Raising standards in KS1 and Special Needs: helping every child to succeed.
I have taught systematic phonics to all ages and abilities for over 30 years. My teaching degree was in Environmental Studies and I hate to see science reduced to box-ticking when there is so much to discover about the wonderful world we live in.
So, I produce Phonic resources that meet the real needs of children and teachers, along with science resources to engage children in learning about the natural world.
Raising standards in KS1 and Special Needs: helping every child to succeed.
I have taught systematic phonics to all ages and abilities for over 30 years. My teaching degree was in Environmental Studies and I hate to see science reduced to box-ticking when there is so much to discover about the wonderful world we live in.
So, I produce Phonic resources that meet the real needs of children and teachers, along with science resources to engage children in learning about the natural world.
Encourage children to write about winter with our phonetically coded Winter Word mat. Use for display or as a poster, or as desired - it has been used in many ways!
See our spring and [autumn]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12176861() word mats too!
A brief guide for teachers as to the kinds of insects that may be seen on an insect hunt - teaching what a true insect is and the different categories of insects for identification purposes.
Includes a spotting sheet which can be given to children as they hunt for insects, and a recording sheet.
Suitable for home or school use.
This is a fun, interactive counting PowerPoint to help young children/SEN pupils to count backwards from five as they join in the rhyme:
Five little fishes swimming near the shore, one swam a way and then there were …four.
Full instructions are given. Please play with it first yourself so that you know how it works, before using it with your pupil/s.
Bright hand-drawn, colourful pictures make this a charming activity!
I made this fun PowerPoint for a SEND eight-year-old who is learning to count and he thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope your pupils do too!
See our Bird Counting Power Point for counting to five and adding one more.
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12522911
A fun interactive bird-counting rhyme in interactive Power Point form, to learn numbers and 1:1 correspondence:
One little bird in the sky so blue, along came another and that made two etc…
Click to reveal numbers, and add one more and count again.
I enjoyed making this Power Point for a speech delayed 8yr old child who is having trouble grasping 1:1 correspondence and I am working with him to help him to understand the worth of ‘1’ and the effect of adding ‘1 more’. There is no sound (other than chimes on the practice slides), allowing the teacher/parent to give the child as much time as needed to respond. Full narration is given.
It can of course be used by others of younger and older ages - but it has a more grown up feel than that provided by early counting rhymes.
I hope it will be helpful to others.
Learn about the life-cycle of a Daffodil and and see how much of the science curriculum you can cover - without any effort and extend the learning into language and art in a truly child-centred way.
Our spring Daffodil Science Lesson Pack is great for KS1 classroom use or for home-education nature study and includes:
An 18 slide narrated Power Point to help KS1 children learn how Daffodils grow.
Starting with the bulb under the ground the Power Point shows how Daffodils grow and teaches about the bulb, leaves, stem, buds, calyx (the papery covering of the buds), petals, trumpet and pollen. This Power Point is a taught lesson - with sound.
Lesson outlines included with extensive notes for both Year 1 and Year 2 with relative National Curriculum for Science links.
How to dissect a Daffodil.
Pictures and word cards for multiple uses, e.g. labeling, making a matching game
Label the parts of the plant
Front cover of a Daffodil diary for recording observations
Poetry lesson based on William Wordsworth poem ‘Daffodils’
Acrostic sheet
Suggested art activities for each year group.
8 Photos for display/discussion
A Power Point lesson to introduce the digraph ‘ee’ to children, especially suitable for those who have special needs or need a slower pace. This is one of a series.
This is a taught lesson. The Power Point allows for control over the speed, but the video is for those who cannot use PowerPoint.
Just like having your own phonics teacher.
Written by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics to all abilities.
Can either be used by the child, with support from an adult, as well as to give the parent a feel for what is necessary - i.e. for training purposes.
A Power Point or video lesson to introduce the digraph ‘ck’ to children, especially suitable for those who have special needs or need a slower pace. This is one of a series.
This is a taught lesson. Stop the video if you need more time on a slide. The Power Point allows for more control over the speed.
Find flashcards, worksheets, reading book and game here:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/complete-ck-lesson-for-phase-2-letters-and-sounds-home-learning-12457905
Just like having your own phonics teacher.
Written by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics to all abilities.
Can either be used by the child, with support from an adult, as well as to give the parent a feel for what is necessary - i.e. for training purposes.
A Power Point or video lesson to introduce the digraph ‘oo’ to children, especially suitable for those who have special needs or need a slower pace. This is one of a series.
This is a taught lesson. Stop the video if you need more time on a slide. The Power Point allows for more control over the speed.
Just like having your own phonics teacher.
Written by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics to all abilities.
Can either be used by the child, with support from an adult, as well as to give the parent a feel for what is necessary - i.e. for training purposes.
Four phonics lessons for Phase 3 Set 3 Letters and Sounds:ch,sh,th and ng. suitable for all abilities, but especially helpful for special needs/catch-up work.
Video or Power Point to give more control over the speed of the lesson.
Produced by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics to special needs children.
Great to help parents support the learning of their child at home.
Shows parents what to do and what is needed to help their child succeed as well as instructing the child.
Totally phonetic
No guessing!
REAL READING!
These lessons are intended to be watched with a teacher/parent/guardian.
A Power Point or video lesson to introduce the consonant digraph ‘ch’ to children, especially suitable for those who have special needs or need a slower pace. This is one of a series.
This is a taught lesson. Stop the video if you need more time on a slide. The Power Point allows for more control over the speed.
For supporting flashcards/worksheets/reading book and game see:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/complete-ch-sh-lesson-for-special-needs-home-learning-12462988
Just like having your own phonics teacher.
Written by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics to all abilities.
Can either be used by the child, with support from an adult, as well as to give the parent a feel for what is necessary - i.e. for training purposes.
A Power point or video lesson to introduce young children to the concept of blending, starting with words in the ‘a’ family.
Simple, to the point and short.
Stop the video if you need more time on a slide.
This is a taught lesson, but the Power Point allows the teacher to have more control over the speed.
Like having your own phonics teacher!
By a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics.
Can either be used by the child, with support from an adult, as well as to give the parent a feel for what is necessary - i.e. for training purposes.
A Power Point or video lesson to introduce the consonant digraph ‘sh’ to children, especially suitable for those who have special needs or a slower pace, but fine for all abilities.
This is one of a series of videos.
This is a taught lesson. Stop the video if you need more time on a slide. The Power Point allows for more control over the speed.
For supporting flashcards/worksheets/reading book and game see:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/complete-ch-sh-lesson-for-special-needs-home-learning-12462988
Just like having your own phonics teacher.
Written by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching phonics.
Can either be used by the child, with support from an adult, as well as to give the parent a feel for what is necessary - i.e. for training purposes.
Reading Made Simple: helping parents to teach their child to read.
A complete course for Letters and Sounds taking pupils form initial sounds in Phases 2 and 3, to blending cvc words, in Phase 3, to the new digraphs and trigraphs of Phases 3, plus the consonant blends of Phase 4, ending with the new digraphs of Phases 5.
Four books packed with over 350 fully differentiated worksheets.
The Phase 5 book also contains reading comprehension passages with questions to answer, and short sentences to read suing the new sounds.
These resources cater for all needs and abilities of the average class, and can also be used for special needs education.
All tried and tested on pupils for many years.
For the discerning teacher of phonics who wants to ensure that all children succeed, these books are truly systematic - building upon each other with no nasty surprises.
Written by a phonics specialist teacher with over 30 years teaching phonics to all ages and abilities, and the author of Reading Made Simple, a 100% FREE systematic programme of phonics, teaching reading through writing.
A complete lesson to teach ch and sh of Phase 3 Letters and Sounds.
Suitable for use with all phonic programmes including Read, Write Inc…
A great little pack for classroom, home use and special needs catch-up work .
Handy teaching hints/plan included.
Pack includes:
Ch and Sh lesson videos (FREE)
ch and sh flashcards
ch and sh word flashcards
Sentences to read
Speed reading practice sheets for both sounds
ch and sh Worksheets
Assessment sheets for both sounds - help to know what further work needs to be done
Short reading book to practice cvc and ck words.
ch/sh game - a matching pictures to sounds - either for individual matching or to play as a game for two players.
A pack of resources to help you teach ‘ck’.
It can be used with any phonic programme, including Letters and Sounds, Read, Write, Inc. and Jolly Phonics.
Suitable for all children but especially those who have special needs or need a slower pace.
(Optional) First watch the free video lesson, (included int he download) then do the activities to reinforce the new sound.
Suitable for use with all phonic programmes including Read, Write Inc…
A great little pack for classroom, home education, private tutoring and special needs/catch-up work.
Ideal to send home for parents to support learning at home.
Pack includes:
How to teach the sound ‘ck’ Lesson Notes
ck flashcard
ck word flashcards
Sentences to read
Speed reading practice sheet
ck Worksheet
Assessment worksheet - help to know what further work needs to be done
Short reading book to practice cvc and ck words.
2 ck games - a matching pictures to words game and a board game for 2 players.
Written by an early years specialist teacher with 30 years experience of teaching systematic phonics to all abilities, especially special needs.
Teachers - see our ‘ck’ worksheets in our worksheet pack for Phases 3 and 4 of Letters and sounds, where we cover ‘ck’ words with and without a consonant blend. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12009694
A bright, 26 slide PowerPoint/video to help children to learn the initial sounds.
One slide per lesson.
Can the children find the objects that start with the given sound?
Can they find the odd ones out (there are two on each slide that do not begin with the given sound).
What sound do these begin with? (They will be sounds already learned, except for ‘Aa’.)
Good for revision and to help those having trouble hearing initial sounds.
Great for home learning.
Pause the video/Power Point as necessary to give your child time to answer.
A bumper pack of 160+ pages of resources - to help you to teach all of the new graphemes for Phase 5 of Letters and sounds to all abilities. This pack follows on from our popular Phonic Worksheets for Phases 3 and 4.
This pack will help you to Introduce the new phase 5 graphemes:
ay, ou, ie, ea, oy, ir, u-e, aw, wh, ph, ew, oe, au, ey, a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, e-e, and ‘y’ saying ‘eye’ and ‘o’ saying ‘u’.
Please note: this pack uses Phase 5 tricky words as part of the comprehension passages, but does not aim to teach them.
Please not: Alternative pronunciations are not covered in this pack.
For each digraph there are:
Flashcards
Sentences to read - these build on the preceding digraphs, giving plenty of revision
Differentiated worksheets: find the missing word, complete the sentences, write the word, etc…
A reading passage including words from the newly introduced digraph
These passages also introduce tricky words, as well as being truly systematic, never introducing words that have not yet been taught. This instills confidence in pupils. These passages make great ‘reading books’.
Questions to answer about the passages
Great for classwork, revision, assessment or homework!
Fully differentiated, they meet the real needs of the average class and are fully systematic: no words are introduced for which the student has not yet learned the necessary skills to decode. They provide ample practice for students in both reading and spelling.
Suitable for use with other schemes as long as you make sure that your children know the sounds necessary to complete the sheet.
Copy, reduce, enlarge as much as you like.
For spelling dictations to accompany this book of resources please see my Phase 5 Spelling Programme.
Please see the book of Initial sounds Worksheets, the CVC/CVCC words Worksheets for Phases 2, early 3 and simple cvcc words in Phase 4 and the Phonic Worksheets for Phases 3 and 4.
3 differentiated worksheets to teach KS1 children to label the parts of a tree when they are visible in winter.
4 parts taught: branches, trunk, crown and twigs.
See our blogpost for more help to teach children to identify trees by their structure in winter. Become a Nature explorer yourself too!
https://ks1nature.weebly.com/free-science-lessons/trees-in-winter-for-kids
A simple 23-slide PowerPoint to introduce Y1 children to the world of mushrooms.
Where and when they grow
What they do - decomposers
The parts of a mushroom
Compare them to plants with green parts:
How do they feed?
Do they have seeds?
An activity to see the spores
Learn the names of different kinds:
Bracket mushrooms
Puffballs
This PowerPoint is silent for teacher narration. this allow greater interaction withe the pupils according to their level of understanding. Full narration notes are provided in both PDF form and in Presenter View, the text under each slide can easily be read by the teacher with time for discussion of each point made.
Help your class engage meaningfully in the study of science today!
See lesson notes to help you plan a lesson at:
https://ks1nature.weebly.com/free-science-lessons/mushrooms-for-ks1
Our 20-slide Hedgehog PowerPoint for KS1 Science can help children to learn:
How seasons (in this case autumn) affect different animals, in this case, Hedgehogs.
Y1:
To identify and name Hedgehogs
To know that Hedgehogs are omnivores
Y2:
To identify and name Hedgehogs
About the hedgehogs’ diet and how they obtain food from other animals and plants
Why Hedgehogs hibernate (food and the need for survival)
That Hedgehogs are nocturnal
Full narration notes are provided in either PDF form, or under each slide that you can use in presenter mode.
Once your pupils have learnt about Hedgehogs, why not use our other PowerPoints to help them to compare them with other creatures - all in the local environment - and teach more of the UK National Science Curriculum?
Blackbirds: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12757848
Squirrels: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12742513
Frogs: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12410937