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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Listen, Comprehend, and Color Worksheets
A listening comprehension exercise and art activity rolled into one.
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How to Write 2-Digit and 3-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Explore how to represent number values in standard form, word form, expanded form, and picture form with this multipurpose place value worksheet.
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Forms of Energy Worksheet
A worksheet about the different forms of energy.
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Multiplication and Division Worksheets – Mixed Facts
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of math facts.
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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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Multiplication and Division Worksheets – Facts of 9
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the facts of 9.
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Multiplication and Division Worksheets – Facts of 7
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the facts of 7.
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Multiplication and Division Worksheets – Facts of 5
Use these multiplication and division worksheets to help your students become more familiar with their facts of 5.
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Multiplication and Division Worksheets – Facts of 4
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the facts of 4.
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Behavior Reflection Sheet – Upper Grades
Get your students to reflect on their behaviors with this reflection worksheet.
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2-D Shape Match
A fun match-up activity to consolidate your students’ knowledge of 2-D shapes and their attributes.
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Missing Articles - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Using this cut and paste article adjectives worksheet, students will identify the correct missing article and place it in the sentence.
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K-9ine the Robot Dog - Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with a persuasive magazine advertisement.
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Leisure Land - Map Skills Worksheet
Practice using cardinal directions with this carnival map and worksheet.
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Advertisement Worksheet – Milton Mentor
A comprehension worksheet for a persuasive magazine advertisement.
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Living or Nonliving Sort
A worksheet that explores living and nonliving things.
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Rhyming Practice - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Practice identifying rhyming words with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Governments and How They Function – Worksheet
An activity for students to research the government of two economies and write a report to compare and contrast them.
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Parts of Speech Word Search – Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, and Adverbs
Find and categorize nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs with this color by parts of speech worksheet.
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Color by Sight Words - 4 Words - Butterfly
A fun coloring activity to use when working with sight words.
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End of Year Goal Setting Sheet
Create goals for the upcoming school year with this student template.
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6-Digit Number of the Day Worksheet
A 6-digit place value worksheet to represent the number of the day in different ways.
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Order of Operations Worksheet
Tackle PEMDAS with an order of operations worksheet for 6th grade.
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Factor Trees Worksheet Set
Print a free factor trees worksheet set for 5th or 6th graders to practice prime factorization.
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Spring Is Here Poem – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet paired with a poem about the season of spring.
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Marine Animals Adjectives Worksheet
A set of 12 marine animal themed adjective teaching resource worksheets.
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Types of Graphs Posters and Worksheets
A collection of posters displaying the different types of graphs along with matching worksheets to assist students with laying out graphs on the page.
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All About Family - Workbook
A journal with activities on the topic of family.
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Preposition Activity – Read and Draw
Download this preposition activity pack, where students read a series of instructions to draw scenes by identifying prepositions.
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Grammar Worksheet Pack – Lower Elementary
Review different parts of speech with this worksheet pack.
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Readers' Theater Script - The Lion and the Mouse
A readers’ theater script that can be used for reading fluency and expressive reading.
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Statue of Liberty Comprehension Worksheet
Print a Statue of Liberty comprehension worksheet that encourages students to apply a range of reading strategies.