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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Dot Plot Worksheet
Practise analysing and creating single-unit dot plots with this free maths worksheet.
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The History of Codes - Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the history and development of Morse code with a comprehension worksheet.
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Hundreds Chart Strategy Addition Worksheet Pack
Practise using the hundreds chart strategy with this worksheet set.
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Adding within 1000 Expanded Form Worksheet
Practise using the split strategy by working through this expanded form addition worksheet.
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Spooky Subtraction Colour by Number - Worksheet
Bring some spooky maths fun into the classroom with a Halloween colour-by-number worksheet focused on subtracting four-digit numbers.
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100 More, 100 Less Worksheets - Cut and Paste Maths Activity
Use an understanding of place value to determine a number 100 more or less than a number with a pair of cut-and-paste maths worksheets.
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Creating Pictographs Worksheet
Use this engaging worksheet to practice creating and reading pictographs.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Passage
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations.
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Animal Adaptations - Worksheet Pack
Use these animal adaptation worksheets when teaching students about the structural, behavioural, and physiological adaptations of animals.
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3 Digit Subtraction Worksheets - Subtraction Strategy Practise
Review and assess your students’ subtraction skills with a pack of printable worksheets covering various strategies for 3-digit subtraction.
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Types of Weathering – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this cut-and-paste worksheet when classifying examples that show mechanical, chemical or biological weathering.
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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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Subtraction using Picture Models - Worksheet
Practise subtracting numbers to 12 using picture models with a printable subtraction worksheet.
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Number Patterns – More and Less Worksheets
Use place value skills to mentally add and subtract 10 or 100 to a given number with this set of worksheets.
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Worksheet Set — Rounding Using a Vertical Number Line
Use a vertical number line to round whole numbers to the tens, hundreds, and thousands place with a pack of differentiated rounding worksheets.
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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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What Good Friends Do – Differentiated Friendship Worksheets
Sort verbs according to if they are friendly or unfriendly interactions with this friendship worksheet.
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Earth, Sun and Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Read about and compare physical characteristics of the Eath, sun and moon with this reading comprehension sheet.
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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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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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Fractions on a Number Line – Worksheet
Improve student understanding of fractions on a number line with this printable maths worksheet.
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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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Fractions of Shapes – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise recognising halves and quarters with this differentiated basic fractions worksheet for year 1 and year 2 students.
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All About the Sun – Comprehension Worksheet
Integrate science and reading while learning about the Sun with this comprehension worksheet.
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Spelling CCVC Words - Worksheets
Develop students’ ability to segment and blend the sounds in CCVC words with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Reading a Map Worksheet
Develop map skills with a map-reading worksheet.
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Silent Letters Fluency Passages - Worksheet Pack
Practise identifying the silent letters in words with this comprehensive collection of reading fluency passages.
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2-Digit Addition Colour by Number - Halloween Mystery Picture
Celebrate the coming of Halloween and practise adding 2-digit numbers up to 99 with this set of Halloween mystery picture worksheets.
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Fascinating Facts About Animals Worksheet
Build reading comprehension skills and learn about amazing animals with a printable year 1 reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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How Many Bears? Graphing – Worksheet
A hands-on picture graph worksheet for students to sort and count coloured bears.
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Colour by Number - 2 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Colour by Number - Numbers 0-9
An engaging activity to consolidate your students’ recognition of one-digit numbers.