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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Ruth Bader Ginsberg Comprehension Activity
Learn about the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a reading comprehension passage, assessment, and vocabulary practice worksheets.
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Exploring Figurative Language in Poetry Workbook
Teach your upper elementary and middle school students to read, analyze, and discuss poetry with a printable and digital poetry workbook.
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Converting Decimals, Fractions, and Percentages – Worksheet
Strengthen your students’ understanding of how to convert a percent to a decimal and a fraction with this worksheet.
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Using Tape Diagrams to Find the Whole From a Percent – Worksheet
Calculate the whole from a percent by using tape diagrams with this worksheet.
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Volume of Composite Rectangular Prisms – Worksheet
Calculate the volume of composite figures and solve real-world problems with this worksheet.
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Silent Letters Worksheet Pack
Use these 5 ghost letter worksheets for practicing the use and identification of silent letters in words.
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Silent Letters Worksheets - Read, Find, and Color
Identify letters that are silent with this set of three find and color worksheets.
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Soccer Stories - Problem Solving Worksheets
Practice multiplication, division, and problem solving skills with a high-interest soccer-themed scenario activity.
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World War I Comprehension Packet
Blend reading and social studies content with a printable set of World War 1 Reading Passages and accompanying question sets.
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Understanding Positive & Negative Numbers – Worksheet
Explore positive and negative numbers by plotting integers on a number line and identifying opposites with this worksheet.
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Inner vs. Outer Planets – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sort inner and outer planets with this cut-and-paste science worksheet.
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Prime and Composite Numbers Worksheet
A worksheet to practice the relationship between factors and prime and composite numbers.
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Converting Percentages – Worksheet
Practice converting a percent to a decimal or a fraction with this worksheet.
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First Responders Reading Passage - Comprehension
Celebrate and learn about the American heroes known as first responders with a reading passage and comprehension questions.
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Directed Drawing for Kids - How to Draw Corn on the Cob
Use this directed drawing activity with your students to teach them how to draw corn on the cob and enhance classroom listening.
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Life Without Tacos – Comprehension Passage Task
A reading passage about cultural diffusion paired with a comprehension worksheet.
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Living vs. Nonliving Things - Interactive and Printable Sorting Activity
Compare the characteristics of living and nonliving things with this cut-and-paste Venn Diagram worksheet.
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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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5th Grade Place Value Assessment
Assess student understanding of place value, rounding, and comparing decimals with this math assessment.
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Learn fun facts about Elizabeth Cady Stanton with a differentiated comprehension passage and assessment.
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Susan B. Anthony - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Learn fun facts about Susan B. Anthony with a differentiated comprehension passage and assessment.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals – Differentiated Mystery Image Worksheets
Have students practice adding and subtracting decimals with this mystery image 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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Volume of Rectangular Prisms – Digital and Printable Worksheet
Practice finding the volume of rectangular prisms with a “This or That” worksheet.
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Harriet Tubman Comprehension Worksheet
Uncover facts about Harriet Tubman with a Reading Passage and Comprehension worksheet.
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Ada Lovelace - Cut and Paste Shapes and Patterns Activity
Explore shapes and patterns with the female programmer, Ada Lovelace, with this cut-and-paste activity for young students.
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Women's Suffrage - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a differentiated comprehension passage and worksheet about Women’s Suffrage.
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The French and Indian War - Passage and Graphic Organizer
Reveal another chapter in American History with a reading passage and graphic organizer worksheet on the French and Indian War.
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Positive, Comparative, Superlative Adverbs Worksheet
Practice using positive, comparative, and superlative adverbs with an adverb 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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Sorting Needs and Wants for Kindergarten - Worksheet and Google Interactive
Practice identifying basic needs and wants with a cut-and-paste sorting worksheet or Google Interactive Resource.
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Looking at Landforms Worksheet
Identify the major landforms of the world with a labeling worksheet.