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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2D Shapes and 3D Objects – Worksheets
Focus on drawing 2D shapes and describing 3D objects with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Year 3 States of Matter - Nonfiction Reading Comprehension
Teach science and reading skills with a set of printable Year 3 Reading Worksheets about the three states of matter.
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Area and Perimeter Word Problems
Get students to solve area and perimeter word problems with this set of three worksheets.
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Australia and Its Neighbours - Poster and Labelling Activity
A set of maps and worksheet for students to use when looking at Australia and its neighbours.
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Daily Maths Word Problems - Year 6 (Worksheets)
A set of 20 problem-solving questions suited to year 6 students.
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Year 5 Fractions and Decimals Worksheets
Use these fractions and decimals worksheets in your Year 5 classroom for independent practice or as an assessment activity.
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Multiples of 3 — Fact Fluency Pack
Master 3 multiples with this engaging fact fluency pack, designed to help teachers strengthen students' recall of threes multiplication facts through a variety of low-prep activities.
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Information Report Text Examples and Worksheet Pack
Use this set of 5 information report text examples and 2 targeted worksheets to support your students in breaking down and understanding informative writing.
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Sequence an Example Persuasive Text – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use this example persuasive text pack to teach your students about sequencing arguments in a logical order.
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Analysing Data Worksheet Set
Share this analysing data worksheet set with your students to give them varied practice interpreting multiple data representations.
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Prediction in Reading Comprehension Task
Help students to engage with prediction during reading with this predictions in reading comprehension task.
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Year 3 - Estimate and Measure Length Worksheets
Estimate and measure length in metres and centimetres with a set of printable Year 3 maths worksheets
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Heavy and Light Worksheet Pack
Practise knowledge of heavy and light with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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Read and Interpret Timetables Worksheets
Five pages of worksheets that allow students to work on reading and interpreting timetables.
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Draw The Line of Symmetry Worksheets
Use this lines of symmetry worksheet to help students practise drawing lines of symmetry on 2D shapes.
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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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Split Class/Fast Finisher Booklet - Lower Years
A booklet to use when classes are split or as fast finisher activities.
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Using Adjectives: Read and Draw Fairy Tale Characters
Use this engaging set of Using Adjectives: Read and Draw Fairy Tale Characters worksheets when exploring adjectives through drawing.
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Adding and Subtracting with the Bar Model — Cut and Paste Worksheet
Practise adding and subtracting two-digit numbers using the bar model with this cut and paste worksheet pack.
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Giving Directions Worksheet Pack - Year 1 Location and Position
Deepen location and position understanding with this giving directions worksheet pack.
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Read, Find and Colour – CVC Words
Consolidate your students' decoding skills with this set of search and find worksheets.
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Roll-a-Kandinsky - Dot Day Art Game
Introduce your students to the circle art style of Wassily Kandinsky with a fun Roll-a-Kandinsky Art Game for Dot Day.
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Modelling Equal Groups in Multiplication Worksheets
Share these modelling equal groups in multiplication worksheets with your students to give them practise solving multiplication problems visually.
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Algebra Questions Year 6 Worksheet Set
Share these algebra questions year 6 worksheets with your students to level up their skills in identifying number patterns and following the order of operations.
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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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Year 3 Reading Fluency Passages
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for Year 3.
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Sorting Unit Fractions Cut and Paste
Sort different unit fraction visualisations with these cut-and-paste unit fraction worksheets.
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Free Letter Tracing Worksheets - State Fonts
Use letter tracing worksheets to help your students develop their handwriting and fine motor skills.
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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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Year 3 Fractions – Differentiated Assessment
Use this differentiated fractions test for year 3 to assess concepts such as identifying fractions, using fraction models and determining the fraction of a set.
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Skip Counting Worksheet — Counting by 2, 5 and 10
Practise counting by 2, 5 and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.
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Biography Examples and Analysis Worksheet
Use these biography examples with accompanying analysis worksheets to teach your students about the purpose, structure and language features of biographical texts.