Click through to see the Aztec calendar stones turn and the order of the days through a complete rotation of the day signs and some more.

A comparison activity with Salah in Islam and the Lord's Prayer for Christians. Pupils are invited to draw comparisons between the two prayers, for example highlighting words of praise, the use of the name of God etc.

Following Mind Kind principles, this is a brief introduction to Aztecs with notes on the ppt with things for pupils to do, that will give them an overview of the topic. The accompanying word document is the whole text that this introduction is based on.

Following Mind Kind principles, an big picture overview of Vikings in Britain to give pupils an taste of where the topic will be going during the term. There is a script to follow and opportunities for pupils to respond by drawing, talking, writing and acting as the activity progresses. I used this successfully with Year 4 pupils.

A lesson looking at the first Christmas card created in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. Pupils then created their own versions of his original card, using the blank provided (pdf and publisher versions). This was used in conjunction with the whole school looking at Victorian Christmas traditions.

A very simple activity to identify polygons. This was to support pupils who struggled to produce a coherent picture. Instructions: Triangle -yellow, quad -blue, pentagon -grey, heptagon -brown, octagon -green. Will make simple picture of bird in tree, cloud and sun.

Resources to support pupils creating their own branching databases, either to sort living things as part of the Year 4 science curriculum or to explore data presentation, creation and organisation for the computing curriculum. Part of my branching database lesson activities, a blank template PowerPoint for a 3 question branching database sorting 8 items. Also 2 planning documents, one to support the PowerPoint with the slide numbers to ensure the hyperlinks in the template function correctly. For further information and greater detail and example see https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13103614 Please note that AI was used to create the Yes and No buttons.

An introductory activity to examine pictures of Aztec and a British house, considering the similarities and the differences.

A comprehension activity used with higher attainers in Year 4. A Victorian setting for historical stories, and a diary entry format. There are simple answers to the questions and a mark scheme. The second page has a print out of the questions.

Based upon work from QCA science 4b habitats. This uses mind kind techniques to introduce pupils to the key vocabulary and ideas of the topic. There are notes attached to the ppt to explain what pupils should do.

Archaeology 101 is information about archaeology for pupils to read to be able to complete the Approved Archaeologist Assessment sheet, the word document is available for editing. Following successful completion they were awarded the certificate. We used this during a historical enquiry task, where pupils dug up objects from a sand box and had to complete the assessment to prove they understood how to be an archaeologist before digging around.

Text taken from an instruction manual, found on a referenced website, for an old computer game that I used with my Year 4 literacy class. Comprehension questions with points at the end of the text. My answers are given for guidance for marking.

6 people want furniture to fill their bedrooms, but each one has a different need, e.g. only quadrilaterals or must be regular polygons. Pupils can demonstrate their understanding of 2d shape 'classify 2-d shapes in various ways using mathematical properties such as reflective symmetry.' (APP Assessment guidelines Maths L3)

Used with Year 4 class during a topic on rivers to think about recreational uses of a river. PowerPoint designed to stimulate discussion and think about different river activities and, importantly, how they could make them safe. Leads then to pupils creating a brochure advertising a river activity centre.

A visual way to explore patterns within times tables that I have used, particularly in Year 4, to breathe some creativity and investigation into times tables. Each times table generates a digital root pattern, i.e. adding the digits until you get a single digit. When plotted these sequences create interesting patterns. For those who have a strong and speedy grasp of multiplication tables, this is an open-ended way to explore numerical patterns and reinforce times table knowledge. This activity could also be used for computing, beebots, turtles, online Logo programs and Scratch can all be programmed to follow these movement commands, giving pupils choices to make in controlling a program or machine to generate the patterns. Scratch example code is included. Resources: Guided slides - illustrating how to create a digital root pattern Blank grids - create the digital root sequences Dotted paper - there is a darker open dot towards the centre of the page which is a good starting place Extension/alternative version - using circles Images of successful root patterns Example scratch code - change the “move” value in multiples of 10 to see the patterns generated on screen.

PowerPoint introduction to writing a clerihew, with scaffolded sheets to support pupils in creating their own clerihew. Clerihews are 4-line biographical poems invented by Edward Clerihew Bentley that have two rhyming couplets. These can be easier for pupils to master than limericks as a clerihew doesn’t have any rhythmic requirements. Lines can be short or long. The PowerPoint contains seven example clerihews (Ada Lovelace, Mr Beast, Walt Disney, Katherine Johnson, Wallace and Gromit, Doctor Who and Taylor Swift) and an excellent one by Paul Cookson. A guided example based on William Shakespeare supports pupils’ understanding of the structure and creation of a clerihew. The PowerPoint and scaffold sheet can be adapted to remove names that may be unfamiliar to your pupils and still leave a number of examples that will remain relevant. This has been used in a number of Year 4 classrooms and has proved accessible and enjoyable to the pupils. Please note that AI was used in the creation of the illustrations.

Based upon the mythical beast fought by Bellerophon and other similar ‘hybrid’ creatures (griffin, minotaur, manticore), I have used these spinners as stimulus for creative writing. By spinning, pupils generate a head, body and tail of a mythical beast and describe the monster, its behaviour and habitat. Print on card, cut out and stick a pencil through the centre and spin. Large and small versions are included. Please note that AI was used in the generation of the images.

Blank A4 postcard printouts for quick write opportunities or start of the school year activities. 5 variations of postcard in either wide or narrow lines for writing. Basic postcard printout with blank area for picture and lines for writing. Other styles have more traditional postcard formatting with up-to-date stamp style. Traditional “Wish you were here” and “Greetings from” versions to create a holiday postcard image. Useful to create a quick writing display at the start of the school year.

I created the 3 Ps of Computing (Be Patient, Be Polite, Be Professional) to promote positive behaviours during computing lessons. A3 and A4 posters explain why being patient, polite and professional is necessary in computing with a postcard sized reminder for pupils. There are so many variables to deal with as a teacher during a primary computing lesson, it is important to remind pupils of how to be successful whilst you desperately troubleshoot hardware and software issues. These posters give something concrete to direct pupils’ attention to help them wait or support others when for reasons beyond your control, computing activities can get a bit tricky. These behaviours complement Online Safety too as many of the pitfalls can be avoided by being patient (did I click send on my email to swiftly?), being polite (sarcasm does not come across well online) or being professional (have I stuck to the task or wasted the last hour doomscrolling on social media?). When I use these in the classroom, I am always reminding myself too!

Up-to-date blank Royal Mail stamp formats including the barcode for pupils to illustrate and use. 24 stamps to a page, 1st and 2nd class versions included with completely blank template.