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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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 7
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the seven times tables.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 6
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the six times tables.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 3
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the three times tables.
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Letter to the Editor (Pet Ownership) – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a letter to the editor from the Year 4 magazine (Issue 3).
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Epic Editing Workbook – Year 3 and Year 4
Use these paragraph editing worksheets to get your students practising and refining their proofreading skills.
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Common and Proper Nouns Sort - Cut and Paste Worksheet
A sorting worksheet to practise identifying common and proper nouns.
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The Secret Society of Vegetable Venerators – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 2).
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Celebrations and Holidays – Middle Primary Workbook
A 15 page end of year holiday and celebrations activity booklet.
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Ending Punctuation – Cut and Paste Worksheet
A cut and paste worksheet to practise adding the correct punctuation marks to the end of sentences.
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Pre-Writing Pencil Control Tracing Sheets
A set of four animal-themed pre-writing tracing worksheets.
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Tracing Lines - Fine Motor Activity
Tracing lines for students to develop their fine motor skills.
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Colour by Parts of Speech - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Prepositions - Owl
Consolidate parts of speech by colouring nouns, verbs, adjectives and prepositions on the owl.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Research Worksheet
A worksheet to use when considering the positive and negative impacts of Internet research.
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Four Squares of Learning - A Getting to Know You Worksheet
A worksheet to use at the beginning of the year to determine students' expectations for the year.
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Novel Study Worksheet Pack
Download this set of novel study worksheets that can be used with any text to support your students in exploring characters and events in literature.
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Personal Recounts Worksheet - My Wonderful Weekend
A simple text and worksheet to use when exploring personal recounts.
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School Font Tracing Alphabet with Arrows
Full page upper and lower case alphabet letters with arrows for tracing.
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Alphabet Handwriting Sheets - Including Non-Examples
Handwriting sheets with opportunities for students to trace, identify and write the letters of the alphabet.
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Australia and Its Neighbours - Poster and Labelling Activity
A set of maps and worksheet for students to use when looking at Australia and its neighbours.
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Binary Codes to 20 with Guide Dots - Worksheet
An activity for students to complete when learning how to read and write in code.
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Convict Identification Cards - Template
A convict identification card template to use in the classroom when learning about the convicts of the First Fleet.
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Self Portrait Worksheet
A worksheet to use as a Harmony Day resource for all grades.
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Colouring 2D Shapes Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate students' understanding of rectangles, squares, circles and triangles.
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Basic Food Chain Worksheet
A basic food chain worksheet for your students to complete.
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The Seasons Around the World Posters and Worksheet
Teach about the Earth's rotation around the sun and the corresponding seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres with this 2-page worksheet.
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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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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Year 2
14 number worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 3
8 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Word Family Worksheet Pack - CVC Words
Consolidate your students' understanding of onset and rime with this set of 20 worksheets.
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Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 2
4 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Movie Review Worksheet
A movie review worksheet for students to complete after watching a film.
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Drawing on Demand - Sporty Spider
An art activity that incorporates both drawing and listening skills.