Two (easier & harder) sheets of questions for year 6 algebra, plus a follow-up homework. Over 40 questions on each sheet. Questions progressing along the lines of: n=4, what is 5n n = 15, what is 3n n-6 = 27, what is n n=12, what is 2n+3 3n-5 = 16, what is n Also includes squaring.

A SmartBoard lesson examining animal adaption to different habitats, first examining what adaption means. Then a demo board on adaptions of the polar bear to its habitat, then two printable boards (p5 & 6) ready for the children to cut out & fill in, looking at how the snow leopard and great white shark are adapted to their habitats (these boards can be customised, swapping for two animals of your own choice simply by inserting your own pictures). Finally, a board with a layout of a blank poster, for the children to use as a model layout. Also included are a bank of pictures of varied animals (and one plant, for deeper thinkers) all saved into one word doc for easy printing, for the children to cut out and use with the final blank board (tiger, otter, Highland cow, barn owl, giraffe, spider monkey, cactus, Arctic hare, alligator).

An activity lasting 2-3 lessons, for year 6 to design, make, play and evaluate board games based on algebraic functions. Includes a teacher-made example that they can play first, a set of instructions, and some photos of children’s work to inspire them.

For Maths subject leaders, a fully customisable grid for monitoring coverage of the new National Curriculum in Maths, from year R to year 6. All NNC statements listed in year group tabs, with 3 columns to show date of coverage. See the whole year's objectives on one A3 sheet to help to plan a rational sequence of teaching (for example, in year 6, division -> fractions -> ratio & proportion). Get evidence of where in the year the different aspects of maths were taught, or use for long-term planning. This 7-page spreadsheet can be fully customised (for example, change a 3-term to a 6-term year) to your needs, or even adapted into an assessment grid for gap analysis; all the leg-work of turning the NNC into year group pages has been done.

A SmartBoard slide show and Word collection of difficult to find images and some research notes / dates about the Royal Menagerie zoo, a collection of animals kept (often in poor conditions) at the Tower of London from 1210 to 1832. Liven up some of the duller areas of the new History curriculum (Tudors?), or link to themed animals work / PHSE. Would your children be interested to know that ... ... a polar bear was taken to fish for its dinner in the Thames attached to a long rope. ... lions would roam loose inside the outer walls of the Tower. ... a room was set aside as 'monkey school' where visitors would pay to sit inside with monkeys loose all around them. Lots of info, hours of research, but I haven't written a plan for this as there is so much you can do with it all - use it however it works with your class.

A lesson from the new National Curriculum (year 6 science) looking at variation in species, asking the children to identify the advantage that came from random variation. High level thinking skills required. Includes a set of pictures to print which illustrate each adaption (prehensile tail on a spider monkey, humans walking on 2 legs, long horns on a water buffalo, and 5 more), along with some prompt photos to reveal later showing the adaptions in use (the water buffalo throwing an attacking lion off with his its horns, a Neanderthal man carrying a spear).

Fractions of numbers / ratio and proportion / bar models / reasoning / problem solving Two pages of bar model puzzles for upper KS2 or KS3. Each puzzle has three parallel bars, of different lengths, divided in different ways. By starting from the one value given, students need to use a range of strategies to find the answers in the other bar models. Steady progression of questions, gradually becoming more difficult. An ideal homework for year 6, more able year 5, or support in year 7-9. Very visual, minimal words / instructions. A great resource for mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Included in the download: all the questions on pdf (2 pages A4 size) answer sheet, showing all the working / steps the original Word document, so you can customise it, change numbers, change colour shading, or re-position bars to re-use with all new questions.

A humorous re-write of the story / pantomime of Cinderella, designed to be performed in under 5 minutes. Adaptable / editable Word document, so you can make your own changes & add your own children to the attached cast list. Ideal for class assembly, this has gone down well at year 6 leavers’ assemblies. Great prompt for more able writers to write their own humorous ‘in 5 minutes’ versions of other well-known stories / pantomimes. To perform, it has 9 speaking parts, plus around a dozen non-speaking / crew / sound effect parts. If you liked this, search and download one of my other ‘in 5 minutes’ scripts. Cinderella in 5 minutes Goldilocks and the Three Bears in 5 minutes

A humorous, pantomime-style re-write of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, designed to be performed in approximately 5 minutes (if rushed for laughs) or 10 minutes at a more leisurely pace. Adaptable / editable Word document, so you can make your own changes & add your own children to the attached cast list. Ideal for class assembly, this has gone down well at year 6 leavers’ assemblies. Great prompt for studying the genre, & for KS2 / KS3 writers to write their own humorous ‘in 5 minutes’ versions of other well-known stories / pantomimes. To perform, it has 10 speaking parts, plus a few non-speaking / crew / sound effect parts. Sound effect (.mp3) files included. If you liked this, search and download one of my other ‘in 5 minutes’ scripts. Cinderella in 5 minutes Goldilocks and the Three Bears in 5 minutes

Two contrasting, single-page texts, written by me, to show quality persuasive / argument writing (for years 5-6) on the emotive issue of dogs in public places. Written to be analysed for the end of year 6 assessment criteria; to be compared / contrasted; to show emotive language; suitable for group reading at the start of a unit, or model texts later on during independent writing; you could even add a few questions and use them as a comprehension text.

Every New National Curriculum statement for English for years 1 - 6 (includes Speaking & Listening, Reading, Writing Composition, Handwriting, GPS), sorted into 6 spreadsheet pages, set up to be printed onto A3 or A4 sheets. Each statement can be highlighted left to right to show progress along the line, along a sliding scale through: commencing // developing // secure // advanced // deep [See also my Assessment without levels grids, Maths]

Every New National Curriculum statement for Maths for years 1 - 6, sorted into 6 spreadsheet pages, set up to be printed onto A3 or A4 sheets. Each statement can be highlighted left to right to show progress along the line, along a sliding scale through: commencing // developing // secure // advanced // deep [See also my Assessment without levels grids, English]

How to get children responding to and acting on marking? Following an review that showed our marking needed to be improved, I created a system called 'Think Pink' in which teachers highlight part of their marking in pink highlighter (something specific - a question, some corrections, an extension, an explanation) and the child responds when their book is returned in pink pen. We invested in a box of pink pens for each class, and the children love them and are eager to respond. It has been in use for 18 months now, having started in Maths it was soon extended to English books and other subjects, and it has been taken on and used by other schools in our trust (including middle schools and secondary, not just primary). It was praised by Ofsted in a recent inspection as an example of best practice in interactive marking. I've included final pdf files that you can print and use it exactly as they are, or Word versions that you can customise, add your school logo, and distribute exactly as you want.

Test gap analysis grid for any GPS paper 1 short answer SAT test (/50 marks). It auto sums scores per child, and success rate for each question, leading straight from a practice test to gap analysis; identify which questions your class / groups are weakest at, and what each child's priorities are, to direct revision. Can be easily modified for any future GPS test, including the NNC 2016 GPS sample paper 1.

A set of 9 ultra-close-up, striking colour photographs of different parts of animals (for example, a spider's silk spinners; a mosquito's eyes), along with display signs and an answer sheet. I've used these on a classroom wall (where children stick up Post-it notes with their guesses) or website / blog (where they post answers online), and it always generates lots of interest, speculation and debate. Photos are in .jpg format for printing or use online, the choice is yours.

A week-long unit of Maths work, where children have to work with data, area, perimeter, & number, and use & apply all of those to being creative, designing a zoo with as many different animals as possible (housed in sufficient space to meet varying criteria), with pedestrian access to all enclosures but no wasted space. Based around the 'Zoo Tycoon' video game, but made much more mathematical. I've included a SmartBoard to introduce it, a customisable spreadsheet with the criteria, a linked homework with some word problems based on the zoo, and even a few WAGOLL photos of year 5/6 work (What A Good One Looks Like). This is perfect for the last week of term before Xmas, Easter, or a post-SATs year 6 week of fun maths. Little prizes for the best designs go down well. The unit is ready to use. All you need is some 1cm squared A4 paper.

How to get children responding to and acting on marking? Following an review that showed our Maths marking needed to be improved, I (as Maths subject leader) created a system called 'Think Pink' in which teachers highlight part of their marking in pink highlighter (something specific - a question, some corrections, an extension, an explanation) and the child responds when their book is returned in pink pen. We invested in a box of pink pens for each class, and the children love them and are eager to respond. It has been in use for 18 months now, has been extended to English books and other subjects, and taken and used by other schools in our trust (including middle schools and secondary, not just primary). It was praised by Ofsted in a recent inspection as an example of best practice in interactive marking. I've included final pdf files that you can print and use it exactly as they are, or Word versions that you can customise, add your school logo, and distribute exactly as you want it.

Based on the checklists used by KS2 writing moderators, your Year 6 children can self-assess as they write, to all the items from the assessment criteria required to meet the standards at the end of year 6. This spreadsheet grid includes Working Towards / Expected / Working Above the expected standard, and you can split the grid to print one, two or all three depending on the target range for an individual child. Each statement is numbered, reducing workload when setting one or more of them as a target. Everything your year 6 children need to check they are meeting the 2018 standards, and all in unlocked Excel spreadsheets so they are fully customisable (add school logo, class name, etc). The grids can be printed A4 or A3, one or two-sided; I’ve also added the year 3/4 and year 5/6 spelling word lists as referred to in the sheets. Also in this bundle is an incredibly useful ‘Summary of Evidence’ sheet, with the same numbering system as the self-assessment sheets. This makes it quick and easy to evidence which of the standards are met in a piece of writing, and identify patterns of gaps to address / fill before the end of June. The KS2 moderator who visited me last year loved this approach, and asked if she could take a set to share with her colleagues.

An extensive collated set (55 pages altogether, giving many weeks of practice) of ‘long answer’ questions from KS2 reading SAT tests. Ideal to teaching Y6 how to answer the 2-mark and 3-mark longer written answers. The relevant text is included with each question: some have a full text and several related long questions, others have a shorter extract where a question asks about a specific paragraph. A second document includes the full mark scheme for the relevant questions only, collated by year in the same order as the questions. I have deliberately not used SAT papers from 2017-2019, as you are likely to be using these as end of term assessments, and if they’ve done the longer questions before it can skew your assessment data. An extensive collation job means there are 55 pages of text, questions and mark scheme extracts altogether.