A lively, familiar town scene, with mum, child and dog, for young children to colour. The varied items in the picture are clearly represented and outlined, and will engage your Early Years or KS1 class. It also encourages critical thinking about colour choices and helps develop fine motor skills. Will support cross-curricular topics to do with the environment, family, transport, houses and more.

Phonics and reading practice with seaside theme and picture. Ten simple describing words, clearly highlighted in red boxes over a beautiful seaside photograph. Words: wet, fun, cool, bubbly, wavy, splashy, shallow, fresh, calm, sandy. See also: Seaside Writing & Colouring Sheet: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/seaside-writing-colouring-sheet-simple-12099515, and Boat on Sea Colouring Sheet: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/boat-on-sea-colouring-sheet-12096606 .

Sea-themed haiku poetry - lesson plan, including 3 frames with gaps to fill, 3 starter lines, information about haiku and how they work, warm-up tips, and a whirl of ocean thoughts to spur discussion and writing ideas. The sea has wonderful potential as a poetic theme, possessing such a wealth of features and variables, including many contradictory ones: it can be both deep and shallow, warm and freezing, colourful or grey as iron, gentle or savage. It’s fresh, yet ancient, fun, yet formidable. It offers up a kaleidoscope of colours, sounds and moods. A haiku looks so small and simple, yet it can convey any concept you like, with impact. For more themes, see my Trees, Birds, Butterfly, and Dragon Haiku sheets too.

Recipe for a Night Sky is a published poem by this author, offered here as a source of inspiration and example of a recipe poem. Supports Halloween celebrations as well as poetry appreciation, reading and writing. Published in ‘The School Magazine’, Australia. Copyright Kate Williams, author of this catalogue.

This attractive seaside sheet links letters and their sounds to pictures of familiar items starting with those letters: s - sea, f - fish, b - boat. Children will naturally sound out the words, without the bother of working their way through all the letters in them. This will bring meaning and interest to the sounds. The letters are pale, for writing over, with an extra set below the seaside colouring picture. VIDEO inspiration, with poem about shells: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9 For similar sheets, see my other phonics sheets (most are recent uploads) at my shop.

Castle writing and vocabulary-stretching fun is offered in this attractive picture-writing frame. Independent and emergent writers will love thinking up words, similes and phrases to fill the ten gaps in and around this atmospheric photo of historic Caerphilly Castle, Wales. The GUIDE sheet supplies teachers with handy ideas for words and similes to give as prompts and examples, at all levels. The gap-free version of the picture, also included, will inspire pupils to think up their own words too. Uses: poetry-writing preparation, vocabulary stretching, writing confidence, castle topic enhancement, story-writing starter and more. Also useful as a gap-filler, any time, any class from around Yr 2-6. See my other topical pictures with word gaps too.

National Curriculum word lists for Year 2 are represented, category by category, in these 2 spelling tests. Each comes with teacher’s version to read out and children’s child-friendly version to write. First test has 15 questions; second has 16. The children’s versions have gaps to fill; the teacher’s versions have words highlighted to instruct children to write in the gaps provided, as in SATs tests. Children’s papers also have stars to colour in at start and end. See also child-friendly word lists for reading practice and assessment: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ks1-spelling-reading-assessment-practice-mid-level-12107263, https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ks1-spelling-reading-assessment-practice-sheet-hardest-12107572 (mid-level + hardest).

Emergent writers will enjoy thinking up describing words for the sea and writing them on the waves of this lively seaside scene. The sheet is very popular with children in my poetry workshops, offering exciting colouring opportunities as well as writing fun. See the harder (free) and easier versions, too.

Healthy eating (PSHE) support, helping to nurture a love of fresh fruit. The 3-verse rhyme celebrates oranges, encouraging listeners to eat and appreciate them. The lines are rhythmic, rhyming, punchy, accessible and fun. Read it out loud, chant with class, add in actions or clapping, set to music or percussion, and discuss. Ideally, bring in some real oranges or tangerines for children to handle, peel and taste first.

These three little poems feature a caterpillar, a spider and a swarm of ants, each rhyme being informative as well as punchy and fun. Read out, chant and clap them with class, then discuss, enact, draw and write about these fascinating little creatures, with the verses to inspire and inform. The rhymes will support outdoor classroom activities and all related studies. Ideal for Early Years, KS1 and lower juniors. Supports Literacy - poetry and language - too.

Young emergent writers will be enthused to think up a word or more to complete the given phrase - My dragon is…, and to have a go at writing it on the line. More words can be added as wanted. Discuss first, drawing out a range of possibilities, e.g. - hot, red, spiky, scaly, fiery, funny, crazy, scary, friendly, magic, bold, brave, flying, zooming, flappy, and even fire-breathing. Colouring in the picture afterwards will provide an extra incentive for writing. Supports literacy, language development, fine motor control, colour differentiation, shape and pattern appreciation, creativity, and the concept of magical creatures (+ flight, fire, castles, travel and more).

Is this a Land of Lollopops, Love, or something else beginning with L? Your class will love thinking up words to complete this and all the other alliterative place names, such as Forest of F, Iceberg of I and School of S. A fun learning activity and handy filler, developing literacy skills and creativity with ease and laughter. Tip for use: start with a whole-class warm-up, eliciting ideas for the title and one other name, before leaving children to write their ideas on the sheet, individually or in pairs. Young classes will benefit from doing the whole activity together, teacher-led.

The Planet … is as bright as…, as hot as… and as spooky as… Each simile has a line for completion. There’s also a spare line for extras, and a follow-on verse about the aliens who live there - whatever features they may have. Children love this creative writing frame. Confident writers also enjoy the harder version, here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/planet-picture-poem-frame-ks2-guidance-sheet-11886984 See my other space writing resources too.

This simple illustrated poetry frame celebrates the beauty of birds in flight and the wonders of bird migration. The theme will inspire your children’s imagination and ignite their poetic powers, spurred on by the sketches and line-starters. They’ll love thinking up similes to describe how the birds look and other aspects of them, and also thinking up their own developments and rounding-off line. The accompanying Guide Sheet offers suggestions for each line, in case handy for reading out as examples or prompting for, while encouraging independent thinking and word choices. Recommended for KS2.

These spooky, moonlit woods will capture the imagination of your class, and the simple poetry format will motivate creative input. The sheet invites similes to describe how dark, silent, still and creepy the midnight wood is, with a further verse to describe the moon - and anything else. Space is also provided for freestyle development. Recommended for Yrs 3-5 (or age 7 - 10).

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.

If your school has a pond, this picture-poem sheet will provide an excellent way of motivating your class to take an interest in it, while stretching their language and creative skills as well. Children will love writing describing words on the pond itself, and expressing their thoughts about it around the picture. The accompanying guide sheet offers ideas for each section to support discussion and prompting, as needed. This resource supports English, biology, animal and nature studies, outdoor learning opportunities, and celebrations of the school. Best for Years 2-4, able Yr 1 pupils and under-achieving older ones; also as a warm-up sheet for independent writing of poetry, stories or description at all junior levels.

Crazy space alien to colour in. Drawn freehand, this whirly, twirly, crazy creature is waiting to leap to life with the first touch of colour. The resource supports Space studies at all primary levels, also serving for pencil control practice, colour sense development and expressive arts and design material. Development tip: after colouring, suggest children design their own alien, then describe it in words. See my many other space-themed creative 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.