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
Color by Number - Multiplication Facts of 7
Your students will love coloring while they practice their multiplication facts of 7 with this color by number worksheet.
- Free Plan
Three Little Pigs Area Worksheet
A worksheet to practice finding area using square units.
- Free Plan
Parts of a Book Worksheets
Use these parts of a book worksheets for students to identify the various parts of a book.
- Free Plan
Animals With Scales, Fur, Shells and Feathers Worksheet Pack
Investigate different animal body coverings by sorting and coloring animals with feathers, fur, scales and shells.
- Free Plan
Text Features Worksheet
Download this nonfiction text features worksheet so students can practice locating different types of text features found in a nonfiction text.
- Plus Plan
Skip Counting Worksheet Pack
Support early number learning with this skip‑counting worksheet pack, designed to help students recognize, continue, and create skip‑counting patterns using a range of visual representations.
- Free Plan
Fiction or Nonfiction? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this fiction and nonfiction worksheet when teaching your students about the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts.
- Free Plan
Author's Purpose - Sorting Worksheet
A teaching resource to help teach your students about author's purpose.
- Free Plan
Comprehension - Stop Polluting The Ocean
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text.
- Free Plan
Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint – Poster and Worksheet
Explore how to reduce your carbon footprint with this poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
- Free Plan
What's On Your Plate Worksheet
A worksheet that helps students reflect on their eating habits.
- Free Plan
Prefix Worksheet: Un- and Dis-
Build vocabulary skills with a prefix worksheet featuring the prefixes Un- and Dis-.
- Free Plan
Latitude and Longitude Worksheet
Use this free latitude and longitude worksheet along with Google Maps to teach your students about longitude and latitude.
- Plus Plan
Water Overuse – Water Conservation Poster and Worksheet
Explore the overuse of water and its effects on the world’s population with this eye-opening water conservation poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Acute, Right and Obtuse Angles – 4th Grade Math Worksheet
Identify acute, right and obtuse angles with this cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
- Free Plan
Verb Past Tense Worksheet
A worksheet with simple and irregular past tense verbs added to complete the sentences.
- Plus Plan
Following and Creating Patterns Worksheet Pack
Support number pattern understanding with the following and creating patterns worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Layers of the Earth Worksheet Pack
Identify and label Earth's Layers with a printable Layers of the Earth Worksheet Pack.
- Plus Plan
Finding the Main Idea Worksheet Set
Use these finding the main idea in text worksheets to allow your students to practice finding the main idea.
- Free Plan
How Do Toys Move? Worksheet
Explore motion and how things move with a printable ‘How Do Toys Move?’ Worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Butterfly Life Cycle Worksheet Pack
Identify the stages in a butterfly's life with a fun printable from our Butterfly Life Cycle Worksheet Pack.
- Free Plan
Character Emotion Wheel Pack
Help students explore how language can be used to present characters in different ways with this set of character emotion wheel templates.
- Plus Plan
Story Writing Prompt Worksheets
Use these early years story writing worksheets with picture prompts and word banks with your early writers.
- Free Plan
Halloween Comic Strip Templates
Practice writing spooky dialogue with printable Halloween Comic Strip Templates.
- Plus Plan
Firefighter Word Search Puzzle
Explore firefighter-related vocabulary words with an engaging firefighter word search activity.
- Free Plan
Multiples and Factors Worksheet Set
Use this multiples and factors worksheet set to help your students identify factor and multiple number pairs.
- Plus Plan
Drawing Angles Worksheet Set
Use our drawing angles worksheet set to give students differentiated practice in classifying and constructing angles.
- Plus Plan
Time Conversion Math Maze Worksheets
Convert units of time while finding your way through this set of 3 Time Conversion math mazes.
- Plus Plan
Animals That Live in Groups - Animal Behavior Worksheet Pack
Explore how animals survive and thrive in social groups with a printable Animal Behavior Worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Tornado Worksheets - Informational Writing (2nd Grade)
Use our printable tornado worksheets and organizers to teach 2nd grade informational writing lessons.
- Free Plan
My Family Portrait Templates
Encourage your students to explore their identity through these Family Portrait Worksheets Templates.
- Free Plan
Percent Decimal Fraction Worksheet
Download this percent decimal fraction worksheet to give your students hands-on practice matching fraction, decimal, and percent equivalents.