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.
- Plus Plan
Reading Scales – Measuring Mass Match-Up Worksheet
A worksheet to give students practice at reading scales to measure mass.
- Free Plan
Elapsed Time – Worksheet
A worksheet for students to practise calculating elapsed time.
- Plus Plan
Digraph Handwriting - Worksheets
24 digraph worksheets that focus on handwriting and vocabulary activities.
- Plus Plan
Colour by Number - 8 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
- Free Plan
Creating a Graph Using Digital Technologies
A worksheet that supports students when collecting initial data and creating a digital graph.
- Plus Plan
Harmony Day Multiple Choice Quiz
Six multiple choice quiz questions to prompt thoughtful discussion about Australia's cultural diversity on Harmony Day.
- Plus Plan
Finish the Drawings – Worksheets
20 drawings that have been started, but still need to be finished!
- Plus Plan
Biography Structure Sorting Worksheets
Teach biography structure with engaging sorting worksheets that help students understand the key sections of a biography using authentic text examples.
- Plus Plan
CVC Beginning and Ending Letters Worksheet Pack
Practise identifying missing beginning and ending sounds and letters in this set of 10 CVC worksheets.
- Free Plan
The Path of a Bill - Worksheet
Demonstrate understanding of the path of a bill in Australia with this one-page printable worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension - Stop Polluting The Ocean
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
Which Force Is That? Worksheet
Use this forces worksheet to teach your Year 4 students about the common forces of friction, buoyancy and gravity.
- Plus Plan
Chance Worksheets - Year 5
4 chance worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
- Plus Plan
Year 5 Fractions and Decimals Worksheets
Use these fractions and decimals worksheets in your Year 5 classroom for independent practice or as an assessment activity.
- Plus Plan
Number and Place Value Worksheets - Year 5
12 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
- Plus Plan
Fiction and Non-Fiction Cloze Activities
A set of 7 fiction and non-fiction cloze worksheets with answer sheets.
- Plus Plan
Identifying and Naming Angles – Cut-and-Paste Worksheet
Identify acute, right, obtuse, straight, reflex and revolution angles with this cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Cut and Paste Matching Verb Tense Worksheet
Practise identifying past, present and future tense in verbs using this set of cut and paste worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Sorting Animals Worksheet Pack - External Features
Observe and classify animals based on their external features with a Sorting Animals Worksheet Pack.
- Free Plan
Human Body Labelling Worksheet Pack
Highlight the features of the body with a Human Body Labelling Worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Sentence Fluency Worksheet Pack
Improve reading fluency and comprehension with this Sentence Fluency Worksheet Pack..
- Plus Plan
Interesting Idioms Worksheets
Teach figurative language with these idioms worksheets that will introduce your students to many of the most commonly used idioms.
- Plus Plan
Topic Sentence Worksheet Pack
Use this topic sentence worksheet pack to teach your students about how to structure clear and cohesive paragraphs using strong opening statements.
- Plus Plan
Sentence Cohesion Worksheet Pack
Use this sentence cohesion worksheet pack to teach your students about how to write clear sentences containing strongly connected ideas.
- Free Plan
Spelling Worksheets for Any List
Grab these free spelling worksheets for any list and use them to prep your weekly spelling homework with ease!
- Plus Plan
Year 3 NAPLAN Test Practice - Language Conventions - Spelling
Get ready for the test with Year 3 NAPLAN Test Practice Sheets.
- Plus Plan
Word Work Grid and Worksheets – Version 1
A grid with spelling activities and corresponding worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Year 2 Spelling Practice Worksheets - Weekly Homework
Make assigning homework easy all year with Year 2 Spelling Practice Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Converting Mass Worksheet Set
Download this converting mass worksheet set to give your students the practice they need to master conversions of metric mass.
- Plus Plan
Busy Binder - Morning Work Pages for Kindergarten
Review daily calendar, maths, literacy, and fine motor skills with a printable morning work pages!
- Plus Plan
Types of Rocks Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks with our printable Types of Rocks Worksheet Pack.
- Plus Plan
Graphing Data Worksheets (Cartesian Plane)
Introduce these graphing data worksheets to your students to give them practise graphing real-world situations on the Cartesian plane.