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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3-Act Maths Tasks - Time Word Problems
Practise problem-solving skills and time conversions with a printable pack of 3 Act Maths Task worksheets.
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Elapsed Time With Analogue Clocks – Worksheet Pack
Review elapsed time concepts with a set of printable elapsed time practice sheets.
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Cursive Alphabet Worksheets – Letter Groups
Use printable cursive writing worksheets PDF files to learn how to write in cursive.
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Time to 5 Minutes- Colour By Code Worksheet
Tell time to the nearest five minutes and have fun with a Telling Time Colour By Code Worksheet.
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Telling Time - Story Problem Comprehension Worksheets
Practise reading comprehension and telling time skills with a printable pack of Telling Time Maths Story Worksheets.
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Giraffe Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Year 3
Read and learn about adaptations of the giraffe with a set of printable Year 3 comprehension activities.
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Digraph Search and Find Worksheet Pack
Search for images that contain particular consonant digraphs with this worksheet pack.
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Heat Conductors and Insulators Sorting Worksheet
Explore materials and everyday items as heat conductors or heat insulators during your heat energy unit plan with this cut-and paste worksheet.
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My Favourite Season Worksheet
Activate your students' prior knowledge about the seasons using this worksheet which prompts them to state which is their favourite season and justify their choice.
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End of Year Activity Booklet - Middle Years
An activity booklet to use at the end of the year.
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3-Digit Number Forms Worksheet
Help students practise their knowledge of 3-digit numbers with this place value worksheet that covers MAB blocks, standard form, and expanded form.
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Persuasive Device Examples – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Match the persuasive writing techniques with the correct examples using this simple cut-and-paste worksheet perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
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My Safety Plan Worksheet
Create a safety plan to help understand what to do or who to go to when you feel unsafe.
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3D Objects Scavenger Hunt - Worksheet
Discover three-dimensional objects in the real world with a scavenger hunt.
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Countries Neighbouring Australia - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Discover the location of some of the countries neighbouring Australia with this simple cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Identifying Fractions – Worksheet
Strengthen student understanding of fraction models, how to identify fractions on a number line and determine a fraction of a collection with this free worksheet.
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Addition Strategies: Make a Ten Worksheet
A 2-page worksheet that uses ten frames to model the “making ten” addition strategy.
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Find the Whole From a Percentage Worksheet
Practise how to find the whole from a percentage with this standard-practice worksheet.
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Map of Australia - Labelling Activity
Discover and label Australia's states, capital cities and key landmarks on this blank map.
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Create Your Own Map - Worksheet
Create simple maps of familiar places with this set of map templates and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Level 6 Decodable Readers - Worksheet Pack
A set of one-pager worksheet versions of the texts from our Level 6 decodable readers.
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Types of Figurative Language - Worksheet
Practise identifying and creating examples of figurative language with this printable worksheet.
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'The Scoop on Friendship' Activity
A cute activity to complete when talking about the attributes of a good friend.
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Volume with Unit Cubes – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to reinforce how to find the volume of a rectangular prism by counting the number of unit cubes.
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Phoneme Segmentation Worksheets - CVCC/CCVC Words
Use this worksheet pack to give students practice at segmenting words into phonemes.
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Labelling the Continents and Oceans Worksheets
Turn Geography into a fun and educational learning experience with our cut-and-paste worksheets!
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Decodable Text Worksheets – Common Consonant Digraphs (Set 2)
A set of 10 decodable text worksheets for early readers.
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Apostrophe of Possession Worksheet
A 2 page worksheet to help students consolidate their understanding of the apostrophe of possession.
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Complete the Sentences – Worksheets for Beginning Writers
A set of 10 worksheets for students to practise completing simple sentences.
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The Wonders of the Human Body – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an information report from the Year 6 magazine (Issue 2).
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Car Listings Inference Practice Worksheets
Download these inference practice worksheets featuring five imaginary car listings to help your students build critical reading skills and make evidence-based inferences.
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Communication Then and Now - Worksheet
A worksheet for students to illustrate how communication methods and devices have changed over time.