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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Animal Classification Chart Activity Pack
Classify mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animal groups with a printable pack of animal classification table worksheets.
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Sorting Unit Fractions Cut and Paste
Sort different unit fraction visualisations with these cut-and-paste unit fraction worksheets.
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Measurement Worksheets for Foundation - Mass, Length, Capacity
Practise comparing units of mass, capacity, and length with a printable pack of foundation measurement worksheets.
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Poison Dart Frog Adaptations – Year 5 Reading Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of a poison dart frog with printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 5.
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Converting Time - Worksheet Pack
Download a set of Time Conversion printable worksheets to help your students convert between minutes, hours, days and weeks.
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Estimate the Time - Maths Worksheets for Year 1
Help your students understand and estimate time in seconds and minutes with a trio of Time Estimation maths sheets for year 1.
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Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify statement, command, question, and exclamation sentences with a Types of Sentences Cut and Paste worksheet for Year 2.
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Comparing and Ordering Decimals Worksheet
Get students comparing and ordering decimals to the thousandths place with this printable worksheet.
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Desert Animal Adaptations - Trading Card Templates
Discover amazing desert animals’ adaptations and display your learning with printable animal trading card templates.
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Conductors of Electricity Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Challenge your students to show what they know about electrical conductors with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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Plants, Animals & Adaptations – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe different animal and plant adaptations which help them survive in their environment.
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First Nations Instruments Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Use First Nations Instruments Reading Comprehension Worksheets to help your Year Two students learn about some traditional First Nations Australians musical instruments and their characteristic sounds.
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Structural Adaptations Worksheets
Investigate the structural adaptations of animals with various animal adaptation worksheets.
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Heat Transfer Methods Worksheet Pack
Learn about the different ways heat can be transferred using this guided set of heat transfer worksheets.
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Consonant Digraph Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Reinforce your students' knowledge of digraphs with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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Making Inferences Worksheet Pack
Guide your students to read between the lines with this making inferences worksheet pack.
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Double Digit Numbers Mystery Worksheet
Explore double digit place value with this fun clue based mystery worksheet for your students.
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Heat Sources Worksheet - Cut-and-Paste
Explore different types of heat sources with your students using this Heat Sources worksheet.
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Colour by Number – Repeated Addition and Multiplication
Guide your students to connect repeated addition with multiplication by completing this colour-by-code multiplication worksheet.
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Comparing and Naming Angles – Differentiated Worksheets
Assess your students’ understanding of angle types with the set of differentiated student worksheets.
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Colour by Number - Mixed 1 - 12 Division
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of division facts.
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Plant Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about unusual plants and their adaptations with a pack of printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Comprehension - Should Smart Phones Be Allowed in Classrooms?
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
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Addition Strategy - Counting On Worksheet
Solve addition problems in this 2-page Counting On Addition Worksheet.
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Picture Graphs Worksheet
Use this double-sided worksheet to help your students practise reading and evaluating a simple picture graph.
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3-Digit Subtraction - Bar Model Worksheet
Review and assess your students’ subtraction skills with a 3-digit subtraction worksheet focusing on the bar model strategy.
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Think Addition - Fact Family Worksheets
Use addition to solve subtraction problems with this worksheet.
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Colour by Number - Subtraction Task Cards
Practice subtracting single and double-digit numbers with a set of subtraction colour by number task cards.
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Subtraction within 20 - Colour-by-Number Worksheet
Reveal the mystery picture by solving the subtraction problems with a colour-by-number worksheet.
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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.
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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.