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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Spooky Subtraction 4-Digit Color by Number - Worksheet
Bring a bit of spooky math fun into the classroom with a Halloween color by number worksheet focused on subtracting four-digit numbers.
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Making Tens Subtraction Worksheet
Find friendly numbers to subtract with a printable subtraction worksheet.
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What Plants Need - Kindergarten Worksheet
Identify what plants need to survive with a group of free plant worksheets for kindergartners.
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Picture Graphs - Worksheet
Use this double-sided worksheet to help your students practice reading and evaluating a simple picture graph.
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I Set My Boundaries Worksheets
Identify your personal space boundaries with this worksheet set.
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My Safety Plan Worksheet
Create a safety plan to help understand what to do or who to go to when you feel unsafe.
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Character or Not? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between characters and non-characters with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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2-Digit Subtraction Using Bar Models- Differentiated Worksheets
Review and assess your students’ subtraction skills with differentiated 2-digit subtraction worksheets focusing on the bar model strategy.
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Add It In - Listen and Draw Activity
Practice following directions to color and draw pictures with a listen and draw activity pack.
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Parts of A Plant Worksheet
Label the parts of a plant with a printable plant worksheet.
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Plant Life Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Help your students remember the life cycle of a plant with a cut and paste life cycle worksheet.
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Prefix and Suffix Search Worksheets
Build confident vocabulary and word‑study skills with this engaging Prefixes and Suffixes Search Worksheet Pack.
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Think Addition - Fact Family Worksheets
Use addition to solve subtraction problems with this worksheet.
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Lab Safety – Interactive and Printable Cloze Reading Activity
Demonstrate an understanding of lab safety rules and expectations by completing a cloze reading activity.
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Expository Writing Project – Natural Processes
Get your students producing high-quality expository writing with this fully scaffolded writing project, where students research, organize and publish an expository text about a natural process.
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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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Types of Weathering – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this cut-and-paste worksheet when classifying examples that show mechanical, chemical, or biological weathering.
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Real-World 3D Shapes - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore three-dimensional shapes in the real world with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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What is Cooperation? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between cooperative and non-cooperative behavior with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Real-World 3D Shapes - Coloring Worksheet
Explore three-dimensional shapes in the real world with this coloring worksheet.
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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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The Water Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sequence the steps of the water cycle with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Number Patterns – More and Less Worksheets
Use place value skills to mentally add and subtract 10 or 100 to a given number with this set of worksheets.
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Number Bonds Subtraction - Worksheet
Practice subtraction using number bonds with differentiated number bond worksheets.
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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.
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Latin and Greek Root Words Worksheet Pack
Use this Latin and Greek root words worksheet pack and help students build vocabulary, improve dictionary skills and deepen their understanding of word meanings.
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Christmas Color By Number - Hundreds Chart Mystery Pictures
Print the perfect color-by-number math activity for Christmas: a set of 12 Christmas-inspired mystery hundreds charts.
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Vertical Number Line - Rounding Worksheets
Use a vertical number line to round whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand with a set of rounding worksheets.
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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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How About This Weather? - Worksheet
A worksheet that explores different types of weather and subsequent observable changes.
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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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Decimals to the Tenths - Number Line Worksheets
Practice identifying decimals on number lines with a number line worksheet.