Printable PDF Teaching Resources
Explore printable PDF worksheets, activities and thousands more teacher resources you can add to your lesson plans with just a few clicks — including free printables!
Thousands of Teach Starter's teacher-created resources are available in PDF file format, making it easy for any teacher to use anywhere — no matter what type of computer or software you have.
Curious about the advantages of PDF resources for teachers? Read on for a quick guide from our teacher team!
What Does PDF Stand For?
Before we dive into all the ways you can use a PDF in your classroom, it's worth looking at the meaning behind the acronym. PDF stands for "Portable Document Format."
It's a file format that was developed by the software company Adobe in the 1990s. The format was designed to protect the appearance and layout of documents across different platforms and devices.
That's exactly what makes it so easy for teachers to use. You can print a PDF worksheet on the school printer and send that same PDF via email to a student's parent, and the layout will remain exactly the same — even if you are using entirely different computers.
How Do I Open a PDF File From Teach Starter?
Most web browsers — like the one you're using right now to access our teacher resources — will allow you to open a PDF file directly in the browser.
What if you want to open the file without opening a browser? We suggest downloading Adobe's free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to easily display any PDF.
How Do I Print a PDF Document for My Students?
The ease of printing has made the PDF format a must for teacher resources, so how do you actually print your new worksheet or activity?
Simple!
- Open the PDF file in your browser or PDF viewer (like Adobe Acrobat Reader, mentioned above).
- Click on the "File" menu in the top-left corner.
- Select "Print" or use your keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + P" (Windows) or "Command + P" (Mac).
- In the print dialog box, choose your printer from the list.
- Adjust print settings like orientation, paper size and the number of copies you'll need for your students.
- Click "Print" to start printing.
Can I Edit a PDF File?
This is a common teacher question, and the answer is a bit complicated.
There's special software out there that will allow for some edits on a PDF, but you will typically need to have the original document to get the best results.
To make sure teachers can make the edits they need to adjust our resources for their lesson plans and their individual students, most Teach Starter resources are available in other (editable) formats, such as Google Slides!
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Tessellation Christmas Tree - Printable Project
Engage your students in the weeks before Christmas with a collaborative Christmas Tree Tessellation project.
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Funky Reindeer Craft Template
Download the famous Teach Starter funky reindeer template! This Christmas craft activity is perfect for practicing Zentangle patterns.
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Ugly Christmas Sweater - Dice Drawing Game
Roll your way to the perfect ugly Christmas sweater with a printable Christmas dice game.
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Jingle Jumble - Free Christmas Search-a-Word
Use this free holiday word search to build vocabulary and spelling skills in your classroom this Christmas season.
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Roll to Create a Gingerbread House
Have some Christmas fun without the mess with a Roll-to-Create Gingerbread House Art activity.
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Funky Christmas Gnome Craft Template
Get ready for Christmas with this popular gnome craft featuring a customizable Zentangle Pattern Christmas Gnome with funky glasses and holiday accessories.
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Search and Find – Gingerbread House
Gingerbread house search and find activity.
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Christmas - Making Inferences Task Cards and Visual Display
Skip the inferencing worksheet and have some fun with a Christmas-themed investigation activity.
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Save Santa's Workshop – Escape Room for Kids
A fun and festive escape room activity where students solve clues to save Santa's Workshop.
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Christmas Capitalization Worksheet
Reinforce capitalization rules for months, proper nouns, titles, the pronoun I, and more with a Christmas capitalization worksheet.
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Personal Identity Activity (My Identity Wheel)
Explore personal identity by completing this personal identity wheel.
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Fill-in-the-Blank Multiplication Chart Task Cards
Use this set of task cards to Improve student understanding of multiplication tables by recalling facts through 10 × 10.
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Funky Snowman Craft Template
A fun winter craft activity for kids using a snowman template with accessories.
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Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences – Comprehension Task Cards
Use this set of comprehension task cards with your students to help them draw conclusions and make inferences when reading.
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Digital Christmas Escape Room for the Classroom — Elf Investigation
This exciting Christmas escape room has been created by our teacher team to engage your upper elementary students this holiday season. Help the Mayor of Elfton catch the person responsible for some mischievous events in his town.
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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read and learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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Christmas Activity Sheets Workbook
Have a blast completing the fun activities in this printable Christmas activity book for upper grades.
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Goal Setting – Iceberg Template
Download a free goal setting template that helps students identify singular aspects that they need focus on to achieve a goal.
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Dear Santa Letter Templates
Use a printable Dear Santa Letter template to write fun letters to Santa during your writing classes.
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Holiday Code Cracker: Middle Years – Whole Class Holiday Game
A whole class, holiday-themed game where students work together to find a secret code.
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Color by Parts of Speech Chameleon Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Pronouns)
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
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Financial Literacy Math Investigation – Pop–Up Shop on Wheels
A mathematics investigation involving financial literacy, embedded in a real-world context.
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My Emotional Triggers Worksheet
Help your elementary students explore the situations that trigger them to experience certain emotional responses with this 2-page emotional triggers worksheet.
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Roll to Create a Creature - Drawing Game
Use a die and a chart to create a creature to include in a narrative text or a comic strip.
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3-D Christmas Tree - Printable Craft Template
Try combining geometry and Christmas with this fun holiday craft!
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Christmas Symmetry Worksheets - Mirrored Drawing Activity
Explore symmetry with these printable Christmas-themed symmetry worksheets.
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Create an 'Elfie Selfie' Template
Create an adorable 'Elfie Selfie' with an easy Christmas craft for kids.
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Lewis and Clark Expedition - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Finish the Drawing - Worksheets
Get creative and finish the drawings with a set of five art worksheets.
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Where Do Natural Resources Come From? Differentiated Worksheet
Explore where natural resources are found with a pair of differentiated natural resource worksheets.
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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Roll It! Operations Game
Use this fun game to practice all four operations and/or order of operations.