This is a collection of 80 different starter activities that are ideal for settling and focusing a class in Upper Primary School (Y4-6 England / P5-7 Scotland). The theme of each starter activity is a different International Day according to UNESCO’s list of International Days. This includes a selection of International Days deemed applicable, relevant, or of interest to young people. Purpose and Theory The idea of these activities is not to inform or teach students about these days in any depth or detail (this will be saved for lessons.) The aim is to introduce and inform students of different international days but ultimately, activities are designed around and linked in with the theme of the day in question. The aim is to help settle students and prepare them for learning through a range of calming activities which are based upon engaging topics that are relatable and relevant to their lives beyond the classroom. In some cases whole lessons could be made out of the theme of day, in which case the starter activity could be used at the start of that lesson. In other cases, activities would work well at the start of the day when students first enter the classroom. Timings A vast range of activities is included that aim to target a range of different skills. These activities are designed to take between 5 – 15 minutes, depending on the needs of your class and how long they may need to settle. If being used at the start of the day or immediately after lunch, 15 minutes is recommended to help put students in the mindset of learning and engagement. Differentiation Opportunities and Inclusion Starter activities are not designed to be overly taxing. In many cases, differentiation opportunities and limited choices are available. Most activities include an “early finisher extension task”. Equally, it isn’t recommended that the resource always be used prescriptively. Should you feel a starter would require too much brain power for a class / group of students, differentiation is recommended or indeed, not using the starter for that day. The idea of this resource is a bank of ideas. You could follow each day prescriptively or you could do some tasks but not others or you could take a task and adapt it to different day or topic if that suits your students / topic better. If students particularly enjoy one task, why not use the activity idea again on a different topic? Activities A range of activities are used that target a variety of different skills. Activity examples include: themed boggle, drawing, A-Z challenges, craft challenges, poster designing, quizzes / riddles, hang-man, Pictionary, acting, The Telephone Game, acronyms, wordsearches, maths problems, strategy and planning challenges, guided discussions, team-building challenges, leadership challenges, design challenges, research activities, colouring, acrostics, translation activities, coding etc. Use of technology is optional in some cases.

Designed as a lesson to introduce younger children to conjunctions. The lesson provides a simple explanation of what a conjunction does. The lesson focuses on four different conjunctions: and, because, but, so. It shows children what each of these conjunctions mean and shows examples of how they can be used in sentences. The lesson takes the form of a highly interactive presentation that is structured in four chunks as follows: What is a conjunction? Examples of conjunctions (introduced to the 4 chosen conjunctions) Using (four-chosen) conjunctions in sentences Activities By using just 4 conjunctions, it is hoped that younger children will develop a basic understanding and competency of conjunctions and how to apply them to their writing without becoming overly confused or overwhelmed. This lesson helps to introduce younger children to the principles of conjunctions in sentences, so they can later progress onto to using more advanced conjunctions with minimal difficulties, drawing on the foundational understanding gained in this lesson. The lesson is highly interactive and students are encouraged to take an active role in their own learning. It is certainly not a lesson to sit and listen too. Students are asked questions throughout and encouraged to problem-solve to come up with their own solutions; the lesson offering its own solutions for reference as it progresses. Throughout the lesson aims to be applicable to wider literacy skills, writing, and real-life skills. Showing children examples of conjunctions in sentences occurs throughout the lesson, with the third section showing multiple step-by-step processes of how sentences can be constructed with conjunctions. Every time a sample sentence is provided, the topic of the sentence is always something relevant and appropriate for younger children for example sentences about animals, food, the beach, games etc. The final section of the lesson includes four suggested activities. These take the form of games to add a physical element to the lesson. Games include musical corners and a listening game. There is also a short, simple rhyme included at the end to help children remember what a conjunction is and the examples they’ve looked at. Colour and subtle animations are used throughout to aid memory and provide aesthetic interest. A worksheet pack is also available from this author’s shop which would accompany this lesson, however this is not compulsory. There is enough content within this resource to be a standalone lesson, therefore, removing the need for any worksheet based activities.

A collection of 4 worksheets that aim to improve understanding of conjunctions and build confidence applying conjunctions into sentences. These worksheets are ideal for younger children of primary-age. The worksheet focus on 4 selected conjunctions: and, so, but, because. The focus of the worksheets is on identifying these conjunctions and using them in sentences. The first 3 worksheets are a collection of differentiated, scaled application tasks. Each worksheet focuses on applying conjunctions into sentences. The task takes a form of a fill-in-the-blank with the options provided. One worksheet uses the conjunctions and / so. The second worksheet uses the conjunction but / because. The third worksheet includes all four conjunctions: and, so, but, because. By providing three tiered worksheets this will enable the sheets to be distributed according to ability whilst still having all pupils complete the same style of task. This way, every student has a maximised opportunity to succeed. Sentences include common phonetic words appropriate for children aged 5-7 to read mostly independently. Sentences feature content relatable to children of this age. The fourth worksheet is a colouring activity where students are asked to separate conjunctions from other words through colouring. This worksheet is designed to help children identify conjunctions from other words. Ideal for developing understanding of what sorts of words are conjunctions, before a child starts to apply these words to sentences. Worksheet pack would work well alongside the lesson on introduction to conjunctions also available from this author’s shop.

Worksheet combining music and times tables. Solve the times table problems to crack the code and spell out the names of brass instruments. 2 worksheets involved. Answers provided on a separate sheet. Worksheet presented in an appealing way with a musical border.

A wordsearch on brass instruments and key features of brass instruments. Wordsearch involves 12 different words. Answers provided on a separate sheet. Great plenary or starter activity. Great for learning key words and their spellings. Presented in an appealing way with a musical border and some images.

True or false quiz about brass instruments. Questions cover instrument names, key features of brass instruments and how they make a sound, and brass instrument history as well as key facts about material and structure. Answers provided on a separate sheet.

Unscramble activity involving the names of different brass instruments. Great activity for learning key words and their spellings. Great starter or plenary activity.

A collection of 6 fact file writing frames - one for each of the key brass instruments: trumpet, trombone, tuba, euphonium, baritone, and french horn. Writing frames include 6 prompter questions with lines underneath to help students structure and focus their factfile. There is space to provide an image. Prompter questions focus around key features of the instruments and their sound, history of the instruments, description of the instruments, then finish with more reflective questions, encouraging children to think creatively and form opinions.

Two cut and activities focused around comparing and ordering brass instruments based on their pitch (high to low) and tube length.

A true or false quiz based on facts about woodwind instruments. 12 questions in total. Where an answer is false, students are encouraged to write the true answer next to the question. Answers provided on a separate sheet. Great starter or plenary activity or way to make an informal assessment.

A collection of five fact file writing frames based on woodwind instruments. Fact file writing frame for each of the following woodwind instruments: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone. Prompt questions asked to help children construct their fact file including: description of the instrument why the instrument is woodwind how the instrument makes a sound key features of the instrument history of the instrument a question about the instrument There is also space for students to draw an image and label the different parts of the instrument. Great activity for developing student’s writing, encouraging independent research, and as a way of producing a revision resource or consolidating student’s knowledge.

Worksheet designed to help children learn the names of different woodwind instruments. The names of five woodwind instruments are provided with their letters scrambled up. Children can solidify their knowledge of woodwind instrument names by unscrambling the words and practise their spelling by putting the letters in the right order. Great starter or plenary activity.

Worksheet combining woodwind instruments/music and times tables. Coding based activity where numbers are assigned letters. Students must calculate the times table sum to work out the letter and spell out the names of different woodwind instruments. Times tables up to 12X covered.

**Lesson three in a 6-part unit of work on musical instruments and instrumental families. ** This lesson covers the brass family. HOWEVER This lesson can work as a stand-alone teaching resource for introducing students to brass instruments and does not need to be used in conjunction with other lessons in the lesson series The aim of this unit of work is to enable children to learn about music and musical instruments without the requirement of any specialist music teacher, prior musical knowledge, or practical music resources like instruments. This lesson covers the brass family. The following topic areas are covered in the lesson: recap of instrumental families, introduction to brass family and brass instruments, walk-through of individual brass instruments, comparing brass instruments. The trumpet, trombone, French Horn, euphonium, baritone, and tuba are discussed in this lesson. The lesson is structured as a detailed presentation. Questions are asked throughout to help engage students’ attention and allow them to have an active part in their learning. Activities are also involved in the lesson to help students consolidate their knowledge. Activities include the following: mind map activity hot-seating/interview activity poster-making/ advertising activity written fact-file activity Creative design activity The presentation has 43 slides. Depending on the needs of the pupils and length of the lesson, this lesson could be broken-down into 2 or 3 separate lessons. If breaking the lesson into 2, I would recommend commencing lesson 2 from ‘comparing brass instruments’. If breaking the lesson down into 3 separate lessons, I would recommend commencing lesson 2 from the walk-through of individual brass instruments, and lesson 3 from ‘comparing brass instruments’. Colour is used throughout to aid memory. Animations and transitions are used throughout to engage attention but they are used subtly so as to not become overwhelming or overstimulating.

This presentation gives a chronological account of changes and events in British foreign relations in the years 1951 - 1979. Example topics covered in this presentation includes British relations with Europe, The Special Relationship and the breakdown of the British Empire, amongst others. There is extensive use of SFD throughout the presentation. Although the presentation is designed as a revision resource, that could be used as flashcards, it could also be used for teaching.

This resource provides a chronological account of events and changes in the British economy from 1951 - 1979. There is extensive used of SFD throughout the presentation. The style of such is that it could be printed out and converted into flashcards. Athough the resource is designed as a revision tool, it could also be used for teaching. The presentation comes in an easy-to-understand but detailed style.

This presentation covers key aspects and events that occurred in Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II. The presentation looks at political, economic, social and cultural changes of the time period providing historical context and SFD. This presentation could be used in class to aid teaching but also as a revision resource for students as a detailed summary of the time period.

This presentation explores the key aspects and events within Germany in the aftermath of WWI from 1918 to 1923. There is a focus on political, economical and social elements. The presentation gives detailed summaries of historical context and includes SFD. It can be used as a teaching resource within the classroom or could be used a revision resource for students.