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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Let's Infer! Reading Worksheet
Boost reading comprehension with our 2-page writing worksheet that helps students practice making inferences.
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R-Controlled Digraphs Worksheet Pack
Practise writing and enhancing knowledge of r-controlled digraphs with this worksheet pack.
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Consonant Digraphs Worksheet Pack
Practise writing and enhancing knowledge of consonant digraphs with this worksheet pack.
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Multiplication With Models Worksheet
Guide your students to determine the product of single-digit factors with various multiplication models.
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Multiplication Using Arrays Worksheet
Encourage your students to practise multiplication using arrays with this worksheet.
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Roll and Expand Numbers Worksheet Pack
Explore place value with you rstudents using this set of levelled expanding numbers worksheets.
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Electricity and Circuits Guided Notes for Year 6
Use this set of guided notes when teaching your students about electricity and circuits.
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How to Write 2-Digit and 3-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Explore how to represent number values in standard form, word form, expanded form, and picture form with this multipurpose place value worksheet.
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Explanation Writing Project – Earth and Space Phenomena
Get your students producing high-quality explanation writing with this fully scaffolded writing project, where students research, organise and publish an explanation text about an Earth and Space phenomenon.
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Sorting Symmetrical Shapes Worksheets
Use this simple but effective symmetry worksheet to reinforce the concepts of symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes with your Grade Four students.
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Then and Now - Grandparents' Day Interview Activity
Interview grandma and grandpa to compare then and now with our printable Grandparents’ Day interview templates.
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Homophone Mandala Flower Worksheets
Have your students create a colourful mandala flower while simultaneously demonstrating their understanding of common homophones.
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Weathering vs. Erosion Worksheet Pack
Support student understanding of weathering and erosion with this reading comprehension passage, worksheet and accompanying vocabulary activities.
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Analysing Line Plots – Differentiated Worksheets
Empower your students to become proficient data interpreters with this set of differentiated line plot worksheets.
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Innovative Inventors - Year 4 Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Meet famous inventors in history with this informational text and comprehension questions activity
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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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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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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 Life Cycle Worksheet Pack
Help your students cement their understanding of the plant life cycle with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Responsibilities of Australian Local Governments - Cloze Worksheet
Explore the roles and responsibilities of local governments around Australia with this differentiated cloze passage worksheet.
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Real-World 3D Objects - Colouring Worksheet
Explore three-dimensional objects in the real world with this colouring worksheet.
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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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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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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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Adding and Subtracting Integers - Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the positive and negative number code with four adding and subtracting integers worksheets.
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Equivalent Fractions – Mystery Picture Worksheet
Determine equivalent fractions while using the colour guide to reveal a mystery image.
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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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Find It! - Dictionary Scavenger Hunt Worksheets
Practise dictionary skills with this set of 5 scavenger hunt-style worksheets.
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The Number Line Zoo - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Develop number sense by returning the zoo animals to their correct positions on the number line with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Colour the Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet
Explore vocabulary with this synonyms and antonyms worksheet for Year 4 students.
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Spelling CVC Words - Worksheets
Develop students’ ability to segment and blend the sounds in CVC words with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Level 5 Decodable Readers - Worksheet Pack
A set of one-pager worksheet versions of the texts from our Level 5 decodable readers.