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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Subtraction Using the Bar Model - Worksheet
Review and assess your students’ subtraction skills with a 3-digit subtraction worksheet focusing on the bar model strategy.
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Subtraction using Place Value Disks - Worksheet
Subtract 3-digit numbers using place value disks with a printable 3rd-grade subtraction worksheet.
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Plant Cell Diagram - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Label the different parts of a plant cell with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Basic Subtraction Word Problems - Worksheet
Solve subtraction word problems by drawing picture models with a printable subtraction worksheet.
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Word Villain - Prefix and Suffix Worksheets
Practice building words with suffixes and prefixes with a pair of printable vocabulary worksheets.
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Finding The Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Turtles)
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Multiplication Color By Number Worksheet Pack
Use this set of multiplication color-by-number worksheets to help your students learn these important number facts.
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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.
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Capitalization Worksheet - Events, Books, Languages, and Nationalities
Practice capitalizing historical periods, events, book titles, languages, races, and nationalities with a printable capitalization worksheet.
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Pictograph Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this fun cut-and-paste worksheet to build student understanding of pictographs and encourage them to practice their fine motor skills.
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Color By 3D Shapes - Worksheet
Practice identifying 3D shapes and their attributes with a code-based coloring task!
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Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - The Three Bears
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with this mini-book retell of The Three Bears.
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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.
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Suffix Stories - Morphology Passages
Practice reading, defining, and using words suffixes with a pack of suffix-focused reading passage worksheets.
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Suffix Worksheet: -less
Build vocabulary skills with a suffix worksheet featuring the suffix -less.
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Suffix Worksheet: -ment
Improve students' understanding of the suffix -ment with a printable suffix worksheet.
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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.
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Sort the Suffixes - Inflectional Endings Worksheets
Practice using the suffixes -s, -es, -ies and -ves with a pack of printable add-a-suffix worksheets.
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Number Bonds Subtraction - Worksheet
Practice subtraction using number bonds with differentiated number bond worksheets.
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Carbon Footprint Draw and Write
Help your students be more eco-conscious by having them complete a carbon footprint worksheet.
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Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots - Dictionary Hunt Worksheet
Investigate the meanings of prefixes, suffixes, and root words with a dictionary hunt worksheet.
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2D Shapes Comparison Worksheet
A set of two 2D shape worksheets for students to record their observations whilst comparing properties of 2D shapes.
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Types of Weather – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this cut-and-paste science worksheet to match a picture and description with each weather condition.
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The ABCs of Why I Love You Mini-Book
Show someone special how much they mean by creating this lovely mini-book.
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How About This Weather? - Worksheet
A worksheet that explores different types of weather and subsequent observable changes.
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Objects in the Sky – Mini Workbook
Observe, describe, and illustrate different objects in the sky with this printable mini-workbook.
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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.
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Earth, Sun, and Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Read about and compare physical characteristics of the Eath, sun, and moon with this reading comprehension sheet.
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Water is Life Resource Pack
Discover the world of water with a 15-page resource pack of posters, worksheets, and activities for teaching about how we use water and where it comes from.
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How Do We Use Natural Resources? Concept Map Worksheet
Help your students uncover the ways that humans use natural resources with a concept map.
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Sprinkle Kindness Activity Book Template
Encourage students to write about ways to be kind to people and the planet with a printable sprinkle kindness activity book.
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Writing Equations – Worksheet
Practice writing equations to represent a situation with this math worksheet designed for 6th-grade students.