Worksheets for Teachers
Did someone say printable worksheets? From year 1 maths worksheets to reading comprehension worksheets to printables 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 primary year levels.
Explore printable activities, free worksheets, homework sheets and more — all aligned to the Australian curriculum and 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 individualised instruction was gaining traction, and educators recognised 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 individualised 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, practising 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 pens 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 pens!
- Use digital worksheets. Allow students to fill out their worksheets on classroom tablets as a means to add an extra level of engagement.
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 — early years students can work on their fine motor skills with our mini books, cut-and-paste worksheets and more while their upper years peers get pulled into the fun of vocabulary fun with word searches and crossword puzzle worksheets. Printable puzzles that engage students in the form of a brain game and colour by worksheets that bring art elements into maths 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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Symmetry Drawing Worksheet Pack
Teach your students about symmetry using this series of drawing worksheets where they must copy an image symmetrically using grid lines for reference.
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Shape Worksheet Sets (Foundation to Grade 6 Level)
Use these levelled worksheets sets with your primary school students to explore 2D shapes and 3D objects!
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Glorious Grammar Volume 1 - Worksheet Book
50 activities in one booklet which all revolve around learning grammar in the classroom.
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Exploring Poetry Workbook
A workbook to help students become more familiar with the genre of poetry.
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Monster Magic - Reading Comprehension Activity
Read and comprehend a set of instructions to create a magical monster!
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Fractions Worksheet Pack – Differentiated
Practise partitioning shapes, shading in fraction models, representing fractions on a number line and more with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Applying Reading Comprehension Strategies Worksheets
A collection of worksheets to enable students to apply reading comprehension strategies.
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Addition Worm – Worksheet
A set of differentiated addition worksheets.
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Dot Day Pointillism Art Activity
Celebrate Dot Day and introduce your students to the artistic style of Pointillism with an exciting dot art project.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Mixed Facts
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the multiplication tables.
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18 Editing Worksheets - Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Twenty editing worksheets for spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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Upper Primary Handwriting Sheets
Fifteen handwriting sheets for upper primary.
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Fast Finisher Booklet - Middle Primary
54 pages of different activities for use in a Fast Finisher Booklet.
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Elements of Poetry Workbook
Explore the wonders of poetry with this set of poems and accompanying worksheets designed specifically for children.
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Glorious Grammar (Early Years) Volume 1 – Worksheet Book
A workbook packed with 50 grammar activities for younger years.
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Great Barrier Reef Comprehension and Note Taking Worksheet
Learn about The Great Barrier Reef with a reading comprehension and note-taking activity.
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Earth Watch – Drowning in Plastic Reading Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article about plastic pollution in our oceans.
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Multiplication and Division Minute Maths Booklet
A maths mentals booklet with ten pages of multiplication and division questions.
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Addition and Subtraction Minute Maths Booklet
A maths warm-up booklet with ten pages of addition and subtraction questions.
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Writing the Alphabet Chart - Tracing
A chart to assist students when learning how to form letters.
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Time Word Problems – Worksheet
A collection of 12 word problems involving time.
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Identifying Fractions – Worksheet
Strengthen student understanding of fraction models, how to identify fractions on a number line and determine a fraction of a collection with this free worksheet.
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Reading and Interpreting Timetables Worksheets
Five pages of worksheets that allow students to work on reading and interpreting timetables.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheet Pack
A set of 6 worksheets teaching the concept of simple, compound and complex sentences.
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Identifying Procedural Language Worksheets
A set of 3 worksheets to help your students identify procedural language.
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Simple Addition and Subtraction Questions
Use this versatile worksheet with your students when exploring early addition and subtraction number sentences.
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Compass Directions Worksheet
A worksheet to use when exploring grids, grid references and direction.
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Area and Perimeter Word Problems
A collection of 13 area and perimeter word problems with answers.
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Analogue and Digital Time to the Minute Worksheet
A worksheet for telling time to the minute and converting between analogue and digital times.
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Auto-Fill Customisable Spelling Activity Worksheets
Save time making custom spelling lists and spelling practise worksheets with an editable auto-fill spelling worksheet pack.
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Money and Financial Mathematics Worksheets - Year 4
2 money and financial mathematics worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Money and Financial Mathematics Worksheets - Year 2
6 money and financial mathematics worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.