This exciting ‘Pointloss’ game is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I’ve also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips, interesting tasks, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of characters, plot, and themes in ‘Macbeth.’ Round 1. The characters in Macbeth Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Themes Round 4. Deaths in Macbeth The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through reading and interpreting the opening section of Katherine Rundell’s ‘Rooftoppers.’ The resource pack includes the extract needed and a clear and well presented PowerPoint, guiding the teacher and learners through the various activities. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, sequencing and summarising skills. A vocabulary check helps to secure children’s understanding of any new or unfamiliar language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in years 5-6, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This engaging and thought-provoking triple-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 13 to 15 of Katherine Rundell’s 'Rooftoppers.’ The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and explaining; -Sequencing events from the text. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses, in addition to a template for the ‘deeper thinking’ character analysis profile task (provided in both Word and PDF). There’s a lot here (21 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two or even three separate lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 5 and 6 children.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to develop a detailed understanding of the leading protagonist in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: Prospero. In particular, students make precise interpretations regarding Prospero’s characterisation and involvement in key plot events, before demonstrating a clear perception of his mannerisms, emotions and motivations through progressively more difficult learning activities. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through: Understanding the roles that betrayal and loyalty play in driving Prospero’s actions; Reading and comprehending key Propsero quotations, using these to infer and interpret key elements of his characterisation; Using textual exploration to discover how Prospero is developed over the course of the play; Completing a range of activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy to demonstrate understanding of Prospero’s character; Showing empathy for and understanding of Prospero’s character, through a fun hot-seating activity; Self-assessing their learning throughout the lesson; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Quotation Stations Log; Prospero Key Quotes; Extracts from Later Scenes (freely available online); Prospero Bloom’s Taxonomy Activities Worksheet; Comprehensive lesson plan. Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting) and Word (so that they are easily editable - they can be found in the zipfile) The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to develop a detailed understanding of the characters of Ariel and Caliban in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In particular, students compare and contrast how the two characters are introduced to the audience in Act 1 Scene 2, and then developed throughout the play. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through: Understanding the roles that servants and slaves played in society in Shakespearean times; Reading and comprehending how the two characters are introduced in Act 1 Scene 2; Using textual exploration to discover how the characters are then developed over the course of the play; Considering Shakespeare’s intentions in his portrayal of the two characters; Demonstrating their understanding through an interesting synthesis activity; Self-assessing their learning through the lesson; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Character Profile Template; Ariel and Caliban Development Template; Copy of Act I Scene 2 (freely available online); Comprehensive lesson plan. Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting) and Word (so that they are easily editable - they can be found in the zipfile) The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Willy Russell’s play ‘Blood Brothers.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in exam revision, comprehension tasks, or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the KS4 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework - this makes the tasks suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Context: 1980s Britain/ Liverpool’ - to aid students with ‘Drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation;’ ‘Russell’s Dramatic Devices’ - to aid students with ‘Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;’ ‘Edward’, ‘Mickey’, and ‘Mrs Lyons’ - to aid students with ‘Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;’ ‘Editing the Play’ - to aid students with ‘Making an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 30 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the fourth in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. This lesson focuses on helping children to create cohesion in their writing, using time connectives and other cohesive devices. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (21 slides) guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Time connectives; -Understanding other features that contribute to cohesion in written texts; -Identifying good and bad examples of cohesion in texts; -Improving their earlier written attempts by following steps to improve cohesion; -Following a model example to develop cohesion within the next paragraph of their written compositions (a structure strip is provided, in both PDF and Word format, to help them to organise and sequence this section of their composition); -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the third in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. This lesson focuses on guiding children towards creating full, interesting sentences to describe their stimulus. By the end of the lesson, they write the opening section of their recount. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (18 slides) guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Expanded noun phrases; -Understanding how prepositions can aid us in expanding sentences; -Exploring how expanded noun phrases and prepositions can be used in combination to create interesting, detailed full sentences; -Following a model example to develop effective sentences within the first paragraph (a structure strip is also provided to help the children to formulate this paragraph in an organised manner); -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the fifth in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. This lesson focuses on helping children to vary their sentence structures, to produce interesting and imaginative compositions. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides) guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Identifying word types: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives and determiners -Understanding that writing is more interesting and imaginative when writers vary the type of word that they open the sentence with (i.e. not always pronouns and determiners); -Enhancing a boring, monotonous example by adding variety to sentence openers (the worksheet for this is provided, both in Word and PDF); -Improving their earlier written attempts by following steps to increase the variety and quality of their sentences; -Following a model example to develop variety and imagination within the next paragraph of their written compositions (a structure strip is provided, in both PDF and Word format, to help them to organise and sequence this section of their composition); -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Michael Morpurgo’s 'When Fishes Flew.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Morpurgo’s Language Techniques’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ ‘Character Analysis of Nandi and Maria’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘An Interview with Nandi’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘Storyboarders’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Read books that are structured in different ways and for a range of purposes.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is over 20 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. The resource is suitable for home/ remote learning.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the sixth and final lesson in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. This lesson focuses on helping children to edit and redraft their recount compositions. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (18 slides) guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Understanding why the learning is important, following a video (hyperlinked) which helps to outline why editing and redrafting is important. Listening to facts about how published artists repeatedly edit and redraft their work; -SPAG starter: Correcting basic SPAG errors in sentences, including spelling/ homophones, inconsistent tense, and omitted capital letters/ punctuation; -Applying this knowledge to proof-read and edit their own compositions; -Revisiting the key features of recounts and ensuring that these features are embedded within their own writing; -Learning the meaning of the term ‘uplevelling’ and understanding how more precise verbs, nouns and adjectives can impact on a sentence; -Employing this knowledge to uplevel their own recount compositions; -Once they are happy with their edits, following clear success criteria for redrafting their writing; -Reflecting on their learning from across the unit. These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the second in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. In this lesson, children learn to build vocabulary to use in their writing, drawing on a range of word types (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs) and using each of their five senses. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Word classes (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs); -Establishing a three-part structure for the recount; -Watching a ‘Climbing Everest’ video (hyperlinked) to gain inspiration and consider how a journey can be structured and described; -Using a clear template and the five senses to build appropriate and effective vocabulary; -Sharing and building upon one another’s vocabulary and ideas; -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. The PowerPoint presentation (19 slides) and activity resources needed are provided (the worksheet template is provided in both Word and PDF). These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the first in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. The first lesson focuses on what recounts are, establishing the main features and techniques. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge harvesting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Homophones -Finding out more about recounts and the essential techniques through watching a BBC Teach ‘Michael Rosen’ video, and answering comprehension questions about what they have watched; -Establishing a success criteria for recounts; -Analysing a ‘WAGOLL’ (what a good one looks like) and identifying the features and techniques from the success criteria; -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. The PowerPoint presentation and activity resources needed are provided (any readings or worksheets are provided in both Word and PDF). These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘When Fishes Flew.’ The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in upper KS2, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Aneurin Bevan as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals.’ It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; Aneurin Bevan Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of the well-known aviator Amelia Earhart, as a part of their study of significant explorers. In particular, they: -Learn who Earhart was and what she is best-known for; -Understand the context of the world in which she lived; -Explain what made her achievements so inspirational; -Evaluate how she demonstrated the characteristics of a successful explorer. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, and the meaning of exploration; -Gaining a background understanding of the world in which Amelia Earhart lived, including technological developments and gender expectations; -Learning about her life and her key achievements, and discussing which they feel are most impressive and why; -Discussing how Earhart was an inspiration, through discussing her achievements, legacy and key quotations; -Evaluating how Earhart demonstrated the key characteristics of successful explorers, through a ‘Diamond 9’ activity. -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (21 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the templates for the Diamond 9 activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In particular, they: -Learn who Hillary and Norgay were and what they are known for; -Explain what made their achievements so incredible; -Learn more about the personality traits of both Hillary and Norgay; -Evaluate how both climbers were recognised after the climb. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, and the meaning of exploration; -Gaining a background understanding of the dangers of climbing extremely high mountains; -Watching an engaging video (hyperlinked) to gain a base understanding of the key details of the climb; -Considering the key details and personality traits of both climbers; -Evaluating how the recognition for Hillary and Norgay differed after the successful climb, reflecting on how fair they feel this was; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (19 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the images for the character profile activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop their understanding of different explorers from over time. In this lesson, children sequence exploration events and compare explorers from over time. Specifically, they: -Recall the achievements of different explorers from across history; -Place significant exploration events in chronological order; -Consider how the role of explorers has changed over time. It was originally taught as the final lesson in a sequence of lessons focusing on different explorers. Please note that to complete the final written task, it does help if children have either been taught the prior lessons in this sequence (available on this platform) or have other prior understanding of at least two explorers. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, the meaning of exploration, and the achievements of different explorers; -Following clear instructions and utilising given resources to produce their own timelines of different exploration achievements from between 1400 to the present day. -Using information and prompts to compare and contrast different explorers from across time; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the event cards for the timeline activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about John Logie Baird, either as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals’, or research into famous scientists and inventors. It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; John Logie Baird Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Dorothy Hodgkin, either as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals’, or research into famous scientists and inventors. It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in Her Life; Important Vocabulary; Dorothy Hodgkin Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.