A PowerPoint explaining how Anthony Browne put his pictures together in Willy’s Pictures to tell stories, by looking at the work of other famous artists. Anthony Browne was a past Children’s Laurette and is a leading illustrator and author. His picture books are literate and, often, contain a darkly humourous subtext. Willy’s Pictures uses famous paintings to create a sketch book of stories, with surreal images of Willy from the Willy the Wimp series of books. You can use this power point as a way of exploring the pictures in the book and the famous art it refers to, as well as the way pictures are composed and are used as a method of expression. Honestly, though, it’s not as boring as it sounds…!

Two user friendly lesson plans and sets of worksheets, with free audio, to download and use straightaway, in primary classrooms. They are fun, easy to manage and a great way to introduce Shakespeare to children, from Reception up to Year 6. Each lesson has clear aims and criteria for achievement, differentiation for ability, a sample keywords and questions, a list of resources and next steps. Worksheets are plain and simple, and are designed specifically for the lessons, but can be adapted or seen as a template for your own worksheets or work in books. The lessons can be the starting point for other activities as a project on the text, such as music (creating a witches dance), science/technology (creating potions), maths (measuring potions, comparing measures etc) and so on. If you check out my resources, I have lesson plans based on the Witches Spell that you can use or adapt for your purposes, all for free. I have used the extract here with 3 to 11 year olds, and it is always a guaranteed winner, becoming a firm favourite warm-up game for drama activities (reciting it, not, you know, heating up a cauldron or anything - Elf and Safety and all that, and I so got in trouble for destroying the Kingdom of Mordor, so not doing that again). To hear a FREE recording of the poem, please go to my website: http://emblabee.org/the-31-days-of-scary-day-1/ or SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/user-983069543/the-witches-spell If you like my resources, I’d be really grateful for a review and some stars. If you don’t like them, ask your loved ones to stock up on flies for your breakfast x

Here are lots of activities based on the full text of the tale of Hansel and Gretel from the collection made by the Grimm brothers. There’s loads of ideas for both indoors and outdoors, with plenty to keep children’s minds and hands busy and active as they explore and learn, while interacting with one of Europe’s oldest folk tales. There is a full introduction to the text used, with a brief historical notes on the context of the setting. I have included an approach to how to bring the text to children, either as a read story or a performed oral tale. Following that, there are fun activities designed for warm-up games for concentration or drama, creative activities indoors or outdoors, at Forest School or outdoor learning areas. Tasks include: carving, cookery, puppetry, making and following pathways, fire safety, hot chocolate and bread, having a feast, drama, problem solving, art and design, science (light and dark), poetry and understanding texts. I have included a recommended background reading for teachers interested in the history of the Grimms Tales and the darker versions of the stories than the norm… Most of the activities are suitable for EYFS or Key Stage 1, but Lower Key Stage 2 would probably benefit from them too.

A fun-packed, jam-packed goodie bag of Tricks and Treats for primary aged children at Hallowe'en time. There's a detailed set of activities for drama games, an arty party and warm-up games with a spooky twist, involving music, mindfulness, concentration , role-play, and moments of calm. The activities can form sessions on their own, but can be cherry picked to be incorporated to stimulate or round-off similarly themed lessons. At the end of the document, there's a short but informative recommended book list, including notes on the origins of the folk stories we know today that are far more terrifying in their original forms than their Disneyified counterparts. JUST ADDED! A set of worksheets based on the skull decorations often seen during Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico and America. The first sheet provides illustrative examples for the children to look at and discuss (as a class. group, talking partner etc), the second sheet is a very basic colouring in (that can be added to with the children's own design and flowers etc), and the third is the basic skull shape, which is up to the children to design (and again flowers etc can be added). The children's skull pictures can be printed or stuck to card and made into masks by cutting out the eye holes and making holes at either side of the face.

A word mat of pirate words and a power point presentation on legends of pirates. It is made available here in both editable and PDF form for your free use.

A lesson plan and worksheets (or ideas for display activities) for the ingredients. Great inspiration for World Book Day or Book Week activities, or inspiring young readers and writers to talk about their favourite books, this will get them thinking and putting ideas on paper or provide a focus for a class discussion. Suitable for EYFS and KS1, I have done this activity as individual, group and class discussion work, and each time it has been different and the same! It's always fun, interactive, spirited, but full of ideas that come out of nowhere. Be prepared to be amazed. Please let me know how you get on, via the review box or twitter @EmmisStories

An introduction to story writing for children, as it goes through the basics of identifying what makes a character interesting and then how to create characters, step by step. There are tips for teachers on how to deliver the lesson, aims, success criteria, and a list of easy-to-find resources. Used in conjunction with my What Makes a Good Story? lesson (find it here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/what-makes-a-good-story-11809440), they make a good sequence of lessons. This is a lesson that has been tried and tested in the classroom and really works! Adaptable across the primary age range, this lesson works best with Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2.

Developed to get KS1 and LKS2 children thinking about key historical questions - why, when, where, what, who, how, can - here is a lesson plan and resources to get you going on any investigation into the past. Any inquiry is about detection, so frame the whole exercise like one of adventure and discovery, and it can be fun for everyone. The lesson plan is clear and easy to use, including aims and success criteria, detailed hints about how to carry out the activities, and lists of resources and follow-up tasks. I’d love to know how you get on with these resources, so please leave a review or follow me on twitter @EmmisStories

Here is the complete set of updated lesson plans based on The Witches Spell by William Shakespeare in Macbeth, complete with sample worksheets for you to use, adapt, cut and treat as ever you wish! There are ideas here for every area of the curriculum from Art to PE, via English, Maths, Science, Design and dancing about in a witchy way when nobody is looking. Suitable for children from EYFS to Key Stage 2, there are IWB resources for potion jar measurement, help with introducing poetry skills, a (not successful) guide to potion making and cauldron design. In fact, there is everything here for the budding witch and wizard teacher to show their class how to perform to the of their ability and finally get into Hogwarts. Each lesson has detailed Aims, Success Criteria, structured teaching points, lists of key words, resources, and next steps. They include differentiation opportunities at three levels, although, as you know your class better than I do, please adjust and adapt these lessons. It is my hope that you see them as a starting point for your own adventure into Shakespeare and poetry with young children, and that you have fun exploring this topic as much as the children! For a free recording of the poem, please follow this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-983069543/the-witches-spell It isn’t an actual witch, its me… Or is it?

Here are the full set of lesson plans, presentations and printable resources that you’ll need for sessions with EYFS, Key Stage 1 or 2 children and their teachers. These lessons introduce the famous ‘Double, double, toil and trouble…’ verses from the play, Macbeth, said by the witches as they create a spell and is a great way to bring children to the Bard for the first time. Children get to act out the spell and build their own verses, using key vocabulary, and rhythm and rhyme. There are also lessons on capacity, counting, sorting, music, and art. Differentiation is built into the sessions, and the lessons can be seen as a starting point for your own ideas. There is scope for further development into a longer term project, with potion making and hallowe’en activities etc. A follow-up to the drama and music work could be a musical scene based on the spell, which could become a longer more demanding drama and movement performance for an assembly or end of term production, depending on the ability of your pupils. Every lesson has clear aims and success criteria, a comprehensive list of resources, helpful key words and specially designed worksheets and/or presentations, which are all created to be adaptable for your settings and your classes. My aim to make something that is useful and usable for teachers, that is fun for everybody, while creating memorable educational experiences. I have used the extract here with 3 to 11 year olds many times, and it is always a guaranteed winner, becoming a firm favourite warm-up game for drama activities. To hear a FREE recording of the poem, please go to my SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-983069543/the-witches-spell

This is a lesson plan and related resources for a Key Stage 1 Guided Reading session based on Where the Wild Things Are. Key learning objectives are included for both Year 1 and Year 2, a whole class plan, and differentiated group plans with specific questions tailored for each group. Essential and recommended resources are included in the plan. Homework sheets are here at two different levels, to follow-up the work done in class. The lesson plan here is the first part of a unit based on Where the Wild Things Are, a book described as a classic of American Literature.