Worksheets for Teachers
Did someone say printable worksheets? From 2nd-grade math worksheets and 4th-grade reading comprehension worksheets to Common Core worksheets 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 elementary grade levels.
Explore printable activities, free worksheets, homework sheets and more — 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 individualized instruction was gaining traction, and educators recognized 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 individualized 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, practicing 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 markers 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 markers!
- Use digital worksheets. Allow students to fill out their worksheets on classroom tablets as a means to add an extra level of engagement.
- Focus on rigor. It's important to differentiate instruction, and the worksheets assigned to students should be appropriate to their needs — but they should not just be busy work. Ensure there's a challenge at hand to hold kids' attention!
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 — primary-aged students can work on their fine motor skills with our mini book, cut and paste worksheets, and more while their older elementary peers get pulled into the fun of vocabulary fun with word searches and crossword puzzle worksheets.
Printable puzzles engage students in the form of a brain game, and color by worksheets bring art elements into math 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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Uses of Magnets Comprehension Worksheet
Download this magnets worksheet to teach your 2nd grade students about the uses of magnets in our everyday lives.
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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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3D Shape Detective - Worksheet
Explore the properties of some common three-dimensional shapes with this printable worksheet.
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Earth Watch: Drowning in Plastic - Comprehension Worksheet
Practice reading comprehension skills and learn about microplastic pollution in our oceans with a reading comprehension activity.
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Novel Study – Chapter Summary Worksheet
Reflect on a chapter in a class novel using this one-page worksheet.
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Free 5 Senses Worksheet
Identify the body parts used to sense things with a free 5 Senses Cut and Paste Worksheet.
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Emotive Language Cloze Passage Worksheet
Get students using emotive language examples in their persuasive essays with this differentiated cloze passage worksheet.
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Plant Life Cycle Passage and Graphic Organizer
Give your students an opportunity to and sequence the life cycle of a plant with a reading passage and worksheet.
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5th Grade Math Review – Test Prep Packet
Encourage your students to work through 8 pages of 5th-grade math problems while charting their progress to measure their success.
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Where to Buy Goods and Services Worksheet
Identify places and people in the community that provide goods and services with a cut and paste sorting worksheet.
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What Needs Soil to Grow? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Teach students what needs soil to grow with this cut-and-paste worksheet for Kindergarten students.
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Self-Esteem Survey Worksheet
Explore self-esteem with your students with this self-esteem survey.
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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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Food Chains – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain.
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Measuring My Body – Length Worksheet
Explore linear measurement with an engaging collaborative activity where students measure different body parts and compare them
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Describe That Decimal Worksheet
Explore the place value of decimals with this versatile one-page printable worksheet.
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4-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Practice reading and writing 4-digit numbers with this printable PDF worksheet.
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Symmetry Worksheets
Use this set of eight symmetry worksheets to help students understand symmetry, the line of symmetry, and symmetrical objects.
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Add It In - Listen and Draw Active Listening Activity
Practice following directions to color and draw pictures with a printable listening activity worksheet pack.
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Equivalent Fractions – Worksheet Pack
Use fraction models, strip diagrams, and number lines to determine equivalent fractions with this worksheet pack.
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Phases of the Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Analyze different moon phases and how their visual appearances change over time with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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What's Missing? - Alphabet Worksheet
A set of worksheets to practice writing the letters of the alphabet in order.
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Library Scavenger Hunt for Upper Elementary Grades
Explore the school library with a scavenger hunt!
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Compound Words - Worksheet Pack
Practice using compound words in sentences with. a pair of printable compound word worksheets for older students.
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Consonant Digraph Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Reinforce your students' knowledge of consonant digraphs with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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I Set My Boundaries Worksheets
Identify your personal space boundaries with this worksheet set.
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My Safety Plan Worksheet
Create a safety plan to help understand what to do or who to go to when you feel unsafe.
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Daily Vocabulary Dive - Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet
Give your students a daily dose of synonym and antonym review with a 5-day vocabulary warm-up worksheet.
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Basketball I Spy Worksheet
Have a bit of counting and coloring fun with a basketball worksheet for Kindergarten.
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Exploring Figurative Language in Poetry Workbook
Teach your upper elementary and middle school students to read, analyze, and discuss poetry with a printable and digital poetry workbook.
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Three Branches of Government Sort
Learn about the branches of the U.S. government, each branch's responsibilities and those that are involved in each branch using a sorting activity.
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The Pony Express - Comprehension Passage Worksheet
Teach your students how to write a constructed response paragraph and integrate grade level Social studies concepts with a free Pony Express worksheet and ten-question comprehension assessment.