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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Fluency Reading Passage Pack- Year 1
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for Year 1.
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Facts and Opinions - Caterpillars
A fun activity for students to use when identifying facts and opinions about caterpillars.
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Writing the Alphabet Chart - Tracing
A chart to assist students when learning how to form letters.
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Baby Animals Reading Worksheets - Year 1-2
Learn about animals and their babies with a pack of printable Animal Babies Reading Worksheets for Years 1 & 2.
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Character or Not? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between characters and non-characters with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives Cut and Paste Worksheet
Have some fun identifying parts of speech by sorting school-themed nouns, verbs, and adjectives with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Research Skills Worksheets - Note Taking
A set of 6 worksheets to help students identify key facts, details and vocabulary when researching information.
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A Poppy for Remembering - Year 5 Reading Comprehension
Discover the history of the red poppy and its relation to Remembrance Day with printable reading comprehension worksheets for year 5.
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Number Patterns - Worksheet
A place value worksheet to use when completing number patterns.
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Animal Adaptations - Informative Writing Prompt Worksheets
Write to describe animals and their adaptations with a printable pack of informative writing worksheets.
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Year 4 Mental Maths Drills Booklet
Jump into your maths lessons with this ten-page maths mentals booklet covering the four operations and number patterns.
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Tracing Numbers 0-20 Handwriting Worksheet
Get your students tracing numbers from 0-20 with this number formation worksheet available in Australian school fonts.
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12/24 Hour Time Conversions - Practice Sheets
Review how to convert between 12 and 24-hour times with a set of printable Year 5 Maths worksheets.
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Telling 24 Hour Time - Clock Worksheet
Download a free Year 5 Telling Time worksheet to practise telling time on a 24-hour clock.
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Skip Counting Worksheet — Counting by 2, 5 and 10
Practise counting by 2, 5 and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.
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Fact or Opinion - Turtle Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to distinguish between fact or opinion.
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Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Persuasive Text)
A sequencing task using a persuasive text.
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Emotive Language Cloze Passage Worksheet
Get students using emotive language examples in their persuasive writing with this differentiated cloze passage worksheet.
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Fact or Opinion - Sentence Sort Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to distinguish between fact or opinion.
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1–120 Number Charts With Missing Numbers
A set of 5 worksheets with missing numbers from 1–120.
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Using Persuasive Devices Worksheet
Use this persuasive devices worksheet to help your students create persuasive device examples based on a specific topic.
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18 Editing Worksheets - Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Twenty editing worksheets for spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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Sequencing Activity - Roald Dahl (Informative Text)
A sequencing task using an informative text.
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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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Sequencing Activity - Dogs Make the Best Pets (Persuasive Text)
A sequencing task using a persuasive text.
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Split Strategy Addition Worksheet Pack
Practise using the split strategy with this worksheet set.
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Exploring Poetry Workbook
A workbook to help students become more familiar with the genre of poetry.
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Build a Procedure Text – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these different examples of procedure writing to teach your students about the structural features of procedure texts.
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All About Soldiers - Comprehension and Building Background Worksheets
Learn about soldiers and Remembrance Day with a group of six worksheets that build background and comprehension skills.
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Year 6 Mental Maths Drills Workbook
Incorporate this mental maths drills booklet into your maths lesson warm-up routine.
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Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Equivalent Fractions Chart – Differentiated Worksheets
Use a fraction wall to practise finding equivalent fractions and comparing fractions with this set of differentiated worksheets.