<p>Rudolph is dead! He was found last night and the circumstances surrounding his death indicate foul play. Polar bear detectives, Holly Winters and Nick Frost, have reason to believe one of the other reindeer is responsible for his untimely demise. But they all had reason to hold a grudge against the young, glitzy and popular Rudolph. So who did it?</p> <p>This ‘whodunnit’ play is perfect for the stage. However, it would work equally well if filmed (o be watched by the school later on). In secondary schools, the kids would love seeing teachers performing the show -dressed as reindeer and particating in something which is truly ridiculous!</p> <p>Each scene is an interrogation of one of the reindeers by Detective Frost and Detective Winters. There is an opportunity for audience participation (whodunnit?) just before Santa is interviewed at the end.</p> <p>The play is ideal for this busy time of the year as the interrogation structure to the scenes allows actors to rehearse their separate scenes when they can. The whole performance lasts around 20-30 minutes.</p> <p>Roles are as follows:<br /> • Detective Holly Winters – A cool, sharp-witted polar bear detective with a knack for solving cases.<br /> • Detective Nick Frost – An impatient, no-nonsense polar bear detective, hoping to finish the investigation in time for Christmas.<br /> • Comet - The old, wise reindeer with a bit of a temper.<br /> • Dasher - The athletic, competitive reindeer who secretly resents Rudolph’s success.<br /> • Prancer - The show-off reindeer, more concerned with his looks than anything else.<br /> • Vixen - The sassy and overly dramatic reindeer, always playing up the “victim” card.<br /> • Cupid - The love-struck, overly affectionate reindeer who might have been too in love with Rudolph for his own good.<br /> • Blitzen - The fast-talking, always on-the-go reindeer, who has a mysterious alibi.<br /> • Donner - The gruff, fatherly reindeer, who just wants to keep things quiet.<br /> • Santa – Big guy with white hair and beard.</p> <p>Have fun! If filmed, please do upload to TES - I would love to see it!</p>

<p>In this funny KS1 nativity play, the cows, sheep, and stars take the lead roles, adding their unique perspective to the Christmas story. The animals in the barn and the twinkling stars in the sky make sure the Christmas message is loud and clear — and a little bit silly! There are 18 speaking roles but 5 scenes, so the speaking parts can be shared out more widely with different children taking on the speaking parts for different scenes.</p> <p>Characters:<br /> • 3 Cows (Cow 1, Cow 2, Cow 3)<br /> • 3 Sheep (Sheep 1, Sheep 2, Sheep 3)<br /> • 3 Stars (Star 1, Star 2, Star 3)<br /> • Mary<br /> • Joseph<br /> • Donkey<br /> • 3 Wise Men<br /> • 3 Shepherds</p> <p>There is 1 song per scene and they include all the Nativity favourites: Little Donkey, Away in a Manger, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Silent Night. At the end, parents are encouraged to join in with Jingle Bells.</p>

<p>A fun, engaging and impactful lesson. The lesson can be a stand-alone session or it can work well at any point in a Scheme of Work. The learning is delivered through a diverse range of tasks - differentiated to challenge the full range of abilities.</p> <p>The lesson begins with a group discussion task - visual stimulants given to LAP/MAP groups and more challenging, text-based work for MAP/HAP groups. The initial stage of the lesson is short and designed to help children understand the nature or concept of persuasion in writing - that it can seem dishonest as it is a ‘selective truth’. The second task is pair work - a skills development activity (identifying persuasive language). The final task is independent writing, differentiated for support and challenge. However, all tasks are constructed purposefully, in order to give all children the skills and confidence to complete the following task with success.</p> <p>The presentation powerpoint is colourful and teacher-friendly - linking logically to the resources and the lesson instructions. No additional work or ‘tidying up’ preparation is needed prior to teaching the lesson. The student resources are also carefully formatted to meet the needs of the students, in terms of font and layout as well as clarity of instruction.</p>

<p>This funny panto-style sketch is called Christmas Crackers at the Turkey Farm. In this short production, a large flock of turkeys are in dispute over the true meaning of Christmas. The play has been enormously popular with adults and with the older children that have performed it or watched it. It’s ideal for a quick assembly presentation (10 minutes long) or a short play during a Christmas presentation to parents. The affect on audiences is great. Teachers can have fun performing it too - there are roles for twelve ‘turkeys’, and the characters include (amongst others) Depressed Fred, Angry Alf, Professor Pecker, Dame Felicity and Passive Pam. One or two of the lines are risque (typical panto) such as one that refers to Dorris’s white bits but every character’s lines are quick to learn, with minimum rehearsal time required at what is usually a very hectic time of the year. You will have a lot of fun with it!</p>

<p>Each year, Harvest Festival comes around and I search the internet in an attempt to find productions or presentations that are engaging and that discuss important issues such as poverty and the food crisis- a very modern crisis that we are experiencing in Britain today; more working people than ever having to ask for emergency food packs to survive. Many just go hungry. It’s affecting many of our school children. Each year, I am hugely disappointed with what’s out there. So, for those teachers like me that want something funny, interesting, fact-based and significant to do for Harvest, I offer you this four scene play (14 pages). It pokes fun at teachers (who can play themselves or have children dress up as them) and it puts the kids in charge! The children will love it. Most importantly, the audience and children will be affected by it.</p> <p>There are four songs included with word adaptations made to Do They Know It’s Christmas (so that it is Harvest Festival relevant). All song lyrics are provided at the end of the script and in-text notes are given for the appropriate place to sing each. All songs can be downloaded on Youtube (instrumental or vocals included). ENJOY!</p>

<p>In this exciting and impactful lesson, children investigate the question: How close did Britain come to being invaded by Germany?</p> <p>Learning Intentions: Understand the decisions made by Germany and Britain before the Battle of Britain took place. Think and communicate as a historian.</p> <p>Children recreate the Battle of Britain by thinking through the decisions made by Germany and Britain after Dunkirk. Through this reconstruction, they gain a deep understanding of how the battle played out and why Britain succeeded in its defense. They ultimately gain insight into its historical significance.<br /> The lesson is in two parts:<br /> Step 1 - A Military Analysis (Children act as military analysts, weighing up who had the strongest a) infantry b) air force and c) naval force using information provided. They then use this knowledge to complete the next task:<br /> Step 2 – War Games Re-enactment (Children are divided into Germany and Britain. They have a board map and game pieces and must use the understanding from Step 1 to make decisions together). Each group present their decisions and they then get to see how close their decisons were to the real thing!</p> <p>This lesson had been tried and tested. Not only do children love it but the learning really sticks!</p>