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
Humpty Dumpty Off the Wall – Comprehension Worksheet
Integrate nursery rhymes and early reading comprehension skills with a Humpty Dumpty reading passage and comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan
Using Number Lines - Worksheet
Check your students' number line skills with a printable number line formative assessment.
- Plus Plan
Counting and Colouring Basketball I Spy Worksheet
Have a bit of counting and colouring fun with a basketball worksheet for Prep.
- Plus Plan
Interpreting Figurative Language - Worksheets
Explore figurative language in poetry with this age-appropriate poem and accompanying vocabulary questions.
- Plus Plan
Elements of Poetry Workbook
Explore the wonders of poetry with this set of poems and accompanying worksheets designed specifically for children.
- Plus Plan
Valentine's Day Grammar Worksheets
Review and practise a wide range of grammar skills with a pack of printable Valentine’s Day Grammar Worksheets.
- Free Plan
Addition Strategies: Using Doubles Worksheet
Consolidate your students' understanding of the 'near doubles' addition strategy with this basic worksheet.
- Plus Plan
2D Shapes and 3D Objects – Worksheets
Focus on drawing 2D shapes and describing 3D objects with this set of differentiated worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Digraph Handwriting - Worksheets
24 digraph worksheets that focus on handwriting and vocabulary activities.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 7
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the seven times tables.
- Free Plan
Natural, Managed or Constructed? - Worksheet
A worksheet that explores natural, managed and constructed features.
- Plus Plan
Adapt a Short Story – Change the Complication
Explore the role the complication of a story plays within narrative structure with this engaging and fully scaffolded writing project booklet.
- Plus Plan
Blank Timeline Template
A blank editable timeline template to use as a recording worksheet in history lessons.
- Free Plan
Identifying Procedural Language Worksheets
Help your students identify procedural language with this set of three worksheets.
- Free Plan
Fiction or Non-Fiction? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this fiction and non-fiction worksheet when teaching your students about the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension - Homework is Unnecessary
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text for lower grades.
- Plus Plan
Place Value STEM Challenge - Number Forms
Show numbers in picture, word, and expanded forms with an engaging Place Value S.T.E.M. Activity!
- Plus Plan
Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 6
8 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
- Plus Plan
Exploring Poetry Workbook
Teach your students about all things poetry with this jam-packed poetry workbook created especially for primary school students.
- Plus Plan
Plate Tectonics Cloze Activity
A cloze activity to use when learning about the layers of the Earth and plate tectonics.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension - What are Earthquakes?
A comprehension activity about 'What are Earthquakes?'
- Plus Plan
Daily Maths Word Problems - Year 2 (Worksheets)
A set of 20 problem-solving questions suited to Year 2 students.
- Free Plan
Object Material Investigation Worksheet
A worksheet for investigating the materials certain objects are made from.
- Plus Plan
Blend and Colour Phoneme Blending Worksheets
Get your students blending simple CVC words with this set of blend and colour worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Big Problem or Little Problem? – Sorting Activity
Use our Big Problem vs. Little Problem activity cards and worksheets to help your students learn to manage peer relationships in the classroom.
- Free Plan
Human Body Labelling Worksheet Pack
Highlight the features of the body with a Human Body Labelling Worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Undersea All About Me Poster Printable
Dive into a new school year and learn about your new students with an Under the Sea All About Me poster printable.
- Plus Plan
Diphthong Phoneme Spotter Stories
Use this set of decodable texts featuring various graphemes that make diphthong vowel sounds.
- Plus Plan
Rounding to Estimate Worksheet Set
Use our rounding to estimate worksheet set to sharpen number sense and mental maths skills.
- 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
Visual Literacy Worksheets
Enhance critical thinking with visual literacy worksheets that guide students to analyse images, infer meaning and explore how pictures tell powerful stories.
- Plus Plan
Input Output Tables Worksheets
Provide these input output tables worksheets to your students to give them practice identifying and extending number patterns using all four operations.