Poetry & literacy resources by published children's poet.
I also lead poetry workshops for UK primary schools.
Website: katewilliamspoet.com
Book news - Squeak! Squawk! Roar! Animal poems - out 9th January '25. Publisher: Otter-Barry Books.
Poetry & literacy resources by published children's poet.
I also lead poetry workshops for UK primary schools.
Website: katewilliamspoet.com
Book news - Squeak! Squawk! Roar! Animal poems - out 9th January '25. Publisher: Otter-Barry Books.
Schools are noisy places, and noises are fun to sound out and make up words for, as children will find here. Do their shoes go CLUMP CLATTER, CLICK CLACK or SHUFFLE, for instance? And how about all those dinner hall sounds? This sheet combines Creative Writing opportunities and all-round Literacy with a focus on school, helping children identify with it and develop their sense of belonging. An excellent end-of-term activity, gap-filler, writing prompt or onomatopoeia teaching aid.
This sheet combines poetry-writing with emotional outlets, supporting Literacy and PSHE simultaneously. If sadness, happiness, excitement, and one emotion to choose, were sounds, what would they be? Suggestions are provided on the Example Sheet, which will support teacher and pupils alike, also offering prompts for a warm-up discussion about feelings and what they’re like. This resource would support anti-bullying drives and other social issues, as well as providing openings for maturing children and teens to explore and share their own feelings and moods. The metaphors invited will stretch creative writing techniques at the same time. Encourage embellishments, such as adjectives and onomatopoeia.
Children love this activity. Dragons can be sizzling-hot, ice-cold, fierce, friendly, clumsy, graceful - whatever the individual child wants them to be, and their exciting features, shown in the illustration, are sure to trigger a colourful array of possibilities, as your class dash down their descriptive word ideas on the lines. They’ll need to turn the sheet round as they go to follow the line angles - adding to the fun! Encourage able writers to add in similes under the lines, as demonstrated in the accompanying guide. Suggestions are provided there for warm-up and follow-on activities, as well as for words. See my other resources for more dragon-focused activities and supporting posters.
The lively illustrations will draw children to this creative writing sheet, encouraging rich, expressive language. The given text will also inspire imaginative and varied descriptions of these familiar and popular animals. An example version is provided for the teacher’s use, with several suggested versions for each line. Perhaps read out one version and use the others as ideas to prompt for as needed.
With the potential for fun and lively input and colouring fun, even less enthusiastic writers will be keen to get cracking on this creative writing sheet (or picture poem frame, if you like).
While supporting writing development, the resource will also enhance animal and nature studies. Best for Years 2 and 3, and those in Year 4 needing extra writing support.
Rhymes to chant, clap, act out and develop, promoting many learning areas: Literacy, Understanding the World, Communication Language, Expressive Arts & Design and Physical Development. Topics: mini-beasts, seaside, stars, castles, busy street, school, big & small, park and windy day. Guidance notes included for all. Save 50% with this bundle!
This colourful park picture contains ten mini-beast words for children to sound out and identify. The large, bright text and attractive picture make this an appealing challenge for young readers. Support one-to-one or in small groups, as needed. The resource will also support mini-beast studies. Suitable for beginner readers across KS1 and EYs.
This simple game spurs children to read or sound out the 7 words, so they can link them (by pen, pencil or finger) to the correct picture representation below. Some of the words also feature in my ‘Seaside Findings’ phonics game; using both in quick succession will reinforce learning. Suitable for all KS1 and Reception/EY. Able children can add further words and pictures, or write a follow-on sentence about something they have found at the seaside. Younger children can identify initial letters and their phonics, guessing words they can’t yet read, with the help of the pictures. This resource also supports seaside and
ocean studies.
VIDEO INSPIRATION x 2 (author speaking and reading her poems about seaside wonders): https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9 +
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMarEm9uVBDEGPTykSlkAfT6jdVArKlPen6X5lk1le7dqUc89gEztNjSO7V6qsxUQ?key=X0hIWmdaV1M0Q2lHYURKbDdIVFFPMTVBTWRUdkhn
Your class will love choosing a creature - squirrel, frog, owl? - to describe, using the prompts for rich description, action words and imagery. Then there’s the fun of trying it out on the rest of the class, to see who can guess it first. The children will be motivated to listen to each other’s verses - or riddles - too, and there’s plenty of scope for group interaction as the reader picks volunteers from around the room to try to idenfify their creatures. Tips are provided for writing the answer in code, and there’s an anagram to be written too, below. Great for summer term fun, combined with literacy skills- stretching and creativity. Best for Years 3-6.
Literacy boost with exciting twists! Fun, inspiring spelling + vocabulary enhancer about pirates, treasure and oceans. Eight questions, including a rhyme, an anagram, a spelling choice, a type of gem, and more, on an attractive, illustrated sheet. Answers on accompanying sheet.
Supports multiple topics, e.g. ocean, pirates, weather, journeys, going for gold, the wider world, voyagers, and seaside, and brings literacy alive.
See also my other ocean/pirate lit. resources, e.g. Treasure Map: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/treasure-map-alliteration-game-yr1-6-guide-for-use-11887395 and Stormy Sea: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/stormy-sea-poetry-frame-guide-12043779 .
Fascinating creative opportunity for older/more able writers, depicting the sea as different entities or things. Format and starter lines for a sequence of verses are provided, with quality sample poem, written by myself (published poet) for the purpose. Tip: build up to metaphors by (1) discussing sea in different weathers, climates, times and seasons, enacting and sounding out; (2) elicit words and similes for the variations; (3) invite pupils to try taking out the ‘as… as’ or ‘like’ from their similes to form metaphors (e.g. ‘the sea IS a mirror’; (4) read the sample poem; (5) give out the frames and scrap paper for independent writers and let them write their own, personal versions.
See also my many other sea poetry frames in my catalogue, with sub-topics such as sea monsters, seabed mysteries, summer’s day sea, stormy sea and a pirate’s treasure map.
Reading/sounding out + learning about shells, seaside, nature and more. Eight describing words for shells for young readers (Reception - Y2), big, bright and clear, around a colourful photo of shells on beach. Words: shells, hard, curly, dry, shiny, hollow, sandy, wet. Help children turn sheet to read the words.
Watch my video on seaside shells:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9
See my other seaside and phonics resources too.
Junior pupils will enjoy writing tree-focused poems inside this tree outline. The summery, countryside setting will inspire ideas, while the short lines encourage careful choice of words and a swinging rhythm. Perhaps encourage similes, alliteration and other poetic techniques, while leaving the general approach and content open.
Questions to pose in your for warm-up discussion: is the tree a sunshade for a hot day, a statue, standing against the sky, or a reminder that we need to protect our precious natural world, perhaps? Or is the tree a den, hiding place, or climbing-frame in the writer’s mind? Is it as green as fresh lettuce leaves, glittering emeralds or the tall, silky grass?
This simple rhyme invites exciting whole-body actions, with scope for humour, drama, fantasy and expressive, imaginative movement. It includes a simile that can be exchanged for different ones in follow-on verses. The punchy rhythm and clear rhymes will help children develop an ear for rhyming couplets. While focusing minds on stars in space, it also prepares children for any writing task on the subject. The 1-sheet resource includes suggestions for warm-up and development, and lists of words to prompt for when swapping in new ones.
The activity supports the learning areas of Literacy, Expressive Arts & Design, Physical Development, Communication and Language, and Understanding the World.
This is a reading, writing and word-picture linking activity for young children, with example sheet. The three animal words, dog, cat, hen, are presented next to jumbled pictures of them. The challenge is to sound out the words and link them, with a pencil, to the correct picture. The pale letters can also be over-written, for hand-writing practice, and to consolidate the sounding out findings. This resource adds extra meaning and fun to early literacy lessons.
Fun cat music! Do listen (free) to this delightful, jazzy cat movement music, by a favourite composer of mine - for all ages!
https://soundcloud.com/rhodri-williams-wandoch/watching-the-cat
Fourteen attractive phonics activities for young children, including a sheet of 3 phonics rhymes and a simple linking/sorting challenge, as well as lots of 3-letter words to sound out and write over the letters or below, with colouring opportunities along the way. Popular themes throughout, such as assorted animals, seaside, farmyard, stars, teddy, traffic lights, on/off switches for gadgets.
Every short vowel except ‘u’ plus 3 long vowels and a range of consonants are highlighted in this huge pack of phonics fun.
50% discount for this bundle!
17 illustrated phonics activity sheets to read, most with pale letters to over-write and colouring to do. Numerous phonics represented, including most vowels, short and long, vowel combination sounds, and consonants b, c, f, m, p, s, and others. Some sheets have themes - stars, seaside, insects, cats, pigs, eggs… Some offer 3-letter words; others just initials with associated picture.
Save 60% with this big, bargain bundle!
This rich and varied bundle of literacy and colouring resources will delight your young class (Nursery-Yr 1 or ages 4-6). Reading, writing, acting out rhymes and colouring are all catered for in these nine lively woodland items (10 sheets). See my higher level variations for older/abler KS1s.
A generous wad of countryside phonics reading and writing activities, and simple, illustrated descriptive writing sheets - all on green themes: farm animals, wood and meadow animals and minibeasts.
Each activity helps bring words and letters alive for very young readers and writers.
This rosy garden apple picture poem celebrates nature, seasons and healthy eating.
The 5-line cinquain is simple and attractive to read, view and listen to.
Perhaps your class can make up a similar cinquain about apples or another fruit?
See my banana poem too, and my other Healthy Eating resources.
The poem and photo are by this author, Kate Williams.
Seaside poetry writing on a fabulous seaside photograph!
Line starters for free, expressive writing.
Example sheet provided, to inspire ideas of all sorts.
Flexible for all ages and abilities, written or out loud.
Text:
In the sea’s sparkly blue I find…
In the sea’s soft hum I hear…
In the sand’s ______ I feel…
Metaphors, description, long or short responses, literal or imaginary -
all sorts are welcome here!
See also my many other seaside and ocean resources!