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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Plant Growth Chart - Worksheet
Record the growth and changes in a plant over time with one of our differentiated plant growth charts.
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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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Food Chains – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain.
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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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Where to Buy Goods and Services Worksheet
Identify places and people in the community that provide goods and services with a cut and paste sorting worksheet.
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Grammar Grid - Parts of Speech Mystery Picture (Crab)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Reflection, Refraction, and Absorption Worksheet
Ensure students understand light energy by applying their knowledge to questions about reflection, refraction and absorption.
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Library Scavenger Hunt for Upper Elementary Grades
Explore the school library with a scavenger hunt!
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Free 5 Senses Worksheet
Identify the body parts used to sense things with a free 5 Senses Cut and Paste Worksheet.
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Diagram of a Volcano - Labeling Worksheet
Label the diagram of a volcano with a printable volcano worksheet.
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Uses of Magnets Comprehension Worksheet
Download this magnets worksheet to teach your 2nd grade students about the uses of magnets in our everyday lives.
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Plant Life Cycle Passage and Graphic Organizer
Give your students an opportunity to and sequence the life cycle of a plant with a reading passage and worksheet.
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I Set My Boundaries Worksheets
Identify your personal space boundaries with this worksheet set.
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Finding the Main Idea in Nonfiction Text Worksheet
Identify supporting evidence for the main idea of an informational text passage and answer the comprehension questions.
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Equivalent Fractions – Worksheet Pack
Use fraction models, strip diagrams, and number lines to determine equivalent fractions with this worksheet pack.
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Digital Christmas Escape Room for the Classroom — Elf Investigation
This exciting Christmas escape room has been created by our teacher team to engage your upper elementary students this holiday season. Help the Mayor of Elfton catch the person responsible for some mischievous events in his town.
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Free Map Skills Worksheet- Using Cardinal Directions
A worksheet to practice using cardinal directions.
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Forms of Energy Worksheet
A worksheet about the different forms of energy.
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Dogs Make The Best Pets - Reading Comprehension PDF
Assess 3rd grade reading comprehension skills with a printable Reading Comprehension Test using an opinion text.
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Personal Identity Activity (My Identity Wheel)
Explore personal identity by completing this personal identity wheel.
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Add It In - Listen and Draw Active Listening Activity
Practice following directions to color and draw pictures with a printable listening activity worksheet pack.
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5th Grade Math Review – Test Prep Packet
Encourage your students to work through 8 pages of 5th-grade math problems while charting their progress to measure their success.
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Predator or Prey? Forest Animals – Worksheet
Sort animals according to whether they are classified as predators, prey, or both with this worksheet.
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Soccer vs. Football -Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Differentiate reading instruction with nonfiction texts, compare and contrast activities, and response to text writing opportunities.
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What's Missing? - Alphabet Worksheet
A set of worksheets to practice writing the letters of the alphabet in order.
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Color by Number – Multiplication Fact Practice (Mixed)
Practice multiplication facts through 12 with this fun color by number worksheet.
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Decimal Operations Worksheet
Get students applying the four operations to decimal numbers with this set of two math worksheets.
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Comparing Unit Fractions Worksheets
Compare different unit fractions using this teacher-created set of worksheets.
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Busy Binder - Kindergarten Morning Work Activity Book
Review daily calendar, math, literacy, and fine motor skills with a printable kindergarten Busy Binder workbook!
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4-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Practice reading and writing 4-digit numbers with this printable PDF worksheet.
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Label the Nonfiction Text Features Worksheets
Have your students label text features in nonfiction texts with this set of three differentiation text features worksheets for elementary students.
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Color by Number – Repeated Addition and Multiplication
Guide your students to connect repeated addition with multiplication by completing this color-by-code multiplication worksheet.