Use these handy flashcards and character descriptions to asses how well your students know the characters in the novel Holes by Louis Sacher. Included in this pack: - Drama based activity lessons and variations - 21 character flashcards - 21 character descriptions - Criteria for success handout - Custom made lizard stickers for envelopes (to give it that extra special touch!)

Keep thinks creative with these innovative ice-breakers to adapt for any lesson in any classroom.

Use this mind map early on in the book to get students to think about how Stanley feels about certain people and situations. This will encourage students to develop a strong understanding of who Stanley is and how he's being described by the narrator. This worksheet can be used as an independent exercise or as part of a group activity.

Use this weekly schedule in your classroom to plan your week ahead.

This presentation aims to be a talking point for anxiety through the lens of Cats. Explore anxiety, how it manifests in the body when triggered and what this looks like for both cats and humans. This is a great personal development lesson for students who love learning about cats!

Unlock the art of engaging storytelling with Lesson 5: Writing Descriptively, part of a 14-lesson unit designed to elevate students’ writing skills. This lesson focuses on understanding and applying descriptive writing techniques to craft vivid and immersive narratives. Learning Objectives: Low: Understand the concept of descriptive writing. Medium: Identify descriptive writing techniques in a text. High: Create a descriptive piece of writing using learned tools and tips. Lesson Highlights: Starter Activity: Students analyze exciting openings from Beowulf and modern stories, sparking inspiration for crafting their own engaging introductions. Exploration: A breakdown of the “ordinary life” segment of a hero’s journey, with examples of what this typically includes, helps students establish their hero’s world. Creative Writing: Students apply their plans from Lesson 4 to write the “ordinary life” section of their hero’s journey, focusing on descriptive details and maintaining tense consistency (past or present). Technical Focus: A brief exploration of writing in consistent tenses ensures polished and cohesive storytelling. Exit Task: Differentiated reflection tasks include: Low: Define descriptive writing in their workbooks. Medium: Identify which of two sentences is more descriptive and explain why. High: Craft a short, descriptive paragraph using the techniques introduced in the lesson. This practical and interactive lesson empowers Key Stage 3 learners to enhance their storytelling by incorporating sensory details, strong verbs, and vivid imagery. It bridges technical skills and creativity, guiding students to produce immersive narratives. Download now as part of the complete Descriptive Writing Unit and inspire your students to create unforgettable stories!

Empower your students to craft their own legendary adventures in Lesson 4: Creating Your Own Heroic Tale, part of a 14-lesson unit on Descriptive Writing. This lesson focuses on understanding and applying the traditional structure of a heroic tale, encouraging creativity, critical thinking, and storytelling skills. Learning Objectives: Low: Understand the structure of a traditional heroic tale. Medium: Identify a heroic tale by its structure. High: Create an original heroic tale using the traditional structure. Lesson Highlights: Starter Activity: Students brainstorm the elements that make a great heroic story, sparking discussion and creativity. Exploration: Using the iconic example of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, students analyze how the hero’s journey structure unfolds in a well-loved narrative. Creative Planning: Students begin crafting their own heroic tales by developing ideas through a comic strip template, providing a visual and structural foundation for their writing. Exit Task: Differentiated challenges allow students to consolidate their learning: Low: List the 10 key events in a hero’s tale. Medium: Provide examples of other heroic tales (e.g., movies, books, or comics) and explain how they follow the structure. High: Outline an original heroic tale, ensuring all 10 structural elements are included. This lesson provides an engaging mix of analysis and creation, allowing students to deepen their understanding of narrative structure while expressing their own ideas. Perfect for Key Stage 3 learners, this lesson inspires students to think critically about storytelling while building their descriptive writing skills. Download now as part of the complete Descriptive Writing Unit!

Engage your students in the art of storytelling with Lesson 2: The Hero’s Journey, part of a 12-lesson unit on Descriptive Writing. This lesson introduces students to the process of peer assessment and emphasizes improving their creative writing skills by providing and acting on constructive feedback. Designed for Key Stage 3 learners, the lesson focuses on the following goals: Low: Understanding the concept of peer assessment and its benefits. Medium: Identifying examples of effective and ineffective feedback. High: Applying peer feedback to enhance their writing with specific examples. The lesson includes: Starter Activity: Brainstorm ways to improve writing skills through a “Think, Pair, Share” task. Interactive Task: Watch “Austin’s Butterfly” to explore how constructive feedback leads to improvement. Main Activity: Use a peer feedback sheet to provide detailed, actionable feedback on a partner’s story, focusing on elements like vocabulary, SPaG, structure, and storytelling. Exit Task: Reflect on the process by identifying good and bad feedback examples or explaining how peer assessment improves their writing. This engaging and practical lesson equips students with the tools to refine their storytelling while developing critical thinking and collaboration skills. A must-have for educators aiming to foster creativity and peer-led learning in their classrooms. Download this lesson now as part of the comprehensive Descriptive Writing Unit and inspire your students to craft vivid and compelling narratives!

Unlock your students’ creative potential with this comprehensive Sensory Descriptions Word Bank, designed to enhance descriptive writing and storytelling. This resource empowers young writers to craft vivid imagery by utilizing sensory details. Featuring categorized vocabulary for sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch, it serves as a versatile tool for enriching narratives, poetry, and essays. Perfect for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 learners, the word bank encourages students to “paint a picture” in their readers’ minds by exploring rich, expressive language. It’s ideal for use in creative writing lessons, literacy workshops, or as a classroom display. Whether you’re working on improving sensory detail in stories or simply expanding students’ vocabulary, this resource will inspire creativity and build confidence in descriptive writing. Download now and bring writing to life!

Bring history and storytelling to life with Lesson 3: An Introduction to Beowulf, part of a comprehensive 14-lesson unit on Descriptive Writing. This engaging lesson introduces students to one of the most famous epic poems in English literature, exploring its narrative, historical context, and enduring popularity. Designed for Key Stage 3 learners, the lesson focuses on these learning goals: Low: Understand key facts and events in the poem Beowulf. Medium: Retell the main events and important details about the poem. High: Analyze and express opinions on why Beowulf remains a celebrated story. Lesson Highlights: Introduction to Epic Poetry: Students learn fascinating facts about Beowulf, such as its origins in the 8th century, its status as the oldest surviving piece of English writing, and its anonymous authorship. Story Exploration: Through an interactive retelling, students uncover the thrilling adventures of Beowulf, from his battle with Grendel and his mother to his ultimate sacrifice against the dragon. Critical Thinking Task: Students participate in a “Think, Pair, Share” activity to guess the plot based on key characters, engaging their imagination and analytical skills. Exit Task: Reflective writing activities challenge students to summarize the poem, detail its historical significance, or analyze its timeless appeal in a structured and differentiated manner. This dynamic lesson introduces students to the art of epic storytelling while developing their descriptive writing, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. Perfect for inspiring creativity and deepening historical and literary appreciation. Download now to immerse your students in the world of Beowulf as part of the larger Descriptive Writing Unit!

Elevate your students’ storytelling with Lesson 6: Exploring Powerful Verbs, part of a 14-lesson unit designed to strengthen descriptive writing. This lesson focuses on understanding verbs, the difference between common and powerful verbs, and their role in creating compelling narratives. Learning Objectives: Low: Understand what a verb is and provide examples. Medium: Differentiate between common and powerful verbs. High: Identify and use common and powerful verbs effectively in writing. Lesson Highlights: Call to Adventure: Students write the “call to adventure” section of their hero’s journey, building on their narrative from previous lessons. Powerful Verbs Exploration: Through examples and exercises, students learn how powerful verbs add depth and excitement to descriptions, making their writing more engaging. Creative Practice: Students apply their understanding of verbs by refining their own writing with powerful verb choices, enhancing the action and emotion in their narratives. Exit Task: Differentiated reflection activities include: Low: Define a verb and provide an example. Medium: Explain the difference between common and powerful verbs with examples. High: Write a paragraph explaining whether writers should use more common or powerful verbs in their stories and why. This engaging and practical lesson empowers Key Stage 3 learners to enrich their writing by mastering verb usage, transforming ordinary actions into vivid, memorable moments. Download now as part of the Descriptive Writing Unit to help your students create stories that truly come alive!

Help your students enhance their vocabulary with this nifty little word bank that they can use to record new words they encounter while reading. Students can stick it in their exercise books or keep it in their folders, and record new words each or every other lesson.

Use this worksheet early on in the phase of reading to allow your students to practice making inferences from quotes in the text.

Use this resource to teach students about the different types of characters they may find in a novel, relating it directly to the novel Holes. Included in this resource: 1. A list of character types and definitions (I recommend cutting them out and laminating the character type and definition separately, and using it as a starter task that gets students to match character type to definition). 2. A table which students complete to identify the different character types in Holes.

Never be stuck for plenary ideas again. Download and choose from one of these 100 plenaries to keep your end of lessons innovative and engaging.

Use this fun creative writing worksheet to assess how well your students know the characters in the novel . This is a great little activity to assess comprehension, writing development and SPAG.

This resource has been designed to fit the IMYC Celebrations Unit for a key stage 3 (grade 6) or lower ability class. The lesson explores how people in the US responded to conflict and change during the 1950’s when segregation was law. This resource is an entire lesson, including starter tasks and differentiated exit tasks. Enjoy!

Teach your students about theme with this quick and easy Powerpoint and worksheet to go with it. Suitable for ks3 and lower ability.

Celebrate the world’s diverse beauty with this resource designed for teaching your students about International Week. Take your students on a trip through a different continent each day, ending on one special country on the last. This resource includes a detailed Powerpoint containing two lessons per day, combining taught content on social studies, the arts and global mindedness. Accompanied with the Powerpoint are a whole host of reosurces to use along side them. This is a minimal prep resource, all you have to do is print off the handouts to go with the lessons and you’re ready to go!

Teach your students about LGBT, homophobia and homophobic bullying in this detailed PSHE lesson. Students will learn the content and make a poster at the end of the lesson to demonstrate learning. This is a no prep resource. Simply download and enjoy :-)