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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Irregular Past Tense Verbs Worksheet
A worksheet that helps students identify irregular verbs.
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Context Detectives Worksheet
A set of 3 worksheets for students to practice using context clues to identify the meaning of a word.
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Adjectives Review Worksheet
Practice identifying adjectives in a sentence with this lesson review worksheet.
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Capitalization Worksheet - Months, Days, Holidays, Titles, Places
A worksheet to practice proper capitalization.
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A Fistful of Flavors Alliteration Activity
Make alliteration fun with a printable worksheet that challenges students to create flavors of ice cream.
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Possessive Nouns Worksheet
A worksheet to practice writing possessive nouns correctly.
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Parts of a Book Cut and Paste Activity
Identify the various parts of a book with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Common and Proper Nouns Sort - Cut and Paste Worksheet
A sorting worksheet to practice identifying common and proper nouns.
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Sweet Sight Words Worksheet - MADE
Practice reading, writing, and identifying the high-frequency word “made” from the Second Grade Dolch sight words list.
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Sweet Sight Words Worksheet - COULD
Practice reading, writing, and identifying the high-frequency word “could” from the First Grade Dolch sight words list.
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Sweet Sight Words Worksheet - SOME
Practice reading, writing, and identifying the high-frequency word “some” from the First Grade Dolch sight words list.
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Order of Operations Worksheet
Solve equations using the order of operations with this one-page worksheet.
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Adjectives and the Senses – Worksheet
Organize adjectives into the most appropriate sense with this cut and paste sorting worksheet.
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Text Features Worksheet
Download this nonfiction text features worksheet so students can practice locating different types of text features found in a nonfiction text.
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Factor Trees Worksheet Set
Print a free factor trees worksheet set for 5th or 6th graders to practice prime factorization.
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Developing a Growth Mindset Worksheets
Help your students develop a growth mindset and set achievable goals with a printable pack of growth mindset worksheets.
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Subject and Object Pronouns Worksheet
Download this 2-page worksheet to get your students using objective and subjective pronouns.
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Crabbing at Night – Sequencing Worksheet
Identify the story beginning, series of events and ending with this narrative text sequencing activity.
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Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Opinion Text)
A sequencing task using an opinion text.
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A Thinker Like Me Poem - Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with a poem about a thinker.
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Using Positional Words - Worksheets
Three worksheets using positioning vocabulary.
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Frog in a Pond - Color by Numbers
Color by numbers is a fun and easy way to help students recognize digits 1-6.
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Suffix Worksheet: -ty and -ity
Practice using the suffixes -ty and -ity with a printable suffix worksheet.
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Note-Taking Practice Worksheets
Use this set of note-taking practice worksheets to help your students identify key facts, details and vocabulary when researching information.
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My Broken Ankle - Narrative Text Structure Worksheet
A worksheet for teaching students how to write using a basic narrative text structure.
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Identifying Informative Language Worksheets
Explore the types of language found in expository writing using this set of three reports on a variety of age-appropriate topics.
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How To Make A Sandwich – Procedural Writing Activity
Get your students writing a procedure for their favorite sandwich with this example procedure text and writing scaffold.
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Active Voice and Passive Voice Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when learning about active voice and passive voice.
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Alphabet Handwriting Sheets - Including Non-Examples
Handwriting sheets with opportunities for students to trace, identify and write the letters of the alphabet.
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Fractions and Decimals Assessment
Assess students' knowledge of various decimals and percentages concepts with this four-page worksheet.
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Comprehension - Science Experiment
A fun script and set of questions to help students develop reading and comprehension strategies.
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Compare and Order Decimals – 5th Grade Math Worksheet
Build decimal place value understanding with a printable worksheet for comparing and ordering decimals.