Guided Reading Poetry Mat - questions for guided reading with any poem, aimed at all of Key Stage 2.

This is a guided reading mat with great questions for discussion of any story text.

This mat provides question prompts to use with any poem. It could be used with individuals, or small groups.

How to punctuate speech PowerPoint.

A brief sheet with fun examples of how punctuation changes meaning. I've used examples found on the internet of meaning changes caused by punctuation changes. This is available at 65% discount as part of a bundle.

A simple PowerPoint to explain what is and isn't a sentence. It also shows how a simple sentence can be modified by an adjective or adverb.

A complex sentences PowerPoint

A few sentence cards for children to practice moving the subordinate clause in a complex sentence.

"We must prepare young people for living in a world of powerful images, words and sounds." —UNESCO, 1982 These are guided reading learning mats for getting quality discussion and reading of any persuasive texts, specifically forms of advertising. They enable structured discussion by pupils about advertising to make them wiser as consumers and aware that adverts are carefully constructed texts. It also informs them to produce their own persuasive texts. There is a KS3 and a KS2 learning mat .

This is a persuasive brochure for a Star Wars World Theme Park, written to model how to use persuasive techniques, like appealing adjective and imperative (bossy) verbs. There are detailed teaching notes and a scaffold frame for children to write their own theme park brochure on a theme of their choice and a blank brochure with theme park pictures is also provided, if required. There is also an extension task to develop further ideas for the theme park website, which could be done as an individual, or group, speaking and listening or writing task. There is also a support worksheet and a theme park ideas worksheet, too, for pupils needing more help.

This activity is inspired by Dru’s spy vehicle in Despicable Me 3. There is an example of an explanation text written about Dru’s vehicle to show to class and to discuss features of an explanatory text. Children draw and write an explanation of how their minion vehicle works supported by an ideas bank, scaffold frame and teaching notes. There is a list of ultimate spy vehicle features for discussion and teaching notes and scaffold frame to ensure you get good explanation text writing results. There are examples of a Year 4s work to give an idea of the end product. There is also an optional extension task included.

A structured comprehension on 'The Sea' by James Reeve and a word mat to prompt discussion of any poem. Suitable for upper KS2 and KS3. For differentiation, you can select which questions children complete, or for group discussion you can use the poetry word mat. The session started by discussing the poem and finding examples of poetic techniques, such as rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance and sibilant sounds. We discussed the change in the three verses. For extension, pupils could either write a river metaphor (see river metaphor poem ), or alternatively find points of comparison between the river and a different things (see worksheet).

This delivers great short story writing results for upper KS2, because this photo story includes a scaffold frame to support weaker writers to get good story writing results. It also includes a popular visual stimulus and a story start. It also includes a vocabulary building sheet to develop the vocabulary of the most able. I started the task by watching Steve Backshall's Shark Bites - very short CBBC programmes on sharks, including the Great White. Next, I read the extract from Anthony Horowitz's Skeleton Key where Alex Rider came in contact with a shark and discussed how the writer uses description of the character's feelings as well as description of the shark to build suspense. The worksheet of vocabulary can be used to model an effective noun phrase and sentence to describe the shark as a speaking and listening, or guided writing task. The story starts with a diver swimming next to a tiger shark and everything is calm. Next, he notices the shadow of a great white approaching. The pupils need to finish this story start. I suggested that the story ends with the diver getting away from the shark. The children that need more support could work with the scaffold frame for guided story writing to structure their work and show how feelings and description are required to build suspense. We also listened to 'Jaws' music from John Williams.

Worksheet to find the point of comparison

I find these so useful, because they make children self assess. The work because they make pupils notice the features that will improve their descriptive writing and story writing. I find these a much more effective tool than success criteria. Children don't always take ownership of targets or success criteria, but this encourages them to reflect critically on their writing and make progress. The self assessment worksheets are differentiated.

A reminder of how to round numbers - can be stuck in pupils' books to remind them how to round numbers.