color by worksheets bring art elements into math 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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Black Leaders in History - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Dive into learning about influential black history leaders with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Reading Comprehension Worksheet - American Flag Facts
Boost reading comprehension skills and knowledge of American flag facts with a printable reading comprehension worksheet.
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U.S. Symbols Reading Comprehension - Differentiated
Boost reading comprehension skills and knowledge of United States’ symbols with differentiated comprehension worksheets.
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Forest Biome Food Web – Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Abraham Lincoln Brochure Project
Demonstrate learning about the Abraham Lincoln’s contributions to America with a brochure project.
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Who's Who - Dr. Mae Jemison
Learn about Dr. Mae Jemison with this cut-and-paste activity for younger students.
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Volume of Rectangular Prisms Mini-Book
Learn and practice how to find the volume of a rectangular prism with this mini-book.
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Writing Singular Possessive Nouns Worksheet
Practice writing singular possessive nouns with a possessive worksheet.
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Executive Branch Worksheet Pack
Learn about the leaders and responsibilities of the Executive Branch of the United States government with printable comprehension worksheets.
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Verb Tense Worksheet
Provide students with additional verb tense practice with a past, present, and future tense worksheet.
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When Winter Comes - Poetry Analysis Worksheet
Printable poem for upper elementary students to practice analyzing poetry.
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Percentage Problems
A set of two worksheets covering percentages.
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Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement Worksheet
Craft an chronological timeline for students to visually model the events occurring during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Area Worksheets
Practice finding the area of different shapes with this set of 4 worksheets.
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Clara Barton Passage and Comprehension Worksheets
Uncover facts about Clara Barton with a reading passage and worksheet pack to practice comprehension, character analysis, and sequencing.
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Relating Decimals and Fractions Worksheet
Practice matching fractions with a denominator of 10 and 100 to decimals and vice versa.
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Christmas Symmetry Worksheets - Mirrored Drawing Activity
Explore symmetry with these printable Christmas-themed symmetry worksheets.
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Using Coordinate Grids-Map Skills Worksheets
A set of 13 worksheets to help teach map skills to students.
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Recycling I Spy and Sort Worksheet
Sort different pieces of trash into their appropriate bins with this I Spy worksheet.
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The Changing Seasons Comprehension Worksheets
Read and write about the changing seasons with a comprehension passage and worksheet.
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Graphing Using Input-Output Tables – Differentiated Worksheets
Use data from input-output tables to graph points with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Same Perimeter, Different Area Word Problems – Worksheet
Practice solving multi-step word problems involving objects that have the same perimeter but different areas.
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Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
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Checks and Balances - RACES Writing Prompt Worksheet
Practice using the RACES writing strategy and unravel the mysteries of the U.S. Government system of checks and balances with a passage, organizer, and prompt.
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Henry Ford - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Provide students with Social Studies and Writing instruction using the RACES strategy for constructed response paragraphs.
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Was/Were Subject Verb Agreement Worksheet
Provide students with additional subject-verb agreement practice with a worksheet focusing on using was and were correctly
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Grammar Grid - Parts of Speech Mystery Picture (Crab)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Phoneme Segmentation Worksheets - CVC Words
Use this worksheet pack to give students practice at segmenting words into phonemes.
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Black History Profile: Carol Moseley Braun - Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
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Read and Color Worksheet - Singular and Plural Nouns
A worksheet to practice identifying singular and plural nouns.
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Free Map Skills Worksheet- Using Cardinal Directions
A worksheet to practice using cardinal directions.
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Measuring My Body – Comparing Heights Activity
Explore linear measurement with an engaging collaborative activity where students measure different body parts and compare them