Pam Smith
Using worksheets in lessons

‘Death by worksheet’ is well-known phrase amongst teachers. When in doubt over a lesson, teachers often resort to keeping pupils quiet by giving them worksheet after worksheet to complete. Whether worksheets are useful tools to have in lessons always will remain a hot topic in the staffroom. Some teachers believe worksheets are the lazy teacher’s get out tactic to planning lessons and teaching in classrooms. Others believe worksheets can act as a useful adjunct and effective learning tool for pupils in lessons. Worksheets can sometimes be a barrier to learning objectives. If pupils are just going through the motions, they may not be understanding why the answer is so and may not be reflecting on what they have learnt and why it is useful . This could be built in when using worksheets though, for example, letting pupils write a brief comment at the bottom of the worksheet to explain what they have learnt and what they may still not clearly understand. This can be then used for further work planning. Other teachers find worksheets can be a barrier to less able students in lessons. Pupils who can express themselves better in other means than writing will find the use of worksheets in lessons difficult and will concentrate less if they are made to spend their lesson time solely writing and not interacting in different ways in the classroom. Pupils who are slower writers or drawers may also find worksheets difficult, for example they may spend the majority of the time completing a not-so-relevant part of the worksheet and run out of time before reaching the important part of the learning process. On the other hand worksheets can be extremely useful as an extension to the classroom lesson or as a homework task, for example. Some teachers find that it is the use of the worksheet that is controversial rather than the worksheet as an actual tool. If used appropriately and mixed alongside other lesson ideas, worksheets can add extra to the learning and teaching process. Pupil generated work can also be an issue if pupils are not concentrating properly or don’t push themselves to complete tasks. Worksheets therefore can be a helpful tool to guide pupils as teachers know the questions and tasks are appropriate and challenging and can be sure that pupils are working on the set task and not being distracted by external influences. Worksheets work very well in some subject areas too. For example worksheets in Mathematics and Modern Foreign Languages may be of more use than in Science or English classes. Worksheets can also be very reassuring to pupils. Open-ended work or group work can be confusing if pupils don’t fully understand what they are learning so a guided worksheet can hone in on particular issue or problem areas and help pupils can confidence in what they do know. The key to a successful lesson when using worksheets is to use them in moderation. Pupils become bored if lessons are routine and the same again and again. They are more likely to become disruptive if they fed yet another form to fill in the shape of a worksheet. Worksheets also need to be used correctly. There is no point giving pupils worksheets if they fill them in and then receive no feedback. Some form of success criteria is needed so pupils can evaluate themselves. Worksheets as well as lesson plans and teacher guidance can all be found on www.free-teaching-resources.co.uk. www.free-teaching-resources.co.uk is a fantastic website that allows teachers to search for relevant topic and lesson ideas by subject area and key stage. All teaching resources are independently reviewed and a direct link is provided to the resource. www.free-teaching-resources.co.uk contains worksheets and lesson plans from charities through to government bodies. Whatever view teachers have, worksheets will always have a place in the classroom – the key is to use them effectively and in moderation with other forms of teaching too.