Worksheets for Teachers
Did someone say printable worksheets? From year 1 maths worksheets to reading comprehension worksheets to printables 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 primary year levels.
Explore printable activities, free worksheets, homework sheets and more — all aligned to the Australian curriculum and 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 individualised instruction was gaining traction, and educators recognised 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 individualised 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, practising 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 pens 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 pens!
- Use digital worksheets. Allow students to fill out their worksheets on classroom tablets as a means to add an extra level of engagement.
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 — early years students can work on their fine motor skills with our mini books, cut-and-paste worksheets and more while their upper years peers get pulled into the fun of vocabulary fun with word searches and crossword puzzle worksheets. Printable puzzles that engage students in the form of a brain game and colour by worksheets that bring art elements into maths 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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My Dream Team Jersey Design Activity
Guide students to design a sport jersey that showcases their strengths, identities and the unique qualities that makes them a valuable classroom teammate.
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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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Addition and Subtraction Colour by Number Worksheets
Combine math and art with our addition and subtraction colour by number worksheets that feature problems with solutions up to 20.
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18 Editing and Proofreading Worksheets – Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Use these editing and proofreading worksheets to add daily editing practice to your lesson plans.
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I Am Sorry – Poem and Discussion Questions
A poem to promote thoughtful discussion around issues of reconciliation on National Sorry Day.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Mixed Facts
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the multiplication tables.
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Addition and Subtraction - Ten and Twenty Frame
Practise adding and subtracting numbers to twenty using ten frames.
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Area and Perimeter Paddock Problems – Worksheets
Use these worksheets when working on finding the area and perimeter of shapes using familiar metric units.
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Free Letter Tracing Worksheets - State Fonts
Use letter tracing worksheets to help your students develop their handwriting and fine motor skills.
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Glorious Grammar Volume 1 - Worksheet Book
50 activities in one booklet which all revolve around learning grammar in the classroom.
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Penguin Adaptations - Year 3 Reading Comprehension
Explore the fascinating world of penguins and their adaptations with our set of printable Year 3 Reading Comprehension worksheets.
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Animal Information Report Project
Get your students to create a high-quality animal information report with accompanying text features with this engaging and fully scaffolded writing project booklet.
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Area Model Multiplication Worksheets
Guide your students to use the area model when solving multi-digit multiplication problems with this 20-page worksheet pack.
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Shape Worksheet Sets (Foundation to Grade 6 Level)
Use these levelled worksheets sets with your primary school students to explore 2D shapes and 3D objects!
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1–120 Number Charts With Missing Numbers
A set of 5 worksheets with missing numbers from 1–120.
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Jump Strategy: Subtraction on a Number Line – Worksheets
Practice subtracting two-digit numbers with regrouping using a number line and the jump strategy with a pack of differentiated worksheets.
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Multiplication and Division Minute Maths Booklet
A maths mentals booklet with ten pages of multiplication and division questions.
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Year 6 Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Worksheets
Use these fractions, decimals and percentages worksheets in your Year 6 classroom for independent practice or as an assessment activity.
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Free Telling Time to the Minute Worksheets
A worksheet for telling time to the minute and converting between analogue and digital times.
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Number of the Day Worksheet
Explore 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6-digit numbers using this number of the day worksheet with your students.
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Adding and Subtracting Fractions Worksheets
Use these adding and subtracting fractions worksheets to enable your students to practise this important skill.
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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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Differentiated Elapsed Time Worksheets for Beginners
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students learn to calculate elapsed time in hours, half hours, and minutes.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheet Pack
Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex sentences.
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Information Report Text Examples and Worksheet Pack
Use this set of 5 information report text examples and 2 targeted worksheets to support your students in breaking down and understanding informative writing.
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Fact Families Multiplication and Division Worksheets
Download these fact families multiplication and division worksheets to help your students visualise fact families with arrays.
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Multiplication Colour By Number Worksheet Pack
Use this set of multiplication colour-by-number worksheets to help your students learn these important number facts.
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Adding and Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers Worksheet Pack
Practise 2-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping with this worksheet pack.
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Great Barrier Reef Comprehension and Note Taking Worksheet
Learn about The Great Barrier Reef with a reading comprehension and note-taking activity.
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Story Writing Prompt Worksheets
Use these early years story writing worksheets with picture prompts and word banks with your early writers.
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Reading and Interpreting Timetables Worksheets
Five pages of worksheets that allow students to work on reading and interpreting timetables.
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Emotive Language Cloze Passage Worksheet
Get students using emotive language examples in their persuasive writing with this differentiated cloze passage worksheet.