Worksheets Teaching Resources
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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Measurement Scavenger Hunt Activity - Formal Units of Measure
Practise measuring in millimetres, centimetres, and metres with an engaging Measurement Scavenger Hunt!
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Which Verb Is It? Worksheet
Practise past, present, and future verb tenses with this easy to implement worksheet.
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Learning Reflection Templates
When finishing a unit or particular piece of work, have your students show you their understandings on a 3-2-1 Feedback Plan.
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Clock Worksheet Cut and Paste– 5-Minute Intervals
Use a clock worksheet to cut, paste and build a clock with five minute increments.
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Elapsed Time Printables (Digital Clocks)
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students practise finding elapsed time using digital clocks.
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Ordering Days of the Week Worksheets
Practise ordering weekdays with a set of printable Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow - Days of the Week Worksheets.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals Word Problems Worksheet
Practise solving word problems by adding and subtracting decimals to the thousandths place with this worksheet.
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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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Making Inferences Worksheet Pack
Guide your students to read between the lines with this making inferences worksheet pack.
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Drawing Arrays Worksheet Pack
Review how to draw an array with your students as they complete this worksheet pack.
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Rounding Decimals Worksheet Set
Practise rounding numbers to the nearest whole, tenth, hundredth and thousandth with this worksheet set.
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Right Angle Turn Patterns Worksheet
Teach your students to make shape patterns using right angle turns with this differentiated maths worksheet for Year 3 students.
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Malala Yousafzai Biography – Read and Respond Worksheet
A comprehension activity related to a biographical text.
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Half the Fun – Fractions Colouring Worksheet
A colouring worksheet to help students learn about half.
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Sounds of 'OO' - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sort words according to whether they contain a long or short ‘oo’ sound with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Colour by Number - 2 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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2D Shape Activity Sheets
A set of nine worksheets where students demonstrate their understanding of various 2D shapes.
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Using Words with Prefixes - Worksheet Pack
Practise using the prefixes Un-, Re-, Mis-, Pre-, Dis-, and In- with a pair of printable prefix worksheets.
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Number Pattern Worksheets - 1 to 20
An professor themed place value worksheet to use in the classroom when completing number patterns.
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Coordinates Drawing - Rocket
Students create this rocket by following the directions.
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World Map with Countries - Black and White
Teach your students about the continents and countries of the world with this black-and-white world map.
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Colouring 2D Shapes Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate students' understanding of rectangles, squares, circles and triangles.
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Counting Coins Worksheet
A counting worksheet using Australian coins.
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Sequencing Activity - Homework is Unnecessary (Persuasive Text)
A sequencing task using a persuasive text.
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Data Representation and Interpretation Worksheets - Year 5
8 data representation and interpretation worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Exploring Poetry Worksheet - Alliteration
A worksheet to help students understand alliteration in poetry.
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In My Eyes (Poem) - Comprehension
A comprehension activity using poetry.
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What's the Matter? Worksheets
Help your students differentiate between states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) with a set of printable ‘What’s the Matter?’ Cut and Paste worksheets.
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Which Unit of Measurement? - Length Worksheets
Identify the unit of measurement needed to measure the length of an object with a pack of ‘Which Unit of Measurement’ Worksheets.
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Australian Endangered Species Snapshots – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore some Australian endangered species with your students using this set of reading passages with comprehension questions.
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Counting to 20 Cut and Paste Worksheet
Count objects within 20 and match the total to its written number on this 2-page cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Anecdotal Observation Checklist - Reading Behaviours
Observe student reading behaviours and easily take notes with an Anecdotal Record Note-Taking Template.