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.
- Plus Plan
States of Matter - Color by Code Worksheet
Engage your students and have fun identifying the states of matter with a color-by-code worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Cut and Paste Matching Verb Tense Worksheet
Practice identifying past, present and future tense in verbs using this set of cut and paste worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Verb Group Hunt Worksheet Pack
Explore verb groups with your students using this verb group hunt worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
All About Smoke Alarms Fact File & Writing Activity
Learn all about smoke alarms and boost writing skills with a printable fact file and writing scaffold worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Measuring Length Drawing Challenge Worksheets
Make learning to use a centimeter ruler fun with an engaging set of Measurement Drawing Challenge Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Shades of Meaning in Verbs Worksheet Pack
Help your students explore different verbs for their writing with these shades of meaning verb worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Onset and Rime Worksheet Pack
Explore all the different word families based on onset and rime words with this fun and engaging onset and rime worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Heavy and Light Worksheet Pack
Practice knowledge of heavy and light with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Roll and Cover Onset and Rime Activity Pack
Practice decoding onset and rime words with this short vowel onset and rime activity pack.
- Plus Plan
Onset and Rime Match-Ups Worksheet Pack
Practice matching onset and rime with simple cvc words with this set of matching worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Making Predictions with Pictures - Worksheets
Practice making predictions based on illustrations with a set of printable Making Predictions With Pictures Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Earth's Hemispheres Worksheets
Practice identifying landforms in the northern and southern hemispheres with a pair of printable geography worksheets.
- Free Plan
Informal Mass Scavenger Hunt Worksheets
Practice using balance scales to determine the weight of objects using informal units with these fun scavenger hunt worksheets.
- Free Plan
Paralympic Games Count and Color Worksheets
Count and tally Paralympic icons with our engaging I Spy Worksheets, perfect for enhancing your students' observation and counting skills.
- Plus Plan
Sequence an Information Text – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these informational text examples to teach your students about sequencing facts in a logical order.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Letter Writing Task - 2nd Grade
Improve student composition with an engaging persuasive letter-writing task.
- Free Plan
Comparing Mass With Balance Scales Worksheet
Practice comparing and contrasting the mass of objects as shown on balance scales with this set of mass measurement worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Stretchy Sentences Worksheet
Use this worksheet to help your students write detailed and descriptive sentences.
- Plus Plan
5th & 6th Grade Metric Conversions Worksheets - Length
Practice converting, comparing, and ordering metric measurements with Metric Conversions practice sheets for 5th and 6th grade.
- Plus Plan
Quotation Marks Quiz
Test your students' skills on how to use quotation marks with a printable ‘Using Quotation Marks Quiz’.
- Plus Plan
Simple Addition Riddle Worksheet
Download this simple addition worksheet to provide your students with practice adding one- and two-digit numbers.
- Plus Plan
Quotation Mark Sorting Worksheet
Sort examples of correct and incorrect dialogue punctuation with a cut-and-paste quotation marks worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Two-Digit Addition Using the Split Strategy – Poster and Worksheets
Teach your students how to use partitioning for two-digit addition with this ice cream-themed poster and worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Measurement Worksheets - 3rd & 4th Grade
Practice measuring length, volume, capacity, time, and more with a printable pack of 3rd grade measurement worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Hamburger Paragraph Poster and Worksheet
Teach your students how to correctly structure a paragraph using this hamburger-themed classroom poster and paragraph planning scaffold.
- Free Plan
Measuring, Comparing, and Ordering Height – Worksheet
Measure length using informal units with an engaging hands-on collaborative measurement activity.
- Plus Plan
Environmental Impact Science Experiments
Use these simple science experiments to teach your students about environmental issues such as oil and water pollution, soil quality and climate change.
- Plus Plan
A or An Worksheets
Teach when to use A or An as an article with a printable pack of 'A or An' Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Paired Passage Worksheets - Thunderstorms (3-4)
Use paired passages to help your student practice applying reading comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Natural Disasters - Flood Simulation Experiment
A hands-on experiment to use when exploring natural disasters.
- Plus Plan
Monthly Writing Prompt Calendars - Lower Grades
Encourage your little learners to write with fun writing prompts for kids in early elementary school.
- Plus Plan
5th Grade - Order of Operations Quiz
Assess your students' ability to write and evaluate numerical expressions by using the order of operations with this 5th grade math assessment.