This is a 3 week KS2 writing unit based on an extract from ‘Varjak Paw’. Each of the 16 sessions has a clear and detailed lesson plan, presentation slides and differentiated activities (greater depth, on track and support) complete with resources. It’s all here! For a large chunk of this unit, children explore a wonderful extract from chapter 21: Varjak discovers a toy shop and meets a toy cat. Using this passage for inspiration, children create short bursts of writing whilst learning and applying new skills. These short bursts are eventually combined to create a diary entry. When you open the zip, you will find a folder for each session - everything is organised in a user-friendly way. As with all of my resources, all files have been created using PowerPoint and Word, so you can edit and adapt as you wish. I have aimed this unit at Year 4, but it could be used in any KS2 setting - I would happily do this project with Year 6 pupils. This unit has been very carefully sequenced and builds towards quality writing outcomes. It is packed with talk, reading, vocabulary, grammar and composition skills. Unit Overview Session 1 Prewriting activity – I can visualise a story setting Session 2 Cold task – What do you already know about diary writing? Session 3 I can notice and define adventurous words and phrases Session 4 I can reuse adventurous words and phrases Session 5 Reading activity: I can read like a detective Session 6 I can use prepositions to show where something is (in relation to something else) Session 7 I can use preposition phrases to organise a paragraph Session 8 I can describe how a character is feeling using their body language Session 9 I can punctuate direct speech correctly (sentence level) Session 10 I can punctuate direct speech correctly (text level) Session 11 I can use ‘but’ to change direction in an unexpected way Session 12 I can write sentences using adventurous vocabulary and prepositions Session 13 I can pick out the key features of diary writing Session 14 I can use the key features of diary writing Session 15 I can plan a diary entry independently Session 16 Independent diary writing. Children have the opportunity to demonstrate their new skills and knowledge.

This is the blushometer activity from the seal resources, Year 5, but in handy word format - all on one side. Give these out to pairs and for them to score embarrassing situations before sharing ideas with the class. Brilliant for circle time or PSHE.

Updated instructions now added Quiz, Quiz, Trade is a fun and active way for children to learn facts. The cards can be tailored to cover any subject area, topic or learning objective and are particularly useful for introducing a new subject area that your class wouldn’t already know lots about. You could include a range of differentiated questions, but I have often found that the children you least expect will learn the more complicated facts after playing this game. The idea behind Quiz, Quiz, Trade is that it is a fun, non-threatening and exciting game that is inclusive for all and will help all children in your class to acquire knowledge quickly. Really handy when you just need them to have a bit of background knowledge or learn something quickly in order to apply or develop the knowledge in their work. Quiz, Quiz, Trade can be used for any age group (my cards are all aimed at years 4-6) that will be able to read the questions and answers. I have used Quiz, Quiz, Trade in observations with much success (see instruction page) and consistently use it to introduce new topics in class-the children love it!

THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE PARAGRAPHING A FUN AND CONCRETE EXPERIENCE. This is a fun and engaging activity (for groups of four) about organisation within a paragraph. Using a non-fiction context (information about mammoths) pupils go to a paragraph party. They have to work out who is hosting the party (the topic sentence), who is the uninvited guest (information that doesn’t belong) and various other activities. In short, it’s a lively and memorable way of exploring non-fiction paragraphs.

Hi teachers of the world! I love using Roger Mcgough’s fantastic ‘What I love about school’ to motivate pupils to write poetry with patterns. I’ve used it several times, and the children often come up with brilliant poems of their own, once they have had time explore the patterns. A shortened version of the poem, some comprehension activities and planning sheet are included. Have fun! If you like this activity, you may like my grammar games and units of work.

Children are expected to capitalise proper nouns from Year 1 onwards, but many children in Key Stage 2 find this tricky to remember. Often, children do not understand the difference between common and proper nouns. This lesson, complete with presentation and an dice game, will give children experience of using a wide variety of proper nouns, from book titles to shop names. Classes about to undertake the Y6 Grammar Test would find this a useful refresher on common and proper nouns. Make missing capital letters a thing of the past by playing: ‘How many capital letters?’

This lively whole class game involves stealing words and wearing blindfolds - it causes a real buzz of excitement around creating complex sentences. It is one of my most involved games, but very easy to get the hang of. You’ll need a full lesson to play it. A fun whole class grammar game promoting the use of subordinating conjunctions in complex sentences. My class loved it - I hope yours will too.

If you are confident with your classroom management, this game works well in a lesson observation. Children compete in teams, dropping relative clauses into prepared sentences. Children try out different roles, from author to reporter, and work collaboratively. I have found that children were quickly able to apply this skill in their writing after a session playing this game. Differentiation included, if needed. Give it a try!

A version of battle ships which could be used to teach any spelling pattern you like. tried and tested in class. This version is for plurals, but you could quickly edit the game to be played with any 10 words. I hope your class like it as much as mine.

This was a really fun and engaging lesson about polygons, which produced some terrific work. There is clear differentiation, and absolutely everything you need to make this fly in your classroom. I created it for a year 3 class, but I think it could be adapted for any class from y2 to y6. Included: detailed lesson plan quiz quiz trade quiz quiz trade instructions spelling box activity photos of finished investigations support activity - matching polygons to their names instructions for paper-folding polygons investigation at two levels of challenge table top vocab cards additional problems for children who have finished

Quiz, Quiz, Trade is a fun and active way for children to learn facts. These times table Quiz Quiz Trade cards have red, amber, green and sometimes blue questions. The children can say which colour question they would like, depending on how confident they are feeling.

This is a lesson I used with a year 3 class, but it would be useful for any class learning how to subtract multiples of 10 using a money context. There is a very detailed lesson plan, a presentation to guide the class along and all resources. You will also need a lot of 10p coins: ten 10p coins per pair of children. Just photocopy some if they’ve all gone missing! After a few warm-ups, the children begin with some giving change role play activities, before moving on to working on open numberlines. A lot of thought has been given to differentiation throughout the session. The independent work is differentiated three ways. There are extension activities as well and some challenges for the plenary. This session may run over an hour, depending on how speedy your class are.

A fully planned lesson with differentiated rounding activities. Children place numbers on a number line and round to the nearest 10. Very straightforward. They can work with anything from 2 digit numbers up to 6 digit numbers. Differentiated four ways. Simple but effective!

I can identify unstressed vowels I can spell words with unstressed vowels Children (and adults!) often spell words with unstressed vowels incorrectly (how about these: diffrent, intresting, seprate, evryone…). This dice game encourages learners to engage with this tricky group of words. Players identify and sort unstressed vowel words into groups. They record them on a game sheet. No marking - peer assessment built in (answers are on the reverse of cards). There is a competitive element to add some fun, but it could just as easily be played collaboratively. I have included ideas on how to quickly differentiate the game, to include all learners. There is also a quick warm sorting activity. My class enjoyed it. I hope yours do too. All you need is 1-6 dice. The rest is all here.

I can spell ‘ie’ and ‘ei’ words Lots of children (and adults) get mixed-up when spelling 'ie' and 'ei' words. Is the rule 'i before e except after c' actually helpful? This dice game encourages children to explore the rule and decide for themselves. Here are some words that keep to the rule: field, shield, brief, chief, belief, believe, unbelievable, relief, relieved, piece, achieve receive, conceit, deceive, deceit, conceive, misconceive, perceive, perceivable, ceiling, receipt Here are some that don't: neighbour, weigh, counterfeit, foreign, kaleidoscope, their, caffeine, leisure, protein, seize, weird ancient, deficient, glacier, proficient, society, science, sufficient, species Play the game ‘Follow the rule/break the rule’, classifying words into two groups. After the game, the class could consider if this rule may work best: “i before e except after c, but only if it rhymes with a bee!”

All maths teachers, regardless of the age they teach, know how important it is for children to be fluent in their root addition and subtraction facts. I couldn't find them as a word document anywhere, so I made these two simple grids. They can be used in so many ways, for teaching, practising and assessing how children are doing with their basic number facts.

Two dice games for KS2: ‘Point or show quantity’ pupils explore the two basic functions of determiners. ‘Introduce the noun’ pupils add determiners to noun phrases and sort determiners into groups. Both games have a competitive element but are tightly focused on the following objectives: I know that determiners have two jobs: ‘pointing’ or ‘showing quantity’ I can use determiners accurately in sentences I can use a wide variety of determiners to introduce nouns I can sort determiners into groups Determiners can get a little confusing for primary school aged children when you get beyond simple ‘a’ or ‘an’ activities. How far you go with your class is best judged by you (of course!). Through the presentation (which you may wish to simplify, depending on how far you wish to go with determiners) and engaging dice games, children will use lots of talk, and really engage with this tricky-to-define but important group of words.

I have recently produced a far more in depth ‘Theseus’ unit with masses of carefully produced, differentiated resources and detailed planning. It is available here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/theseus-and-the-minotaur-3-weeks-of-detailed-planning-fully-resourced-and-differentainted-11914692 Here are lots of older Theseus resources, including a model text, comprehension work, story boards, fronted adverbials activity, planning frames etc.