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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Word Mapping Recording Sheets
Practice mapping out words and segmenting their phonemes using these word mapping templates.
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Fraction Partner Tasks - 4th Grade Fractions
Encourage mathematical collaboration and discussion with a group of thirteen 4th-grade fractions partner activities.
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Comparing Energy Sources Worksheet & Graphic Organizer
Compare and contrast different types of renewable energy sources with a printable graphic organizer.
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Synonyms and Antonyms - Worksheet Pack
Practice identifying and using synonyms and antonyms with five fun synonym and antonym worksheets.
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Coloring 2-D Shapes Worksheet
Practice identifying rectangles, squares, circles, and triangles with this 1-page worksheet.
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Discover Egypt – Geography Worksheets
A workbook for students to use their investigation and map while learning about physical geography in Egypt.
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Differentiated Number Pattern Worksheets
Practice completing number patterns and determining their rules with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Poetry and Figurative Language Workbook - Poems for Middle School
Print a pack of poems with figurative language worksheets to practice poetry analysis.
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Forms of Energy & Electricity Vocabulary Worksheets
Review forms of energy and electricity terms with this science vocabulary worksheet pack.
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13 Colonies Reading Passages - New England, Southern, and Middle Colonies
Build reading comprehension skills and knowledge of the New England, Southern, and Middle colonies with printable comprehension worksheets.
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Glorious Grammar Volume 1 Workbook
50 activities in one booklet which all revolve around learning grammar in the classroom.
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Christmas Plural Nouns Worksheet
Practice identifying singular and plural nouns with this Christmas worksheet.
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Christmas - Simple, Complex, and Compound Sentence Sort
Practice reading, identifying, and writing simple, compound, and complex sentences with a Christmas cut and paste worksheet.
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Christmas Word Scramble & Answers
Have a bit of word-friendly fun with a Christmas Word Scramble and answers.
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Brazilian Tinsel Tail Bird Ornament Craft
Introduce students to Christmas in Brazil with a printable tinsel-tailed bird Christmas ornament template.
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Christmas Color-By-Addition-Fact Worksheets
Boost addition skills and bring a bit of Christmas magic into the classroom with Christmas color-by-number addition worksheets.
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I Spy - Christmas Printable
Find, color, and count the Christmas objects in these fun printable Christmas I Spy worksheets.
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Estimating Decimal Sums and Differences – Worksheet
Refine rounding skills with an estimating decimal sums and differences worksheet.
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Word Study List - Long E Words
Explore and practice the many ways to spell the long E sound with a list of 50 long E words.
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Fall Math Worksheets - Addition to 99
Celebrate the coming of Fall and practice adding 2-digit numbers up to 99 with a set of four Fall color-by-number 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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Our Solar System - Interactive and Printable Cloze Reading Activity
Practice and review concepts associated with the solar system using a cloze passage.
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Texas Map Symbols Worksheet
Use a map key and symbols to identify and name land features, cities, and regions of Texas with a worksheet.
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Reading a Map Grid Worksheet
Develop elementary grade map skills with a coordinate grid worksheet.
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Thanksgiving Themed Division Riddles - Worksheet
Have a bit of Thanksgiving math fun with a division color by number worksheet.
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Equations, Tables, and Graphs, Oh My! – Differentiated Worksheets
Use these differentiated worksheets to practice using equations to create patterns within input-output tables and graphs.
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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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Boston Tea Party Reading and Writing Pack
Enhance your students' close reading strategies, vocabulary, and writing skills with a Boston Tea Party reading passage and accompanying activities.
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Thanksgiving Build-a-Sentence Worksheet
Build and write sentences about Thanksgiving with a cut-and-paste Thanksgiving worksheet for kindergarten and first grade.
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4th Grade Writing Worksheets: Tornado Text-Based Writing
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills using 4th Grade writing worksheets and a high-interest reading passage about Tornadoes.
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Boston Massacre Passage and Writing Prompt Worksheet
Learn facts about the Boston Massacre with an informational reading passage and an informational writing prompt for fourth grade.
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Skip Counting by 2, 5, & 10 – Worksheet
Practice counting by 2, 5, and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.