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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2nd Grade Reading Passage & Worksheet- Being a Good Pet Parent
Print a 2nd grade reading comprehension passage and worksheet to teach comprehension skills and learn about being a good pet parent by limiting pets' impact on ecosystems.
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Diagram of a Volcano - Labeling Worksheet
Label the diagram of a volcano with a printable volcano worksheet.
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Clock Worksheet Cut and Paste– 5-Minute Intervals
Use a clock worksheet to cut, paste and build a clock with five minute increments.
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Comparing and Ordering Decimals Worksheet
Get students comparing and ordering decimals to the thousandths place with this 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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Multiplication With Equal Groups – Color by Number Worksheet
Guide your students to determine a multiplication problem for an equal groups model with this color-by-number worksheet.
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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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Class Compliments - SEL Worksheets
Encourage kindness and boost morale by creating a wall of compliments for each student with a printable self-esteem activity.
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Writing Compound Sentences Worksheet
Spark students' creativity with this conjunctions worksheet containing four images to prompt students to write compound sentences.
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Plant Adaptations - Color by Number Worksheets
Learn about the adaptations of plants in the rainforest, tundra, and desert with color-by-number worksheets.
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Main Idea and Details Worksheets
Practice finding the main idea and supporting detail with this pack of main idea worksheets.
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Decimals to the Tenths - Number Line Worksheets
Practice identifying decimals on number lines with a number line worksheet.
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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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Antonyms are Opposite Words - Cut and Paste Worksheets
Build vocabulary skills with a cut-and-paste antonyms worksheet.
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Continents and Oceans Worksheet
A worksheet to practice identifying the 7 continents and 5 oceans.
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Prepositions Practice Worksheet
Use prepositions and prepositional phrases to describe the location with a prepositional phrase worksheet.
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Powers of the Legislative Branch Comprehension Pack
Learn about the leaders and responsibilities of the Legislative Branch of the United States government with a reading passage and comprehension worksheets.
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Predator or Prey? Forest Animals – Worksheet
Sort animals according to whether they are classified as predators, prey, or both with this worksheet.
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Free Author's Purpose Worksheets
Assess reading comprehension by reviewing 3 short passages and answering questions about the author's purpose.
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Silent Letters Worksheets - Read, Find, and Color
Identify letters that are silent with this set of three find and color worksheets.
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Word Study List - Trigraphs
Introduce and explore words with trigraphs using a list of 50 trigraph words.
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Word Study List - Hard and Soft C Words
Introduce and explore words containing the hard and soft c with this extensive list of words.
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Free U.S. Mountains, Rivers, and Land Features Worksheet
Apply knowledge of the major U.S. land features, mountains, and rivers with a map labeling worksheet.
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Find Someone Who – End of the Year Edition
Use this fun end-of-the-year activity to get students moving and reflect with their classmates about the school year.
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Count and Color the Coins - Differentiated Worksheets
Use skip counting and addition skills to determine which coins are needed for a given amount.
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Converting Improper Fractions – Worksheet
Practice converting improper fractions to mixed numbers with this 1-page worksheet.
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Color by Sight Words - 5 Words - Bee
A fun coloring activity to use when working with sight words.
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Adjectives Worksheet
Practice identifying and writing adjectives in sentences with this 1-page worksheet.
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Back to School Today! Poem for Kids
Ease back-to-school jitters and launch your students into a love of poetry with a short poem for kids written just for the first day of school!
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Color by Number - Numbers 10–20
A color by number activity for students to practice recognizing teen numbers.
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Multiplication and Division Minute Math Booklet
Warm-up (or assess) with this 10-page booklet of multiplication and division drills.
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Cursive Practice - Sentences
A set of 6 sheets to practice writing sentences in cursive.