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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Skeleton Cloze Worksheet
A vocabulary cloze worksheet about the human skeleton.
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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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Analogue Time to the Quarter Hour
A worksheet to use when teaching analogue times in o'clock, half past and quarter past/to.
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Water Overuse – Infographic Poster and Worksheet
Explore the overuse of water and its effects on the world’s population with this eye-opening infographic poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
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Representing Two-Digit Numbers - Place Value Worksheet
A set of worksheets for students to use when learning about place value and the different way two-digit numbers can be represented.
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The Egyptian Pyramids - Comprehension Task
A 2 page comprehension task for students to use in the classroom when learning about the Egyptian pyramids.
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Human Body Labelling Worksheet Pack
Highlight the features of the body with a Human Body Labelling Worksheet pack.
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Comparing Narrative Voice Worksheets
Teach how narrative voice shapes the reader's experience of texts with this set of worksheets where students compare passages written from different points of view.
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Halloween Coordinate Plane Worksheets
Use Halloween Coordinate Plane Worksheets to inspire some spooky mathematical fun.
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Sentence Cohesion Worksheet Pack
Use this sentence cohesion worksheet pack to teach your students about how to write clear sentences containing strongly connected ideas.
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Tornado in a Jar Experiment
Create a Tornado in a Jar with an interactive science experiment slide deck and Tornado in a Jar Experiment Worksheet.
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Writing Compound-Complex Sentences Worksheet
Use a Compound-Complex Sentences Worksheet to help your upper primary students learn to use advanced sentence structures in their writing.
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Spelling Worksheets for Any List
Grab these free spelling worksheets for any list and use them to prep your weekly spelling homework with ease!
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Author's Purpose Worksheet Set
Assess reading comprehension by using this comprehensive Author's Purpose Worksheet Set.
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Input / Output Data Tables and Graphs Worksheets
Differentiate instruction with these data tables and graphs worksheets that have students completing input / output tables and plotting the points on a Cartesian plane.
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Capital Letters and Full Stops Worksheets - Scavenger Hunt
A reading passage and 2 engaging Capital Letters and Full Stops Worksheets that explore the importance of capital letters and end punctuation.
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Build and Write a Sentence – Worksheets
Practise building and writing sentences with a set of printable Build and Write a Sentence Worksheets.
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Line and Rotational Symmetry Sorting Activity
Have your students determine whether each object has line symmetry, rotational symmetry, or no symmetry, with this fun cut and paste worksheet.
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Dolch Pre-Primer Sight Word Sheets - Spelling
Practice Pre-Primer Dolch Sight words with six weeks of daily sight word sheets for Foundation Year students.
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Year 2 Spelling Practice Worksheets - Weekly Homework
Make assigning homework easy all year with Year 2 Spelling Practice Worksheets.
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Making Predictions Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack
Improve students' reading comprehension with our Making Predictions Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack, which features engaging short stories.
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Reading Making Predictions Worksheet Pack
Practise reading and making predictions with this Reading Making Predictions Worksheet Pack.
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Elkonin Boxes - Word Shapes Worksheets - Year 1
Build early phonics skills with our printable Phonics-Based Elkonin Boxes Word Shapes Worksheets.
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Year 4 Weekly Spelling Homework Worksheets
Print your own Year 4 Spelling Homework sheets with 36 weeks of printable, phonics-based spelling worksheets.
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Comprehending Science - States of Matter Worksheet Pack
Use our Comprehending Science - States of Matter Worksheet Pack to review concepts related to solids, liquids, and gases.
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Editing for Incomplete Sentences Worksheet
Use this complete and incomplete sentences worksheet to fine tune your students' editing skills.
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Rounding on a Number Line Worksheet Set
Use our rounding on a number line worksheet set to give your students practise using a number line to round numbers up to the hundred thousands place.
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Fair Testing in Science - Differentiated Experimental Design Worksheets
Use a differentiated experimental design worksheet to introduce your students to the concept of fair testing in science.
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Editing Sentences – Year 3 Worksheets
Download these Year 3 editing worksheets to get your students identifying and fixing errors in sentences.
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Converting Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers Worksheet Set
Assign this converting improper fractions and mixed numbers worksheet set to your students to give them practise converting between amounts of more than one.
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Cartesian Planes Worksheets
Utilise this Cartesian plane worksheet set to give your students practise locating and plotting points on the Cartesian plane.
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Measuring Length Drawing Challenge Worksheeets
Make learning to use a centimetre ruler fun with an engaging set of Measurement Drawing Challenge Worksheets.