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.
- Plus Plan
Double Dinos - Using Doubles Facts to Add Near Doubles Worksheet
Practice the “near doubles” addition strategy to solve addition problems to 20.
- Free Plan
What Plants Need - Kindergarten Worksheet
Identify what plants need to survive with a group of free plant worksheets for kindergartners.
- Plus Plan
Internal and External Character Traits - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with this differentiated cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Free Plan
I Set My Boundaries Worksheets
Identify your personal space boundaries with this worksheet set.
- Plus Plan
Rainforest Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a rainforest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Am I A Space Invader? Poster and Worksheet Set
Learn about personal space with this space invader poster and worksheet set.
- Plus Plan
Tomato Plant Life Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Learn about the life cycle of a tomato with a cut-and-paste sequencing worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Healthy and Unhealthy Plants Worksheets
Discover what plants need to grow to be healthy with differentiated worksheets about healthy and unhealthy plants.
- Plus Plan
Tree Observation Worksheets
Record observations of trees in the environment with a printable graphic organizer.
- Plus Plan
Main Idea and Details Worksheets
Practice finding the main idea and supporting detail with this pack of main idea worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Plant and Animal Adaptations - Comprehension Worksheets
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations.
- Plus Plan
Ocean Biome Food Web Activity Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this Ocean Food Web Activity Worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Grassland Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Free Plan
Finding the Main Idea in Nonfiction Text Worksheet
Identify supporting evidence for the main idea of an informational text passage and answer the comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan
Plant Adaptations Worksheets
Learn about different plants' behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations with printable plant adaptation worksheets.
- Free Plan
Subtraction Strategies – Worksheet
Assess your students’ knowledge of subtraction strategies with a subtraction assessment.
- Plus Plan
Handwriting Practice Sheets - Colors, Numbers, Days and Months
Practice printing skills with a pack of printable handwriting worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Finding the Central Idea Worksheet
Read a short article, answer 10 comprehension questions, and use the gathered knowledge to write a central idea sentence about the text.
- Plus Plan
Four Seasons Picture Sorting – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Sort pictures according to the season they represent with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Water Cycle Cut and Sort Activity
Show a deep understanding of the water cycle with this cut and paste activity.
- Free Plan
What is Cooperation? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between cooperative and non-cooperative behavior with this cut and paste worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - The Three Little Pigs
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with this mini-book retell of The Three Little Pigs.
- Plus Plan
Subtraction with Ten Frames - Worksheet
Model and subtract numbers to twenty using ten frames with a handy ten-frame subtraction worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Measuring Angles – Mystery Picture Worksheet
Find the measure of each angle and use the color guide to reveal a mystery picture with this worksheet designed for 4th-grade students.
- Plus Plan
Sort the Suffixes - Inflectional Endings Worksheets
Practice using the suffixes -s, -es, -ies and -ves with a pack of printable add-a-suffix worksheets.
- Free Plan
Dictionary Guide Words Cut and Paste
Cut and paste to work out what guide words go with each of these words found in the dictionary.
- Plus Plan
'Ways To Show Empathy' Poster and Worksheet
Use this printable empathy for kids poster and worksheet to teach your students how to share the feelings of others.
- Plus Plan
2D Shapes Comparison Worksheet
A set of two 2D shape worksheets for students to record their observations whilst comparing properties of 2D shapes.
- Plus Plan
Evaluating Expressions – Paper Chain Activity
Use your understanding of the order of operations to evaluate expressions with one or two variables with this paper chain activity.
- Plus Plan
Objects in the Sky – Mini Workbook
Observe, describe, and illustrate different objects in the sky with this printable mini-workbook.
- Plus Plan
Fractions on a Number Line Worksheets
Represent fractions greater than zero and less than or equal to one with a pack of fraction number line worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication Color By Number Worksheet - Kangaroo
Hop your way through multiplication mastery with a multiplication color-by-number worksheet.