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
Year 3 Fractions – Differentiated Assessment
Use this differentiated fractions test for year 3 to assess concepts such as identifying fractions, using fraction models and determining the fraction of a set.
- Free Plan
Half the Fun – Fractions Colouring Worksheet
A colouring worksheet to help students learn about half.
- Plus Plan
Factor Pairs – Worksheet
Find factor pairs to 100 with this maths worksheet.
- Free Plan
Finding Volume – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise finding the volume of rectangular prisms and cubes with this set of differentiated worksheets.
- Free Plan
Labelling the Continents and Oceans Worksheets
Turn Geography into a fun and educational learning experience with our cut-and-paste worksheets!
- Plus Plan
Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Practice 2-digit subtraction with regrouping with this drill and practice worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Reading Scales – Measuring Mass Match-Up Worksheet
A worksheet to give students practice at reading scales to measure mass.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 5
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the five times tables.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 3
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the three times tables.
- Free Plan
Creating a Graph Using Digital Technologies
A worksheet that supports students when collecting initial data and creating a digital graph.
- Plus Plan
Flip, Slide and Turn – Grid Mystery Pictures
Practise flips, slides and turns with this worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Grammar and Punctuation Assessment Tool – Year 4
A set of 5 grammar and punctuation assessment tools suited to Year 4 students.
- Free Plan
Bumping-Up Procedure Texts Worksheet
Download these procedural writing worksheets to get your students bumping-up some simple procedure texts.
- Plus Plan
Self Portrait Worksheet
A worksheet to use as a Harmony Day resource for all grades.
- Plus Plan
Split Class/Fast Finisher Booklet - Lower Years
A booklet to use when classes are split or as fast finisher activities.
- Plus Plan
Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 1
Two data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
- Plus Plan
Describe That Decimal Worksheet
Explore the place value of decimals with this versatile one-page printable worksheet.
- Free Plan
Observing Photosynthesis Experiment (F-2)
Investigate how oxygen is made with a hands on photosynthesis experiment.
- Free Plan
Classroom Rules Worksheet Pack
Teach classroom rules and procedures and review early writing skills with a Classroom Rules Worksheet Pack for early years.
- Plus Plan
R-Controlled Vowel Phoneme Spotter Stories
Use this set of decodable texts featuring various graphemes that make r-controlled vowel sounds.
- Plus Plan
Derivational Suffix Worksheet Pack
Support vocabulary instruction with this derivational suffix worksheet set that helps students understand how adding suffixes can change word forms and meanings.
- Plus Plan
Irregular Plural Nouns Worksheets
Teach irregular plural nouns with this engaging set of 9 activity worksheets designed to reinforce key grammar concepts while keeping students motivated and on-task.
- Plus Plan
Different Types of Topic Sentences Worksheet Pack
Teach different types of topic sentences with this engaging set of worksheets that introduce, model and reinforce effective paragraph writing in the classroom.
- Plus Plan
Roll-a-Kandinsky - Dot Day Art Game
Introduce your students to the circle art style of Wassily Kandinsky with a fun Roll-a-Kandinsky Art Game for Dot Day.
- Free Plan
Multiples and Factors Worksheet Set
Use this multiples and factors worksheet set to help your students identify factor and multiple number pairs.
- Plus Plan
Divisibility Rules Worksheet Set
Use this divisibility rules worksheet set to give your students varied practice finding the factors of given numbers.
- Plus Plan
Cohesion in a Paragraph Worksheet Pack
Strengthen cohesion in a paragraph with these five engaging worksheets designed to help students master cohesive devices while making writing more connected.
- 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
What Are Pollinators? Year 2 Comprehension Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to the world of pollinators and nonfiction text comrpehension with a printable Year 2 Reading Comprehension worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Australian Immigration – Analysing Infographics Worksheet
Explore Australian immigration trends with your students by analysing a kid-friendly infographic and answering guided questions.
- Free Plan
Year 2 Comma Quiz - Commas in a List
Assign a Year 2 Comma Quiz to assess your student’s ability to use commas in a list.
- Plus Plan
Unsinkable Titanic - Editing & Sentence Combining Worksheets
Practise editing and combining simple sentences with our Unsinkable Titanic Weekly Editing & Sentence Combining worksheets.