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 Pictographs - Worksheets
Use this double-sided worksheet to enable students to practise reading and interpreting pictographs.
- Free Plan
My Safety Plan Worksheet
Create a safety plan to help understand what to do or who to go to when you feel unsafe.
- Plus Plan
The History of Australia's Parliamentary System - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the ins and outs of Australia’s parliamentary history with this reading comprehension activity.
- Plus Plan
Creating Pictographs Worksheet
Use this engaging worksheet to practice creating and reading pictographs.
- Plus Plan
Main Idea and Details Worksheets
Practise finding the main idea and supporting detail with this pack of main idea worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Plant Adaptations Worksheets
Learn about different plants' behavioural, structural, and physiological adaptations with printable plant adaptation worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
Teach your students how to identify the main idea of a piece of text with this worksheet pack.
- Free Plan
Subtraction Strategies – Assessment
Assess your students’ knowledge of subtraction strategies with a subtraction assessment.
- Plus Plan
Food Chains Worksheet
Use this food chain worksheet to identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain.
- Plus Plan
Subtraction Worksheets - 10/20 Frame Subtraction
Model and subtract numbers to twenty using ten frames with a handy subtraction worksheet.
- Plus Plan
The Needs of Plants - Worksheets for Year 1
Cut, paste, and read about what plants need to survive with a pair of printable plant worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Part-Part-Whole Addition and Subtraction Worksheets
Reinforce your students' understanding of how a bar model is used to solve 1-digit addition and subtraction number facts using the part-part-whole strategy.
- Plus Plan
2D Shapes Comparison Worksheet
A set of two 2D shape worksheets for students to record their observations whilst comparing properties of 2D shapes.
- Free Plan
Fractions Number Line - Halves, Fifths and Tenths
Demonstrate the concept of fractions on a number line with a printable number line display and student reference sheets.
- Plus Plan
2D Shapes in the Environment Cut and Sort Worksheet
Students will categorise and sort 2D shapes using this ability-levelled worksheet set.
- Plus Plan
Fractions on a Number Line – Worksheet
Improve student understanding of fractions on a number line with this printable maths worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Earth Watch: Protecting Native Plants and Animals – Comprehension Worksheet
Build comprehension skills and learn about human impact on ecosystems with a reading passage and worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Animals and Their Habitats - Cut and Match Worksheets
Match animals with their habitats with a set of cut and paste worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Simile and Metaphor Self-Portrait Worksheet
Teach students about similes and metaphors by asking them to describe... themselves!
- Plus Plan
Number Lines - Worksheet
Fill in the missing numbers with this number line worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Printable Valentine’s Day Cards
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom with printable Valentine cards to colour.
- Free Plan
Managing Anxiety Worksheet (Upper Primary)
Help older students identify and manage anxious feelings with this self-reflection and action plan worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Write a Short Story – The Discovery or Invention
Get your students analysing and writing an invention story with this engaging and fully scaffolded writing project booklet.
- Plus Plan
Number Line Addition Worksheet
Practise adding two-digit numbers with regrouping using a number line and the jump strategy with a printable number line worksheet.
- Free Plan
Colour by Number – Repeated Addition
An engaging activity to prepare students for understanding the concept of multiplication.
- Plus Plan
Plus One and Minus One Math Machine Worksheet
A worksheet to practise generating a number that is one more than or one less than another number.
- Free Plan
Apostrophe of Possession Worksheet
A 2 page worksheet to help students consolidate their understanding of the apostrophe of possession.
- Plus Plan
Flip, Slide and Turn – Grid Mystery Pictures
Practise flips, slides and turns with this worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
5 x Dinosaur Tracing Pictures - Fine Motor Skills
A set of 5 dinosaur-themed tracing pictures.
- Plus Plan
Colour by Parts of Speech - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Prepositions - Owl
Consolidate parts of speech by colouring nouns, verbs, adjectives and prepositions on the owl.
- Plus Plan
Making 10 Number Bonds - Worksheet
A worksheet to practise the addition strategy of making 10.
- Plus Plan
Read and Colour Worksheet – Singular and Plural Nouns
A worksheet to practise identifying singular and plural nouns.