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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The Boston Massacre Reading and Writing Worksheets
Integrate Reading and Social Studies content with a set of Boston Massacre worksheets.
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Levels of Government Worksheet - Responsibilities of Each Level
Sort the duties of state, local, and national government with a free sorting worksheet.
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Using Clues to Determine Meaning Worksheet
Practice defining unfamiliar words by looking for context clues within a sentence.
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Making Connections Graphic Organizer
A graphic organizer for students to record text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.
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Finding Word Meaning In Context - Word Detective Worksheet
A teaching resource to help teach your students how to find word meaning in context.
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Beginning, Middle End Worksheets
Explore the main structure and story elements in a short story with these beginning, middle and end worksheets.
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Who Was Kiki Camarena? 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about the origins of Red Ribbon Week with a printable ‘Who Was Kiki Camarena?’ Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack.
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Number Recognition Worksheets — Numbers 1 - 20
Use these number recognition worksheets to help your students master a variety of math skills for the numbers 1 through 20.
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I Can Count to 5 Mini-Book
Count small objects up to 5 with this printable counting mini book.
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Count and Graph Worksheet Pack
Explore counting and graphing skills with this set of three worksheets.
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Unit Fraction Coloring Sheet
Crack the color code and practice unit fractions all while coloring some fun images.
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Secret Santa Questionnaire Template
Hand out a Secret Santa Questionnaire to kick off your classroom or school-wide Secret Santa Game!
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Christmas Math Worksheets - Sums to 12 Activity
Practice finding number bonds and sums to 12 using printable Christmas Math worksheets for first grade.
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Worksheet
Practice penmanship by tracing and writing uppercase and lowercase letters.
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What Do Plants Need? Worksheets
Cut, paste, and read about what plants need to survive with a pair of printable plant worksheets.
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Prefix Fun! - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Cut and paste to build words with prefixes with an fun and free prefix worksheet.
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Where Do Natural Resources Come From? Differentiated Worksheet
Explore where natural resources are found with a pair of differentiated natural resource worksheets.
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Ratio Tables – Worksheet
Determine missing values to show the relationship between quantities with this free ratio tables worksheet.
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Three Branches of Government Sort
Learn about the branches of the U.S. government, each branch's responsibilities and those that are involved in each branch using a sorting activity.
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Christmas Capitalization Worksheet
Reinforce capitalization rules for months, proper nouns, titles, the pronoun I, and more with a Christmas capitalization worksheet.
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The Bill of Rights Simplified - Cloze Passage
Build vocabulary and understanding of the U.S. Constitution with a fill-in-the-blank cloze passage on the Bill of Rights.
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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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Labeling the Continents and Oceans Worksheets
Turn geography into a fun and educational learning experience by using our free Continents and Oceans worksheets!
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Counting Pennies Worksheet
Practice identifying the front and backside of pennies when given a collection of coins.
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Count the Nickels Worksheet
Use skip counting and addition skills to determine the number of nickels needed for a given amount.
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Addition Strategy - Counting On Worksheet
Solve addition problems in this 2-page Counting On Addition Worksheet.
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Library Scavenger Hunt for Upper Elementary Grades
Explore the school library with a scavenger hunt!
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Fascinating Facts About Animals – Comprehension Worksheet
Build reading comprehension skills and learn about amazing animals with a printable 1st grade reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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Push and Pull Sorting Worksheet
Use this push and pull sorting worksheet when exploring forces and motion with your 3rd grade students.
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Build an Animal Fact File – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use this set of 5 writing prompts to assess your students’ informative writing skills.
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3rd Grade Editing Practice Worksheets
Use these 3rd grade editing practice worksheets to get your students fixing incomplete sentences, spelling errors and punctuation errors.
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Punctuation Worksheet Pack (1st-3rd)
Download our no-prep punctuation worksheets to help your students practice their skills with using a variety of punctuation marks.