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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Forms of Energy Worksheet
A worksheet about the different forms of energy.
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Dominate the Dragon – Mental Math Worksheets
Capture your students' interest in math drills for all four operations with these fun dragon-themed differentiated math worksheets.
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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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Phases of the Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Analyze different moon phases and how their visual appearances change over time with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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Recycling I Spy and Sort Worksheet
Sort different pieces of trash into their appropriate bins with this I Spy worksheet.
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Labeling the Continents and Oceans Worksheets
Turn geography into a fun and educational learning experience by using our free Continents and Oceans worksheets!
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Reading and Writing Nonfiction Text: Earth Day Close Read Worksheets
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with this nonfiction Earth Day passage and accompanying activities.
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Prefix Worksheet: Un- and Dis-
Build vocabulary skills with a prefix worksheet featuring the prefixes Un- and Dis-.
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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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Comparing and Ordering Decimals Worksheet
Get students comparing and ordering decimals to the thousandths place with this printable worksheet.
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Student Interest Survey Pack
Use a Student Interest Survey to get to know your new students at the beginning of the school year.
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Personal Identity Activity (My Identity Wheel)
Explore personal identity by completing this personal identity wheel.
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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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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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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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Describing Animal Adaptations - Informative Writing Prompt Worksheets
Write to describe animals and their adaptations with a printable pack of informative writing worksheets.
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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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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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Color by Number – Repeated Addition and Multiplication
Guide your students to connect repeated addition with multiplication by completing this color-by-code multiplication worksheet.
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My Emotional Triggers Worksheet
Help your elementary students explore the situations that trigger them to experience certain emotional responses with this 2-page emotional triggers worksheet.
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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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Free Author's Purpose Worksheets
Assess reading comprehension by reviewing 3 short passages and answering questions about the author's purpose.
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Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
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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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Measuring My Body – Length Worksheet
Explore linear measurement with an engaging collaborative activity where students measure different body parts and compare them
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Living or Nonliving? - Worksheet
A worksheet that explores living and nonliving things.
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Tracing Numbers 0-10
A worksheet to assist students when learning how to write the numbers 0–10.
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Comparing Unit Fractions Worksheets
Compare different unit fractions using this teacher-created set of worksheets.
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Unit Fraction Coloring Sheet
Crack the color code and practice unit fractions all while coloring some fun images.
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Platypus Adaptations - Reading Passage & Questions
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the platypus with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.