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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Formation of Earth – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Use this reading comprehension activity that helps develop literacy skills and outlines the events and processes that led to the formation of our home planet.
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Cardinal Directions Worksheet for First Grade
Use cardinal directions to create a simple town map with this 2-page cut-and-paste activity sheet.
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Sloth Valentine’s Day Cards
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom with printable Valentines.
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Weather Tools – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Match weather tools with their corresponding picture and description with this cut and paste worksheet.
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The Water Cycle – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Enhance your students’ comprehension and science vocabulary skills with this water cycle worksheet.
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Goods and Services Worksheet
Determine examples of goods and services with an economics worksheet.
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Color by Sight Words - 6 Words - Toucan
A fun coloring activity to use when working with sight words.
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Color by Number – Multiplication Fact Practice (Mixed)
Practice multiplication facts through 12 with this fun color by number worksheet.
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Find and Color - Verb Tense Worksheet
Differentiate between different verb tenses through this 1-page coloring worksheet.
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Past, Present, and Future Simple Tense Verbs Worksheet
Practice identifying past, present, and future tense verbs with this ad-lib style worksheet.
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2-Digit by 1-Digit Multiplication Worksheet
A worksheet for students to practice multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1-digit.
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Living or Nonliving? - Worksheet
A worksheet that explores living and nonliving things.
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6-Digit Number of the Day Worksheet
A 6-digit place value worksheet to represent the number of the day in different ways.
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Inspirational Woman Profile: Malala Yousafzai – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension task to use when learning about Malala Yousafzai.
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Inspirational Woman Profile: Brooke Boney – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension task to use when learning about Brooke Boney.
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Number Sequencing to 100 - Worksheet
A raindrop themed place value worksheet to use when sequencing numbers to 100.
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Latitude and Longitude Worksheet
Use this free latitude and longitude worksheet along with Google Maps to teach your students about longitude and latitude.
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Novel Study – Making Predictions Before Reading Worksheet
Make predictions before reading a novel with this novel study worksheet.
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Making Predictions Multiple Choice Worksheet Set
Improve students' reading comprehension with our Making Predictions Multiple Choice Worksheet PDF, which features engaging short stories.
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5th Grade Editing Worksheets
Use these 5th grade editing worksheets to get your students fixing incomplete sentences, spelling errors and punctuation errors.
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Beginning Letter Sound Picture Match Worksheet Pack
Explore single letter sounds with this picture match worksheet pack for your kindergarten students.
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5th Grade Matter Properties Worksheet - Scavenger Hunt
Explore the observable properties of matter in the classroom environment with a Matter Properties Worksheet and activity for 5th grade.
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Comparing Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers Worksheet Set
Use our comparing improper fractions to mixed numbers worksheet set to give your students practice representing and comparing fractions.
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Scientific Method Worksheet - Vocabulary Match
Use a Scientific Method Worksheet to review key science experiment vocabulary words.
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Real-World Math Problems on the Coordinate Plane Worksheet Set
Interpret real-world math problems on the coordinate plane with our differentiated worksheet set.
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Properties of Matter Reading Comprehension Pack (2-3)
Read and discover the properties of matter with a set of 2nd Grade/3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets.
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Sink or Float? Free Kindergarten Science Worksheet
Identify objects that sink and float with a printable cut-and-paste science worksheet for Kindergarten.
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Animal Shelter Operations - Metric Conversion Math Task
Bring metric conversions into the real world with an engaging Animal Shelter Metric Conversions Math Task.
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Number Handwriting Practice Worksheets
Provide number handwriting practice to your students with this set of worksheets for the numbers 0 through 20.
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Firetruck Color By Number Worksheet
Build number identification skills with a printable Firetruck Color by Number Worksheet.
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Measurement Conversions - Length – Worksheet
Use ratio reasoning to practice converting length measurements with this worksheet.
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Compound Words Vocabulary Foldable
Create a fun Compound Word foldable with a printable template for your students’ interactive notebooks.