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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Understanding the Preamble Worksheets
Sequence and understand the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution with printable Preamble activity sheets.
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Halloween Spelling Practice Worksheets
Practice weekly spelling words with a spooktacular Halloween twist with a set of printable Halloween spelling worksheets.
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Sorting Symmetrical Shapes Worksheets
Use this simple but effective symmetry worksheet to reinforce the concepts of symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes with your Fourth Grade students.
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Draw The Line of Symmetry Worksheets
Use this lines of symmetry worksheet to help students practice drawing lines of symmetry on 2D shapes.
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Matching Lines of Symmetry Worksheets
Introduce the concept of ‘multiple lines of symmetry’ to your Grade Fours with this match-up worksheet set.
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Empathy Worksheet Pack
Unlock a world of empathy with our SEL worksheet pack – download now and embark on a journey to nurture kindness and understanding with your students.
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Printable U.S. Constitution Day Worksheet Pack
Learn about Constitution Day in the United States with a pack of printable U.S. Constitution worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Find and Color: Prime and Composite Numbers Worksheet
Encourage your students to identify prime and composite numbers up to 100 with this free find and color worksheet.
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Area and Perimeter Haunted House Project
Design your own haunted house and practice finding the perimeter and area of rectangular figures with an exciting Halloween Math Activity!
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Identifying Lines of Symmetry Worksheets
Use this set of differentiated worksheets to help students practise the process involved with identifying lines of symmetry on two-dimensional shapes.
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Halloween Area and Perimeter Color by Number Worksheet
Use these Halloween color-by-number worksheets to practice identifying the perimeter and area of regular polygons.
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Spin, Tally, Graph and Interpret Data – Task Card Activity
Guide your students to collect data, make tally marks, create a bar graph and analyze data with this math activity designed for 1st and 2nd-grade students.
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Word Study Lists – Homophones
Introduce your students to the most common homophones with these two sets of comprehensive word lists.
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Rounding to the Nearest 100 Worksheet
Help your students find the correct bone for each dog by rounding to the nearest hundreds place with this math worksheet designed for 3rd and 4th-grade students.
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Rounding to the Nearest 10 Worksheet
Teach your students to round to the nearest 10 with this printable math worksheet designed for 3rd and 4th grade students.
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Growth Mindset Worksheet Pack
Help students change their mindset to a growth mindset with this set of worksheets.
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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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Persuasive Techniques Worksheet Pack
Explore persuasive techniques with your students using this nine-page worksheet pack perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
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Creating Line Plots With Measurements – Differentiated Worksheets
Guide students to measure items to the nearest inch or ¼ inch, create a line plot and answer questions with this set of differentiated worksheets for 2nd and 3rd-grade students.
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Self-Esteem Survey Worksheet
Explore self-esteem with your students with this self-esteem survey.
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Odd or Even Cut and Paste Worksheets
Review odd and even numbers with this set of two cut and paste worksheets.
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Homophones Worksheet - Cloze Passage
Help your students select the correct homophone to use in context with this one-page cloze passage worksheet.
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Comparing and Naming Angles – 4th Grade Math Worksheets
Assess your students’ understanding of angle types with the set of differentiated student worksheets.
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'Why I'm AMAZING' Self-Esteem Handouts
Boost students' self-esteem with these Reasons Why I'm AMAZING Self-Esteem Handouts.
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Bar Graphs Worksheet
Use this double-sided bar graphs worksheet to check your students’ understanding of interpreting and drawing bar graphs.
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Fact Family Houses Worksheet Pack
Use these fact family houses worksheet set to practice addition and subtraction fact families with your students.
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Analyzing Line Plots – Differentiated Worksheets
Empower your students to become proficient data interpreters with this set of differentiated line plot worksheets.
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Plant Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about unusual plants and their adaptations with a pack of printable reading comprehension worksheets.
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Plant Adaptations - Color by Number Worksheets
Learn about the adaptations of plants in the rainforest, tundra, and desert with color-by-number worksheets.
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2nd Grade 'I Spy' Odd and Even Number Worksheet
Practice determining odd and even numbers of objects with this fun scavenger hunt worksheet.
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History of Flight Reading Comprehension Passage
Read and learn about innovations in aviation with a printable reading comprehension activity.
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Color by Parts of Speech Worksheet – Chameleon
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.