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.
- Plus Plan
Number Sequencing to 1 000 - Worksheet
A place value worksheet to use when sequencing numbers to 1 000.
- Plus Plan
Character Description – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach character description with this set of four worksheets that help students explore how authors use the STEAL technique to bring characters to life.
- Plus Plan
Mood in Narrative Writing – Text Analysis Worksheets
Teach mood in narrative writing with this set of four worksheets designed to help students explore narrative atmosphere in the context of real texts.
- Plus Plan
Five Senses Colouring Worksheets
Help your students understand more about their senses with a pack of printable 5 Senses colouring worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Highest Common Factor Worksheet Set
Download our highest common factor worksheets for varied practice finding the HCF of two and three digit numbers.
- Plus Plan
Cartesian Plane Worksheet Set (Real-World Scenarios)
Differentiate with our Cartesian plane worksheet set full of real-world maths scenarios.
- Free Plan
Colour by Factor – Worksheet
Solve missing factor equations and colour a picture according to a colour-by-number guide.
- Plus Plan
The Water Cycle – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Enhance your students’ comprehension and science vocabulary skills with this water cycle worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 4
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the four times tables.
- Plus Plan
Dotted Numbers 0-10 Handwriting Worksheet
Get your students writing numbers from 0-10 with this number formation worksheet available in Australian school fonts.
- Plus Plan
Very Important Verbs Worksheet
Explore verbs within the context of the well-known story of The Gingerbread Man.
- Plus Plan
Number Sequencing to 100 - Worksheet
A raindrop themed place value worksheet to use when sequencing numbers to 100.
- Free Plan
Multiples and Factors Worksheet Set
Use this multiples and factors worksheet set to help your students identify factor and multiple number pairs.
- Plus Plan
Reading Making Predictions Worksheet Pack
Practise reading and making predictions with this Reading Making Predictions Worksheet Pack.
- Free Plan
Rounding Large Numbers Worksheet Set
Share this rounding large numbers worksheet set with your students so they can cut-and-paste their way to understanding rounding.
- Plus Plan
Simple Addition Riddle Worksheet
Download this simple addition worksheet to provide your students with practice adding one- and two-digit numbers.
- Plus Plan
Characteristics of Living Things - Science Worksheets
Identify the characteristics of living things and animal classes with a pack of printable Animal Class Characteristic Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Cursive Writing Worksheets PDF - Alphabet
Practise writing the alphabet in cursive with a pack of printable cursive alphabet writing worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Using Persuasive Devices Worksheet
Use this persuasive devices worksheet to help your students create persuasive device examples based on a specific topic.
- Free Plan
Monster Magic - Reading Comprehension Activity
Read and comprehend a set of instructions to create a magical monster!
- Plus Plan
Daily Maths Word Problems – Year 3
A set of 20 problem solving questions suited to year 3 students.
- Plus Plan
Decodable Text Worksheets – Single Graphemes (Set 2)
A set of 10 decodable text worksheets for early readers.
- Plus Plan
Write a Short Story – Adventure in Space
Get your students analysing and writing adventure in space stories with this engaging and fully scaffolded writing project booklet.
- Free Plan
Colour Counting Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate the concept of numbers and associated values.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Writing Worksheets - Would You Rather?
Explore persuasive writing with these persuasive writing worksheets - would you rather exercise.
- Plus Plan
Skip Counting Caterpillar Worksheet Pack
Craft a Skip Counting Caterpillar with our printable skip counting cut and paste worksheets for year 1.
- Free Plan
Multisyllabic Word List Resource Pack
Print and use a multisyllabic word list to introduce your students to more complex words and syllable patterns.
- Plus Plan
Tropical Cyclone Worksheet - Year 5/6 Comprehension
Use our Tropical Cyclone worksheet pack to teach your students about natural disasters.
- Plus Plan
Printable Worksheets About Bees - Year 2-3 Comprehension
Use our worksheets about bees to discover what there is to know about bees, how they help plants, and how they make honey.
- Plus Plan
Active Listening-Drawing Activity Pack
Grab a Draw My Picture Game to fill in classroom downtime and help your students boost their listening skills.
- Plus Plan
Context Clues Reading Comprehension Handouts
Use Context Clues Reading Comprehension Handouts to assess your student's ability to define unknown words using context clues.
- Plus Plan
Number Ordering Puzzles
Help students order numbers up to 20 with a set of 8 cut-and-paste number ordering puzzles.