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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End of Year -Silly Story Worksheets
Engage your students in grammar review with a set of end-of-year Silly Stories 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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Counting Mixed Coins Differentiated Worksheets
Download differentiated printable worksheets and use skip counting and addition skills to determine the value of each coin collection.
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Printable SMART Goals Template
Start the school year by having your students use a printable template to set their own S.M.A.R.T. goals.
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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read and learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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Should Smartphones Be Allowed in Class? Comprehension Worksheets
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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Vowel Teams Diphthong Worksheets
Practice diphthongs with this set of fun and engaging worksheets.
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Mindfulness Journal - Daily Emotional Check-In Worksheet
Create a mindfulness journal by printing your students copies of reflective mindfulness worksheets.
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Addition Strategy - Counting On Worksheet
Solve addition problems in this 2-page Counting On Addition Worksheet.
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Spring Word Scramble Worksheets
Say hello to Spring and vocabulary development with differentiated Spring Word Scramble Worksheets.
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Metric Conversion Worksheet Set
Utilize our metric conversion worksheet set to give your students practice converting units of metric length, mass, and capacity.
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Alphabet Initial Sound Recognition Worksheets
Explore alphabet beginning sounds with this set of alphabet sounds worksheets to develop letter recognition.
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Electricity and Circuits Guided Notes
Use this set of guided notes when teaching your students about electricity and circuits.
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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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Auto-Fill Customizable Spelling Worksheets
Save time making custom spelling lists and spelling practice worksheets with an editable auto-fill spelling worksheet pack.
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3D Shape Detective - Worksheet
Explore the properties of some common three-dimensional shapes with this printable worksheet.
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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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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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The Pony Express Worksheet- Comprehension Passage
Teach your students how to write a constructed response paragraph and integrate grade level Social studies concepts with a free Pony Express worksheet and ten-question comprehension assessment.
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Noun, Verb, and Adjective Sort - Worksheet
Help students learn the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives with this cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
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Free Story Prediction Worksheet
Encourage students to think critically before reading with this Story Prediction Worksheet.
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Musical Ruler Sound Experiment
Observe how sound is created through vibrations with an engaging Musical Rulers Sound Experiment.
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R-Controlled Vowel Phoneme Spotter Stories
Use this set of decodable texts featuring various graphemes that make r-controlled vowel sounds.
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Multisyllable Word List Resource Pack
Print and use a multisyllable word list to introduce your students to more complex words and syllable patterns.
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Comparing Unit Fractions Worksheets
Compare different unit fractions using this teacher-created set of worksheets.
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What Are Pollinators? Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to the world of plants and pollination with a printable Pollinators Worksheet Pack.
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Comparing Narrative and Informational Text Worksheets
Use this set of comparing narrative and informational text worksheets to examine the purpose and features of these two common genres.
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Color by Letter Worksheet Pack
Help students with their recognition of the letters – s,a,t,p,i,n and c,k,e,h,r with this color by letter worksheet pack.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Free Desert Animal Adaptations Worksheets - Comprehension
Discover desert animal adaptations with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 3rd grade.