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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Year 6 Metric Conversions Practice Sheets - Length
Practise converting, comparing, and ordering metric measurements with a Year 6 Metric Conversions worksheet pack.
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Famous Scientists Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Introduce your students to the groundbreaking work of Louis Pasteur and Jonas Salk with a comparative reading passage and comprehension questions.
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Verb Tenses Quiz Worksheet
Assess your students' knowledge of verb tenses with this 5-question quiz.
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Earthquake - Tectonic Plates Diagram & Worksheets
Introduce students to plate tectonics with a labelled diagram and worksheet set featuring different types of volcanoes, layers of earth and landforms.
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Australian Conservationists: The Irwins – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the Irwin family and their conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Fact File and Report Writing Scaffold Pack
Teach your students to write informative texts using this selection of animal, object and occupation fact files.
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Apostrophes of Contraction Worksheets
Learn about the apostrophe of contractions with this set of worksheets.
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Operations with Fractions – Maths Mats
Use these maths mats when reviewing fraction operations with your students.
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Introduction to Unit Fractions Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to unit fractions with this set of teacher-created worksheets.
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Label the Unit Fraction Worksheets
Label different unit fractions with this set of student worksheets.
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Telling Time - Year 1 Maths Colouring Sheet
Practise telling time to the hour and half hour with a fun Telling Time Colour By Code maths worksheet!
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Days of the Week Activity Mat
Review the order and spelling of the days in a week with a printable Days of the Week Activity Mat!
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Following Directions Worksheets - Reading a Clock Review
Practise telling time to the half-hour, quarter-hour, and five-minute mark with a pack of printable Following Directions to Tell the Time 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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How to Draw a Cake Slice - Directed Drawing Worksheet
Learn to draw a cake slice with a fun directed drawing activity sheet.
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Perimeter Practice Problems With Visuals – Worksheet
Download these perimeter practice problems to use when exploring measurement concepts in your maths lessons.
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Skip Counting and Multiplication Differentiated Worksheet
Use this differentiated worksheet set to provide independent practise using skip counting to solve multiplication expressions.
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Push or Pull? Colouring Worksheet
Use this push and pull colour-coding worksheet when exploring forces and motion with your early years students.
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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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Push or Pull? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use these push and pull cut and paste worksheets when exploring forces and motion in your science lessons.
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3-Digit Number Expander Template (Bat)
Explore 3-digit numbers with this cute foldable bat number expander for your students.
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How Do Circuits Work? Worksheet for Year 6
Guide your students to create a diagram that shows complete and incomplete circuits and explain their function with this worksheet.
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What Needs Soil to Grow? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Teach students what needs soil to grow with this cut-and-paste worksheet for early years students.
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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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Adverbial Phrases Roll and Write Activity
Along with your students, roll and write your way to hilarious silly sentences with adverb phrases with this printable worksheet!
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Symmetry Pattern Design Worksheet
Have your students create real-world symmetrical representations using this 3-page symmetry worksheet set and a tub of pattern blocks.
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The Importance of Soil – Comprehension Worksheets
Teach your students about the importance of soil to plants, animals and humans with this differentiated reading comprehension passage with accompanying questions.
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Rounding Decimals on a Number Line Worksheet Pack
Teach your students how to determine missing numbers on a number line and use it to round decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth.
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Dot Day Colour By Number Printable - Upper Years
Integrate Dot Day concepts into your maths lessons with printable Dot Day Multiplication and Division colour-by-number worksheets.
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Directions with Right Angle Turns Worksheet
Teach your students to give and follow directions using right angles with this 2-page maths worksheet for Year 3 students.
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Plant Life Cycle Passage and Graphic Organiser
Give your students an opportunity to sequence the life cycle of a plant with a reading passage and worksheet.