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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Describing Toys Past and Present - Worksheet
A worksheet for students to describe the features of past and present toys.
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Fast Finishers' Folder - Middle Primary
Twenty-one activities for your fast finishers.
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School Font Tracing Alphabet with Arrows
Full page upper and lower case alphabet letters with arrows for tracing.
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Make Your Binary Code Birthday Card Activity
A worksheet for students to use when learning about the total numeric value of a bit code.
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Binary Codes with Guide Dots to 20 Cards
Coding cards for teachers to use when teaching about the total numeric value of a bit code.
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The Torres Strait Islander Flag - Poster and Worksheet
A poster and worksheet of the Torres Strait Islander flag.
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The Australian Flag Poster and Worksheet
A poster and worksheet of the Australian Flag.
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Fast Finishers' Folder - Upper Primary
Twenty-one activities for your fast finishers.
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What Australia Day Means to Me Worksheet
A worksheet to use in the classroom when learning about Australia Day.
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Personal Recount Sequencing Activity - Surprise!
A worksheet to use in the classroom when learning the sequence of a personal recount.
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Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Division Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to complete division problems and colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
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Recognising Uppercase and Lowercase Letters on a Keyboard Worksheet
A 26 page collection of worksheets (1 for each letter of the alphabet) to help students recognise uppercase and lowercase letters on a keyboard.
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When Winter Comes - Keeping Warm Worksheet
A poem to activate students' prior knowledge about keeping warm.
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Light and Shadow - Design an Experiment Worksheet
A worksheet that explores light and shadow and the principles of a fair test.
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Verb Groups Worksheet
Explore verb groups and the words that surround verbs in sentences with this set of verb group worksheets.
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Preposition Activity Sheet Pack – Read and Draw
Download this preposition activity sheet pack, where students read a series of instructions to draw scenes by identifying prepositions.
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Adverbs Worksheet
A 2 page worksheet that explores the use of adverbs.
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Identifying Procedural Language Worksheets
Help your students identify procedural language with this set of three worksheets.
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Australia-Centred World Map
Teach your students about the continents, oceans and countries of the world with this Australia-centred world map.
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Blank Binary Coding Cards - Worksheet
A worksheet to assist students in creating their own binary codes.
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Supplementary Angles – Year 6 Maths Worksheet
Teach your students to identify and calculate supplementary angles with this one-page maths worksheet.
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Complementary Angles – Year 6 Maths Worksheet
Teach your students to identify and calculate complementary angles with this one-page maths worksheet.
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Do You Know Your Hands? Cut and Paste Worksheet
A 3 page cut and paste worksheet to use when learning about the different parts of the hand.
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Which Objects Have Capacity Worksheet
A worksheet to use when exploring the concept of capacity.
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Do You Know Your Hands? Worksheet
A 2 page worksheet to use when identifying and naming the different fingers and parts of the hand.
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Measuring, Comparing and Ordering Capacity Worksheet
A worksheet that explores the concept of capacity using informal units of measurement.
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Paddock to Plate Data Sorting Worksheet
A cut and paste sorting worksheet for use when learning about raw and manufactured products.
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Networking Digital Systems Brainstorming Worksheets
A brainstorming sheet that encourages students to consider all possible devices that can be networked with a laptop, a computer and a tablet.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 3 - Cat
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 2 - Frog
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Convict Identification Cards - Template
A convict identification card template to use in the classroom when learning about the convicts of the First Fleet.
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Hundreds Boards with Missing Numbers - 1-100 and 101-200
A set of 12 hundreds boards worksheets with missing numbers.