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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Icing Unit Fractions Worksheet
Explore unit fractions with your students using this fun donut-themed unit fraction worksheet.
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Free Shapes Worksheets for Kindergarten
Print your free Shapes Worksheets for kindergarten to practice shape identification.
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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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Recycling Writing Prompts - Earth Day Worksheets
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with informational writing prompts about recycling and conservation.
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How to Make a Paper Football — Origami Instruction Sheet
Free printable brain break alert! Teach kids how to make a paper football with these step-by-step instructions.
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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.
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Levels of Government Worksheet - Responsibilities of Each Level
Sort the duties of state, local, and national government with a free sorting worksheet.
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Compound Word List Resource Pack
Introduce your students to different levels and types of compound words with a pack of printable compound word lists.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex sentences.
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What Do Plants Need? Worksheets
Cut, paste, and read about what plants need to survive with a pair of printable plant worksheets.
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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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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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Find the Dimes - Worksheet
Practice identifying the front and backside of dimes when given a collection of coins.
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Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet- Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives (Bunny)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify statement, command, question, and exclamation sentences with a Types of Sentences Cut and Paste worksheet for 2nd grade.
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Moon Phases – Cut and Paste Activity
Create a diagram showing the different moon phases and their names with this cut-and-paste activity sheet.
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Is It Half? Differentiated Fractions Coloring Sheet
Introduce your students to the concept of halves as well as equal and unequal parts with this fractions coloring sheet.
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Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
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Forms of Energy (Heat, Light and Sound) Worksheet
Identify different forms of energy with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Mars vs. Earth - Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Learn about the planets with differentiated compare and contrast passages, activities, and writing opportunities.
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Division with Models Worksheet
Complete 8 division word problems by representing dividends as numbers, pictures, and number sentences.
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Living or Nonliving? - Worksheet
A worksheet that explores living and nonliving things.
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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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Order Up! Elapsed Time Puzzles
Practice determining elapsed time with a printable pack of nine ‘Order Up! Elapsed Time Cut and Paste Puzzle Strips.
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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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Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Learn about the physical adaptations of the polar bear with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 3rd grade.
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Resilience Writing Prompts
Use this set of resilience writing prompts to help your students reflect upon times they have observed resilience in themselves and others.
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My Feelings Volcano Worksheet
Prevent students from being overcome by strong emotions with this volcano-themed coping skills worksheet.
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Worksheet
Practice penmanship by tracing and writing uppercase and lowercase letters.
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Symmetry Drawing Worksheet Pack
Teach your students about symmetry using this series of drawing worksheets where they must copy an image symmetrically using grid lines for reference.
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What Good Friends Do – Differentiated Friendship Worksheets
Sort verbs according to if they are friendly or unfriendly interactions with this friendship worksheet.