I love making resources that take concepts from the curriculum, and express them in an abstract and engaging way. I have seen great improvements in the grades of the children in the classes as I teach as a result of this labour intensive (but ultimately rewarding) approach.
My big passion is reading. Whether it is a comprehension activity or something with a maths or grammar focus; you can guarantee that reading skills to develop understanding will underpin it.
Richard
Reading for Success
I love making resources that take concepts from the curriculum, and express them in an abstract and engaging way. I have seen great improvements in the grades of the children in the classes as I teach as a result of this labour intensive (but ultimately rewarding) approach.
My big passion is reading. Whether it is a comprehension activity or something with a maths or grammar focus; you can guarantee that reading skills to develop understanding will underpin it.
Richard
Reading for Success
Here is a new product designed to help my students learn their 8x table in a variety of different ways.
It uses mulitplication, division, number sentences, word problems and puzzles to help them master this skill.
My students love the range of activities, and how it enables them to use higher order thinking skills to practice their multiplication. They have much greater confidence and fluency in their knowledge of the 8x table thanks to this activity.
I am currently creating similar for other multiplication tables. Watch this space for more!
Children will be fascinated to discover exciting facts about Brazil.
There are 2 levels of questions to suit all learners:
A red border for simpler questions
A green border for more advanced questions
An extension activity is also provided.
You can use this as a comprehension exercise, a guided reading activity, a geography lesson or as part of a literacy project. Children can complete as homework, and develop their general knowledge about this amazing country.
If you like this, then perhaps you might look at my 'Around the World in 8 Days' product. This includes seven more countries for you to read about.
Engaging activities for multiplication facts.
FREE, AS A GIFT FOR ALL IN 2020. :-)
These multiplication fact sheets have been a great hit with my students, and I’m sure they will be with yours too. They will help students understand the concept of multiplication, as well as memorize their multiplication facts. They can be used as morning work, bell work, extra activities for early finishers, or even homework. Every page is aligned to the Common Core Standards.
Students will learn to:
identify numbers in times tables
work out spellings of numbers in cryptic puzzles.
sequence numbers forwards and backwards
explore the relationship between multiplication and division
compare calculations
process information in word problems
The activities not only test a child’s math skills, they also encourage them to use logic, reasoning and comprehension skills.
Each worksheet is double sided and space is maximised to challenge your children with TEN different times table related activities linked to the table you are studying. Answers are provided. Your children will become familiar with the format as they work their way through the exercises table by table.
Your children will certainly enjoy this different approach to learning their times tables!
CONTENTS
3x table activity sheet
3x table answers
4x table activity sheet
4x table answers
5x table activity sheet
5x table answers
6x table activity sheet
6x table answers
7x table activity sheet
7x table answers
8x table activity sheet
8x table answers
9x table activity sheet
9x table answers
11x table activity sheet
11x table answers
12x table activity sheet
12x table answers
This guided reading activity is aimed at 10-13 year olds. It focuses on the London Blitz in World War Two.
It is part of my ‘Diaries of World War Two’ resource which is available for £1 from TES.
Questions and answers are provided. I hope you and the children you teach find it useful.
Here is a new product designed to help my students learn their 5x table in a variety of different ways.
It uses multiplication, division, number sentences, word problems and puzzles to help them master this skill.
My students love the range of activities, and how it enables them to use higher order thinking skills to practice their multiplication. They have much greater confidence and fluency in their knowledge of the 8x table thanks to this activity.
This is the story of the Chilean miners who spent more than two months trapped underground.
It is part of my ‘Stories of Survival’ guided reading series, available on TES. I hope you and the children find it of use.
I put this resource together as part of a package that I have created for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. If you like this, and want more like it (with answers), then please take a look in my store.
A BIT ABOUT ME
Before teaching, I was a journalist. I still work as a freelance writer, and like nothing more than writing engaging texts to challenge and inspire children and young people. I choose subjects that may not be on the curriculum but are still of great importance for students to know about.
Everything I write has been comprehensively researched from a number of sources and been written by myself. No plagiarism here! This is all original material.
My questions are pitched at a high level, but with a bit of patience and persistence (and some adult help if necessary) most students will have great fun as they learn, especially as the penny drops
I am aware of the impact of printed resources on our environment so try to condense my reading activities into as compact a space as possible. Hopefully this will help you save time in printing, and keep the bills down!
Check out my store if you enjoy this – you’re sure to find more. Thanks!
This is a small part of a much bigger reading package on Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. If you like these reading activities, then there is much more available in ‘The Fawkes Files’ which is available at the price of £2 from my store. The paid version also includes an answer key and several writing activities, as well as another six documents (like those in this free resource) with reading comprehension questions.
This reading comprehension will test your students’ reading skills as they explore one of the greatest April Fools of all time, as ranked by the Museum of Hoaxes.
Using research skills and their reporter’s notebooks, the young journalists will find out about Porky Bickar and how he faked a volcanic eruption in Alaska, 1978.
The story comes with questions, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically and retrieve facts. They will also generate lively and fun classroom discussion. Would your students fall for this prank? Can they come up with anything better?
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This story is also featured in a bigger pack with other famous April Fools:
FAKE NEWS - APRIL FOOL!
In that pack, you will find the stories featured below, answer sheets, a writing activity based on the stories and posters for display:
Spaghetti growing on trees in Switzerland
A fake volcanic eruption in Alaska
Instant Colour TV in Sweden
An iceberg in Sydney Harbour
As a journalist and teacher, it’s my passion that children should have an awareness of what is going on in the world through engaging reading material.
Engaging stories from the Bible.
FREE, AS A GIFT FOR ALL IN 2020. :-)
This reading activity pack tells the story of the Jesus’ death and resurrection from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday. It is ideal all year round for reading or Religious Studies, but is particularly useful in the run up to Easter, as they follow the last week in Jesus’ life. They can also be used as Sunday School activities or as readings in church.
Based on the gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, I have written five reports from key people in the Easter story about what happened with comprehension based questions and answers for each. These will bring the well-known story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to your students in a fresh, engaging and enlightening way.
The characters featured are:
Peter
Pontius Pilate
A Roman soldier
Mary Magdalen
Cleopas
The comprehension questions tackle the following skills:
Literal and retrieval
Word meaning
Inference and deduction
There is also an activity at the end to summarise each of the characters stories.
Answers are provided…just print and go!
As an added extra, there are a number of posters with key bible verses for your displays, including posters to colour in. These can be found at the end of the reading pack.
Relevant, topical and engaging.
This reading comprehension will test your students’ reading skills as they explore an engaging news story from February 2017. Using research skills and their reporter’s notebook, the young journalists will find out about the sad story of the pilot whales that got stranded on Farewell Spit, New Zealand in February 2017. It was one of the largest whale strandings in recorded history, and hundreds of people tried in vain to help.
Your students will establish the facts of the story; find out all about pilot whales and work out why it might have happened.
This is part of a bigger pack of news stories, which can be found in my store.
IN THE NEWS, February 2017
This pack includes the story about the Australian farmer, Dan Miller, who survived for five hours with his nose above the surface of the water after being trapped beneath a digger in Australia; and the story about the discovery of a World War Two bomb in Thesalonica, Greece, which led to the evacuation of 75,000 people.
Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically; retrieve facts; and prioritise statements.
A template for a news story is also provided so children can write them up for themselves. A scaffold is included to show them how to fill in the boxes. Finally, posters are enclosed if you want to make the students’ work into a simple, effective display.
As a journalist and teacher, it’s my passion that children should have an awareness of what is going on in the world through engaging reading material.
AMUSING, ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL!
These reading comprehensions will test your students’ reading skills as they explore the four greatest April Fools of all time, as ranked by the Museum of Hoaxes. Using research skills and their reporter’s notebooks, the young journalists will find out about:
Spaghetti growing on trees in Switzerland
A fake volcanic eruption in Alaska
Instant Colour TV in Sweden
An iceberg in Sydney Harbour
Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically; retrieve facts; and prioritise statements. They will also generate lively and fun classroom discussion. Would your students fall for these pranks? Can they come up with anything better?
A template for a news story is also provided so children can write them up for themselves. A scaffold is included to show them how to fill in the boxes. Finally, posters are enclosed if you want to make the students’ work into a simple, effective display.
As a journalist and teacher, it’s my passion that children should have an awareness of what is going on in the world through engaging reading material.
Contents:
3: SWISS SPAGHETTI HARVEST
4: INSTANT COLOUR TV
5: ERUPTION OF MOUNT EDGECUMBE
6: THE SYDNEY ICEBERG
7-10: Questions
11-14: Answers
15: How to write a newspaper article
16: Newspaper template
17-20: Posters for display
January 2017
Everyone knows that Neil Armstrong was the first man on the Moon, but few people know the name of the last.
In January 2017, Eugene Cernan passed away. He was the last man to set foot on the surface of the Moon in the final Apollo mission, 1972.
In this comprehension, your students will learn about the life and of this US hero. They will answer questions on a timeline; look through facts, stats and records from his remarkable career; and read tributes paid to him.
Students will use inference and deduction skills as well as fact retrieval. They will be given a chance to choose key facts about his life and justify why they are so important. They will also make a judgment on whether humans will ever walk on the Moon again, based on what they have read.
Questions and answers are provided, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.
As with all of my reading exercises, I try to write content that is interesting and engaging - stories that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for children to know.
I hope you enjoy this activity on the life of a remarkable astronaut and United States hero.
Who will win the 2019 Rugby World Cup?
This reading comprehension activity is aimed at 8-13 year-olds, and focuses on the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text.
In particular, they will learn about:
The history of the tournament
The favourites for to win in 2019
The World Cup trophy
The chances of the United States*
Answers are included.
I have also included a black and white version of the product on pages 5-7 to avoid the costs of colour graphics printing.
Thanks for your interest!
This guided reading activity, aimed at 9 and 13 year olds, tests children’s comprehension, retrieval, inference and deduction skills. It will also promote lively and engaging classroom discussion as children decide for themselves who will win the World Cup in 2022!
The activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.
At 6:30pm on Thursday 8th September 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had died at the age of 96. An official statement was placed outside the palace stating “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”
In these reading comprehension activities, your students can find out all about her life including:
-her birth and early life
-her wedding and children
-her coronation as queen
-her seventy year reign
-her declining health
-tributes paid to her when she died
-plans for her funeral
Please see the preview - what you see is what you are purchasing. Questions include a range of reading skills. I hope this is an informative way for your students to find out about the life of the Queen while challenging your students in their reading comprehension skills.
Who is Greta Thunberg?
What is Climate Change?
This pair of reading comprehension activities, ideal for guided reading, are will help your students find out about the teenager who has made the world aware of climate change.
Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text.
In particular, they will learn about:
Greta Thunberg
What is climate change?
What causes it?
What can be done about it?
Just print and go…no prep needed! Answers are provided.
I have also included a black and white version of the product on pages to avoid the costs of colour graphics printing - something I’m sure Greta would approve of!
This activity is part of a set that that I am currently putting together:
Girls who Dare to be Different
Thanks for your interest!
This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about Antarctica with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging.
Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the Common Core.
Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided.
Suggested itinerary:
Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display.
Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet
Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer)
Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer)
Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week.
This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store.
**
Differentiation:**
All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.
This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about North America with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging.
Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the curriculum.
Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided.
Suggested itinerary:
Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display.
Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet
Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer)
Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer)
Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week.
This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store.
Differentiation:
All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.
Here is a maths activity which is guaranteed to help your students progress in their learning as they get into the festive spirit.
Join Rudolf and friends in these multiplication tables activities, which are designed to help your students learn their tables in a variety of ways. They are linked to the ‘Mastery’ approach being used in many UK schools.
CONCEPTS EXPLORED:
Greater than/less than
Inverse operations
Multiples
Factors
Number sequences
Word problems
Number sentences
Related division facts
There are also puzzles such as word searches and calculation crosswords. The activities not only test a child’s math skills, they also encourage them to use logic, reasoning and comprehension skills.
Each times table can be printed on a double-sided sheet, cutting out the need for endless trips to the printer and ensuring a quiet and busy classroom!
Your children will certainly enjoy this different approach to learning their times tables!
CONTENTS
3x table activity worksheet and answers
4x table activity worksheet and answers
8x table activity worksheet and answers
5x table activity worksheet and answers
6x table activity worksheet and answers
7x table activity worksheet and answers
9x table activity worksheet and answers
11x table activity worksheet and answers
12x table activity worksheet and answers