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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Creative Writing Prompt Choice Boards - Lower Primary
Encourage your little learners to write with fun writing prompts for years 1 and 2.
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List of Persuasive Devices
Download this list of persuasive devices for your students to refer to when writing a persuasive text.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of free Reading Comprehension Worksheets for Years 2 and 3.
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Meet The Teacher Scavenger Hunt
Make Parent Information Night a bit more fun with a Meet the Teacher Scavenger Hunt!
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Measuring Area Using Informal Units Worksheets
Use this set of area worksheets to help your students practise measuring the area of regular and irregular shapes using informal (square) units.
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The Case of the Missing Football – Estimating Products Escape Activity
Uncover the identity of the thief who stole the football with a printable estimating products escape room activity.
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My Alphabet Book - Printable Alphabet Worksheets
Learn the letters of the alphabet and their sounds with printable ABC worksheets
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Grocery Percentages – Year 6 Maths Worksheet
Use percentages to calculate discounts with this maths worksheet designed for students in years 6 and 7.
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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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Subtraction Using MAB Blocks - Worksheet
Subtract two-digit numbers using MAB blocks with a printable subtraction worksheet.
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Greek and Latin Roots Worksheet Set
Practise using vocabulary containing Greek roots and Latin roots with these weekly root word worksheets.
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I Am Sorry – Poem and Discussion Questions
A poem to promote thoughtful discussion around issues of reconciliation on National Sorry Day.
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Using Cardinal Directions – Worksheet
A worksheet to practise using cardinal directions.
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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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Write a Short Story – Overcoming Obstacles
Get your students analysing and writing overcoming obstacles short stories with this engaging and fully scaffolded writing project booklet.
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Telling Time - Year 2 Maths Test
Administer a Telling Time Maths Test to determine mastery of year 2 clock reading skills.
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Parts of a Book Worksheets
Use these parts of a book worksheets for students to identify the various parts of a book.
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Learning Modality Quiz (Upper Primary)
Use a Learning Modality Quiz to help you discover the types of learners in your upper year classroom.
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Misleading Graphs Worksheet Set
Download our misleading graphs worksheet set to increase your students’ abilities in statistical literacy and data analysis.
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Highest Common Factor Worksheet Set
Download our highest common factor worksheets for varied practice finding the HCF of two and three digit numbers.
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Author’s Purpose Reading Passages Worksheet Set
Explore the Author's Purpose in these reading passages with this set of Author's Purpose worksheets.
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Persuasive Letter Example Pack
Download this persuasive letter example set featuring five model letters with labelled and unlabelled versions, perfect for teaching students the structure of a persuasive letter.
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Decimal and Place Value Chart
Provide your students with our decimal and place value chart to make comparing and ordering decimals a breeze!
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Year 5 Spelling Words Worksheets - Weekly Spelling Homework
Provide your students with engaging spelling homework activities with our no-prep Year 5 Spelling Words Worksheet pack.
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Anecdotal Observation Checklist - Reading Behaviours
Observe student reading behaviours and easily take notes with an Anecdotal Record Note-Taking Template.
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Cut and Paste Letter Sounds Worksheet Pack
Explore single letter sounds with this cut and paste worksheet pack for your early years students.
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Heavy and Light Worksheet Pack
Practise knowledge of heavy and light with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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Number Recognition 0-5 Colour-by-Number Pack
Practise number recognition with this colour-by-number activity pack! Students colour varied representations of the numbers 0-5 to solidify their understanding.
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Paragraph Editing - Quotation Marks Worksheets
Practise using quotation marks to signify dialogue in text with a set of printable Paragraph Editing Worksheets.
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Famous Scientists Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Introduce your students to the groundbreaking work of Louis Pasteur and Jonas Salk with a comparative reading passage and comprehension questions.
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Verb Tense Worksheet
Provide students with additional verb tense practice with a past, present, and future tense worksheet.
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Subtracting Fractions with Unlike Denominators Worksheet Pack
Download this set of subtracting fractions with unlike denominators worksheets to help your students practise this important maths skill.