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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Converting Decimals, Fractions, and Percentages – Worksheet
Strengthen your students’ understanding of how to convert a percent to a decimal and a fraction with this worksheet.
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Silent Letter Words - Reading Fluency Worksheets
Practice identifying the silent letters in words with this comprehensive collection of reading fluency passages.
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Silent Letters Worksheets - Read, Find, and Color
Identify letters that are silent with this set of three find and color worksheets.
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Our Solar System - Interactive and Printable Cloze Reading Activity
Practice and review concepts associated with the solar system using a cloze passage.
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Free U.S. Mountains, Rivers, and Land Features Worksheet
Apply knowledge of the major U.S. land features, mountains, and rivers with a map labeling worksheet.
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Mixed Operations Minute Math Booklet (Higher-Level Version)
Incorporate this mental math drills booklet into your math lesson warm-up (or assessment) routine.
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Converting Improper Fractions – Worksheet
Practice converting improper fractions to mixed numbers with this 1-page worksheet.
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Color by Number - Numbers 10–20
A color by number activity for students to practice recognizing teen numbers.
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What's the Connection? Worksheet
Use this reading skills worksheet to help your students learn about the types of text connections: text-to-text, text-to-self and text-to-world.
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Cursive Practice - Sentences
A set of 6 sheets to practice writing sentences in cursive.
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Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Worksheets
Use these fractions, decimals and percentages worksheets in your upper elementary classroom for independent practice or as an assessment activity.
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Phoneme Spotter Story – Long 'i' Sound
A decodable text featuring various graphemes that make the long 'i' sound.
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Is It a Fact or an Opinion? - Worksheet
A worksheet to practice identifying facts and opinions.
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Novel Study – Chapter Summary Worksheet
Reflect on a chapter in a class novel using this one-page worksheet.
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Research Skills Worksheets - Note-Taking
A set of 6 worksheets to help students identify key facts, details, and vocabulary when researching information.
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Interesting Idioms Worksheet
A worksheet using common idioms.
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4th Grade Reading Fluency Passages
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for 4th grade.
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4-Digit Number of the Day Worksheet
A 4-digit place value worksheet to represent the number of the day in different ways.
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Angle Sum of a Triangle – 6th Grade Math Worksheet
Calculate the missing angle in a variety of triangles with this one-page worksheet.
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Word Family Activity Sheets
A set of 20 word family activity sheets for students to complete.
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Verb Past Tense Worksheet
A worksheet with simple and irregular past tense verbs added to complete the sentences.
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Compound Word Worksheets for Big Kids
Boost your students' vocabulary knowledge with printable Compound Word Worksheets for upper grades.
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Adding Fractions With Like Denominators Worksheets
Download this set of adding fractions with like denominators worksheets to help your students practice this important math skill.
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Fluency Reading Passages - 5th Grade
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for 5th grade.
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What Do You Do? A.M. or P.M. Worksheets
Review concepts related to A.M. and P.M. time with a pack of printable A.M or P.M. printable worksheets.
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Today Is… Calendar Worksheet
Start your day with a morning calendar review using our printable daily calendar math template.
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Telling Time - 1st Grade Math Coloring Sheet
Practice telling time to the hour and half hour with a fun Telling Time Color By Code worksheet!
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Kangaroo Adaptations – Reading Comprehension PDF Worksheets
Discover amazing kangaroo adaptations with a printable Reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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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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Time to the Minute - Color by Code Worksheet
Review how to tell time to the minute with a fun Color By Code 3rd Grade math worksheet.
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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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Area Model Worksheets for 4th Grade
Teach your students how to determine factors and the product of an area model with this worksheet pack.