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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Counting 1-10 Count and Colour Worksheet Pack
Practise counting to 10 with this set of worksheets ready to go!
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Daily Spiral Maths Worksheet (3-4)
Review a variety of place value and number sense standards with a daily spiral maths review worksheet.
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Free 5 Senses Worksheet
Identify the body parts used to sense things with a free 5 Senses Cut and Paste Worksheet.
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Insect Investigation - Parts of an Insect Activity
Take a peek at the features and characteristics of insects with an engaging Insect Investigation Lab activity.
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Elapsed Time Printables (Digital Clocks)
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students practise finding elapsed time using digital clocks.
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Polar Bear Adaptations Worksheet Pack - Comprehension Passage
Discover polar bear structural adaptations with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Rainforest Animal Printables — Adaptation Trading Cards
Discover rainforest animal adaptations and display your learning with miniature rainforest animal report templates.
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Elapsed Time Worksheet
Determine how much time has passed with this collection of elapsed time word problems.
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Multiplication With Equal Groups – Colour by Number Worksheet
Guide your students to determine a multiplication problem for an equal groups model with this colour-by-number worksheet.
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Coordinating Conjunction Word Mat
Boost your students’ writing skills by giving them access to this coordinating conjunctions word mat during literacy lessons.
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Year 3 Sources of Heat Worksheet Pack
Learn all about different thermal energy sources with this set of heat worksheets.
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Exploring Sound Energy Worksheet Pack
Enhance your students' comprehension of sound energy concepts, whilst catering to a range of learning needs, with this set of 11 worksheets.
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Measuring Perimeter with Informal Units Worksheet
Use these perimeter worksheets to give your students practice finding the perimeter of rectangles.
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My Feelings Volcano Worksheet
Prevent students from being overcome by strong emotions with this volcano-themed coping skills worksheet.
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Seasonal Changes Differentiated Word Search
Get your students’ minds buzzing with this word search seasons activity, while they build their scientific vocabulary about Earth and space sciences.
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Firefighter Colour By Number Worksheet - Hundreds Chart
Print the perfect maths activity to accompany your fire safety lessons with a printable firefighter colour-by-number worksheet
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Adding within 1000 Mystery Image Reveal Worksheet
Practise using the bar model to work out addition sums within 1000 with this fun mystery picture reveal activity.
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10 More, 10 Less Differentiated Mazes
Delight your students with this maze challenge, to practise calculating 10 more or 10 less than a value within 120.
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2-Digit Subtraction Using Bar Models- Differentiated Worksheets
Review and assess your students’ subtraction skills with differentiated 2-digit subtraction worksheets focusing on the bar model strategy.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Vocabulary Worksheets
Review key vocabulary associated with plant and animal adaptations with a pair of vocabulary worksheets.
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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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Water Cycle Worksheet Pack
Discover everything there is to know and learn about the water cycle with this collection of worksheets suitable for primary school students.
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Un- and Dis- Prefixes Worksheet
Build vocabulary skills with a prefix worksheet featuring the prefixes Un- and Dis-.
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Colour the Periodic Table - Worksheet and Poster
Colour the periodic table with a printable colour-coding worksheet.
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The Water Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sequence the steps in the water cycle with a cut-and-sort worksheet.
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Shapes and Symmetry — Year 2 Worksheet
Assess year 2 students' understanding of 2D shape symmetry with this set of two worksheets.
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Objects in the Sky – Worksheet Pack
Use this set of worksheets to practise identifying and labelling objects in the sky as well as describing the moon, stars, sun and clouds.
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2D Shapes in the Environment Cut and Sort Worksheet
Students will categorise and sort 2D shapes using this ability-levelled worksheet set.
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The World's Oceans - Comprehension Worksheet
Explore the world’s five oceans with this detailed comprehension passage and related questions.
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Dress for the Weather Worksheet
Identify proper clothing choices for different weather conditions with this worksheet.
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Fraction Fun! Partner Math Tasks
Encourage mathematical collaboration and discussion with a group of thirteen fractions games and partner tasks.
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Using Number Lines - Worksheet
Check your students' number line skills with a printable number line formative assessment.