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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World War I Comprehension Packet
Blend reading and social studies content with a printable set of World War 1 Reading Passages and accompanying question sets.
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Understanding Positive & Negative Numbers – Worksheet
Explore positive and negative numbers by plotting integers on a number line and identifying opposites with this worksheet.
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Inner vs. Outer Planets – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sort inner and outer planets with this cut-and-paste science worksheet.
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Word Study List - Words with Soft and Hard C
Introduce and explore words with soft and hard C with this extensive list of words.
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Words With Y as a Vowel - Word List
Introduce and explore words containing the letter “y” making a vowel sound with this y vowel word list.
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Rotation vs. Revolution – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Demonstrate an understanding of rotation vs. revolution with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Multiplying Fractions Worksheet
A worksheet to practice multiplying and simplifying fractions.
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Dividing Fractions – Differentiated Worksheets
Practice dividing fractions with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Adding and Subtracting Like Fractions Word Problems Worksheets
Download these adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators word problems to provide your students with practice in this valuable math skill.
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Human Histories: World Explorers – Comprehension Worksheet
A free comprehension worksheet paired with an informational text about world explorers.
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Writing Equations From Word Problems – Differentiated Digital & Printable Worksheets
Practice writing equations from word problems with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Volume with Unit Cubes – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to reinforce how to find the volume of a rectangular prism by counting the number of unit cubes.
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Women's Suffrage - Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a differentiated comprehension passage and worksheet about Women’s Suffrage.
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13 Colonies Quiz
Locate and identify the 13 original colonies of the United States with a 13 Colonies Map Quiz.
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Addition and Subtraction Within 20 – Worksheet
Use this worksheet with your students when exploring addition and subtraction within 20.
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Perimeter with Missing Sides – Word Problems Worksheet
Use this perimeter with missing sides worksheet when exploring the concept of perimeter in your math lessons.
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Looking at Landforms Worksheet
Identify the major landforms of the world with a labeling worksheet.
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Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) Constructed Response Worksheet
Use our printable constructed response writing prompts for fourth grade to learn about the fearless Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs).
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Theodore Roosevelt Constructed Response Worksheet
Teach your students about Theodore Roosevelt with this printable biographical constructed response worksheet.
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Navajo Code Talkers Constructed Response Worksheet
Discover the impact of the Navajo Code Talkers on the outcome of World War II with a cross-curricular constructed response worksheet.
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Paul Revere Worksheet - Constructed Response
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a constructed response Paul Revere Worksheet highlighting the American Revolution.
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Goods and Services Sorting Worksheet
Practice identifying examples of goods and services with a cut and paste sorting worksheet.
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Dress for the Weather Worksheet
Identify proper clothing choices for different weather conditions with this worksheet.
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Naming Decimals Worksheet
Get students applying decimal place value skills to represent numbers to the thousandths place in standard, word and expanded form.
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Mixed Operations Minute Math Booklet (Higher-Level Version)
Incorporate this mental math drills booklet into your math lesson warm-up (or assessment) routine.
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Find What Doesn’t Fit: Relevant Details Worksheet
Practice determining what details are relevant and irrelevant to a topic while providing a purposeful context.
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Factor Pairs – Worksheet
Find factor pairs through 100 with this math worksheet.
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Draw and Write Final E Worksheet Pack
Provide extra practice reading, spelling, and writing final-e words with Draw and Write Worksheets.
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Find the Dimes - Worksheet
Practice identifying the front and backside of dimes when given a collection of coins.
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Find the Quarters - Worksheet
Practice identifying the front and backside of quarters when given a collection of coins.
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Color by Coin - Coin Identification Worksheet
Identify quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies by coloring each picture according to a color guide.
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Groundhog Day Graphing Prediction Display and Worksheet
Graph the likelihood that Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this year by creating a data chart on our Groundhog Day prediction worksheet.