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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Packing in Meaning with Noun Groups Worksheet
Explore the concept of noun groups with this 2-page worksheet.
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Odd and Even Cut-and-Paste Worksheet
Engage students in practising their knowledge of odd and even numbers with these simple cut-and-paste worksheets.
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Dot Plot Worksheet
Practise analysing and creating single-unit dot plots with this free maths worksheet.
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Comprehension - Should Smart Phones Be Allowed in Classrooms?
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
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Water Sources Teaching Slides and Workbook
Learn all about water sources and how it relates to the water cycle with this teaching presentation and matching workbook.
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Animal Adaptations - Worksheet Pack
Use these animal adaptation worksheets when teaching students about the structural, behavioural, and physiological adaptations of animals.
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The Water Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sequence the steps in the water cycle with a cut-and-sort worksheet.
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How About This Weather? - Worksheet
Explore different types of weather and subsequent observable changes with this 5-page worksheet pack.
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Ordering Decimals on a Number Line — Year 4 Worksheet
Practice ordering decimals on a number line with this worksheet.
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Countries Neighbouring Australia - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Discover the location of some of the countries neighbouring Australia with this simple cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Addition Strategies: Make a Ten Worksheet
A 2-page worksheet that uses ten frames to model the “making ten” addition strategy.
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How to Write an Acknowledgement of Country – Upper Years Activity
Research and create a meaningful Acknowledgement of Country with your students
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Figurative Language Flip Book
A flip book template for students to identify examples of figurative language.
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Self Portrait Worksheet
A worksheet to use as a Harmony Day resource for all grades.
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Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 4
4 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Distinguish Between Fact and Opinion Worksheets
Help students distinguish between fact and opinion with this engaging zebra-themed comprehension task designed to strengthen critical thinking and reading skills.
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Big Problem or Little Problem? – Sorting Activity
Use our Big Problem vs. Little Problem activity cards and worksheets to help your students learn to manage peer relationships in the classroom.
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Undersea All About Me Poster Printable
Dive into a new school year and learn about your new students with an Under the Sea All About Me poster printable.
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Grammar Conventions - Year 6 Grammar and Punctuation Test Pack
Assess student knowledge of grammar conventions with a printable Year 6 Grammar and Punctuation Test Pack
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Making Predictions from Sentences Worksheets
Practise making predictions with sentences using this set of making predictions worksheets.
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Alphabet Letter-Sound Assessment Pack
Assess your students abilities to write their names, identify letters, letter sounds, and initial/middle/ending sounds with a printable alphabet assessment pack.
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Caterpillar Worksheets on Ordering Numbers
Share these caterpillar worksheets on ordering numbers with your students to help them master sequencing numbers.
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Whole Body Listening – Poster and Worksheet
Use this poster and accompanying worksheet to teach your students about whole body listening.
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Trace, Draw and Order Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of sentence cut-and-paste worksheets to help your students build simple sentences.
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Build a Calendar - Following Instructions Worksheets
Practise following directions and using a calendar with a pack of 12 printable calendar worksheets.
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Today Is…Calendar Worksheet
Start your day with a morning calendar review using our printable daily calendar maths template.
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Koala Adaptations Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Learn about the physical and behavioural adaptations of the koala with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 4-5.
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Callback Phrases List
Catch your students’ attention with a set of fun attention-grabbing callback phrases.
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One More, One Less - Worksheet
Practise foundational addition and subtraction facts using the concepts of one more and one less.
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2-Digit Addition Colour by Number - Halloween Mystery Picture
Celebrate the coming of Halloween and practise adding 2-digit numbers up to 99 with this set of Halloween mystery picture worksheets.
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Colour by Number - Mixed 1 - 12 Multiplication
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Rhyming Match – Worksheets
Identify rhyming words through images with this set of 5 worksheets.