A collection of lessons / activities in the form of a presentation with slides to inspire, instruct and guide through each activity. This unit uses well known fairy tale stories and characters to explore story and citizenship themes through a fairy tale crime topic. The activities are designed to build from one another and can be followed consecutively, or used as a stand-alone lesson or activity in any order. Teachers notes are included in the presentation and a document with screen shots of each slide, notes and links. This presentation can be bought as part of a bundle which includes lots of supplementary materials such as templates to enhance the lessons. These resources are optional and linked to specific lessons so you may prefer not to use them or to purchase individually. Key ideas, concepts and questions explored Good and bad deeds What is a crime? Victim or Villain? Viewpoints and motivation, do two wrongs make a right? Mitigating circumstances. Truth, Lie or Excuse? Consider complexity moving from black and white to shades of grey. Perspectives and Persuasion, considering, expressing and explaining a viewpoint. Investigation. Questions: who, what, why, when, where. Fact and Opinion, looking at evidence. Critical Thinking Skills Focus Reasoning Expressing an opinion Considering differing viewpoints Explanation Persuasion Ways of Working Discussion Drama (hot seating, role play) Writing (different genres and styles – forms, reports, statements, social media posts, case files, persuasive, factual). Drawing Contents Introduction (assess prior knowledge). Police line-up of fairy tale characters Right, Wrong or Crime? Discussion, vocabulary. Right, Wrong or Crime? Write a list. Share and compare with classmates. Victim or Villain. Consider case of Jack and the Giant. Truth, Lie (or excuse) show and share your opinion. Arrest or Release (or keep for further questioning) show and share your opinion. Criminal Case File. Record personal details, crimes, witnesses, defence. Present your Case (drama) take turns to be the accused and questioners and have a discus about your case. (Questioners in role as witness / victim / law enforcement etc.). Perspectives and Persuasion Writing Prompts. Four styles to choose from – police report, lawyer case notes, reporter article and suspect/victim social media post. Detective Evidence gathering. In small forensics teams collect the evidence from a scene. Photograph, bag and label each item. Special Agent Investigation Board. Examine a sample investigation board then apply the questions (what, when, why, who, where) and different aspects (crime scene, suspect, witness, evidence, victim) to assigned case. Create investigation board. Magic Mirror. Draw a portrait of the meanest, guiltiest or biggest villain from the fairy tale world in the magic mirror frame. Explain your choice. Who would be the kindest or most heroic of them all?

A simple and fun assembly idea based on Little Red Riding Hood. Performed by a Year 1 class, easily adaptable.

This engaging presentation features interesting facts about chameleons with colourful photographs and links to short videos as illustration. (All photos are free to use and share, links provided in the notes). It aims to answer common questions and stimulate new ones. A link at the end to a children’s website enables further research. Aimed at younger children, text is simple and minimal. Great as a follow-up to reading The Mixed-up Chameleon by Eric Carle or as part of topics on animals, patterns and colours. (This resource is included free with other chameleon resources from Teachers Telling Tales.)

A lesson plan on hand washing. Perfect for Global Handwashing Day, October 15th annually. Glitter Germs activity, Card games, songs, quiz and teacher / facilitator’s notes. Links to resources such as posters and card games. In Word format for easy editing. Differentiated activities for lower and upper primary school children.

An activity for learning about fairy tales and famous quotes from well known characters. Can children read the quote and match it to the correct character? 2 A4 sheets with 8 characters and corresponding quotes. Can be enlarged and used for teacher modelling or group/class activity. This activity is also useful as a demonstration of how well students know fairy tales, an adult can support with reading. This resource complements the ‘Once Said in a Fairytale’ collection available in the Teachers Telling Tales tes shop.

A great pirates topic activity to keep early finishers busy. Good for problem solving skills. This resource goes well with the Teachers Telling Tales Pirates in Position resources. It can also be purchased as part of a bundle along with other pirate themed puzzles such as sudoku and anagrams.

A pirate themed board game to learn the ‘ar’ sound and have fun talking like a pirate! Good for phonics, vocabulary, pirate topics. Contents: Game board (A4 size will work for 2 players, enlarge for more) 20 Clue cards with short riddles to answer, e.g. “the opposite of near”. Answer sheet Guide with instructions Colour or ink saving versions. As well as phonics this game is good for vocabulary with English learners. Talk like a Pirate ‘ar’ bingo is also available. This board game can be purchased as part of a bundle with ‘Yo ho ho’ pirate resources with a focus on the long ‘o’ sound.

A Bingo game featuring pictures of things with the long ‘o’ sound, for example, rhino, rainbow, soap, window etc. 4 color coded boards each with 16 pictures, students cover the pictures as they are called out and see if they can get 4 in a row. Includes a list of the words, 24 in total, (can be cut into cards/slips of paper). For a fun game featuring words and pictures with this sound check out this board game:https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/yo-ho-ho-talk-like-a-pirate-games-12403172 Other Talk like a Pirate phonics resources feature the ‘ar’ sound. Further pirate themed resources by Teachers Telling Tales include positional language activities, mazes, anagrams and sudoku. Get them all in a value bundle: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirates-pack-12183976

Sudoku is a fun way to develop concentration and reasoning skills. The challenge is to enter numbers (or in this case pictures) into grids so none are repeated in each row or column. These games feature pirate themed pictures, students cut and paste to complete the grids. This gives them the option of moving the pictures around before sticking them down. There are 3 by 3 and 4 by 4 grids and three levels of challenge: easy, tricky and deadly. As well as improving thinking skills, the games are good for consolidating pirate topic vocabulary.

A game featuring words with the long ‘o’ sound. Includes ‘o’, ‘oe’, ‘o_e’, ‘ow’, ‘oa’. Can be adapted according to ability, students can say, spell, write or draw the answer. Also useful for vocabulary work with English language learners. Contents: Game board (A4 size will work for 2 players, enlarge for more) Word and picture cards, (24 of each). Yo ho ho cards for reverse, colour or ink saving. Guide with instructions and ideas for further games with the cards in the pack. For further consolidation of this sound, Yo ho ho Bingo is can also be purchased and there are similar ‘Talk like a Pirate’ games featuring the ‘ar’ sound in the Teachers Telling Tales shop. For pirate topics, check out the Teachers telling Tales packs with sudoku, mazes, position and anagrams. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirates-pack-12183976

International Sudoku Day is September 9th, but any day of the year is a great time to use logic and reasoning skills to complete these puzzles! Through the process of elimination children also develop language skills, enhanced with this pack through using a range of themes including: colour (primary, secondary, rainbow, black, grey, white) directions (left, right, up, down or North, South, East, West if you prefer!) stars with differing numbers of points playing cards (heart, diamond, club, spade) dice (dots representing numbers 1-6) The pack has a range of challenges including 3 x 3, 4 x 4, 6 x 6, 7 x 7 and 9 x 9 grids with different amounts of squares missing. Answer sheets included. Variations include UK and US English spellings (colour/color), ink saving, cut and stick or draw and colour. If your children enjoyed these check out these other sudoku packs from Teachers Telling Tales: Minibeasts www.tes.com/teaching-resource/minibeasts-patterns-sudoku-and-sequences-12340235 Pirates www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirate-sudoku-games-12322372

Logic and reasoning skills with a minibeasts theme. Featuring cute cartoon creepy crawlies, these activities are a fun way to develop thinking skills. Students cut and paste pictures to complete the sequences and sudoku squares. Easy, medium and hard versions for different levels of challenge. Ink saving variations included (different puzzles to the colour ones). Perfect for a minibeasts topic, a challenge for early finishers or a discrete lesson in problem solving. For related minibeasts resources, check out the Teachers Telling Tales shop, there are bundle and save options.

An interactive Powerpoint Presentation Can be used on interactive whiteboards, computers or individual devices. Good for ICT skills: using a pen or mouse to click, drag and drop, using arrow keys to move an object. The activity challenges students to make the chameleon disappear by matching it exactly to the background, encouraging accuracy. Observation Skills: looking carefully at detail, pattern, texture and colour. Topics: Colour, Pattern, Camouflage. Can be used as a follow up to reading The Mixed-up Chameleon by Eric Carle and The Content Chameleon resource by Teachers Telling Tales. Contents: Chameleon Camouflage PPT (make sure you keep a master copy in case students save the changes). All background photos are free to use and links are provided in the notes. Free Chameleons PPT with interesting facts, free images with links, YouTube and children’s website links for further exploration.

Chill out this summer by making cool ice lollies! Outlines to print, colour or decorate using collage. Fold in half and paste with a lollipop stick (real or made from the template). Ten designs. Ideas for use: Design your own lolly - choose your shape, colour, pattern, flavour, toppings etc. Great as a stimulus for speaking or writing. Use for role play, (no dripping unless you use a lot of glue!) Use beads, sequins, pom poms etc. for sprinkles. Create a cool character. Add eyes, arms, cool sunglasses etc. Googly eyes and pipe cleaners are great for this! Make a puppet show with your characters. At home: a great craft activity for a party or play date. At school or play scheme: these make a fantastic display. This is a good way to keep children occupied after making real ice lollies and waiting for them to freeze. Check out the other ice lolly and ice cream resources by Teachers Telling Tales. You can also purchase this resources as part of the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.

Get creative colouring these cool ice lollies. There are 4 character designs and 6 outlines of different shaped lollies to colour. Great for talking about flavours, colours, patterns and preferences. As a challenge, children could think up a name for their ice lolly and maybe even design the packaging too. Print or stick on card for creating textured lollies using collage with sequins, beads etc. Check out the other ice lolly and ice cream resources by Teachers Telling Tales. This resource is included in the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.

Creating these cute ice lolly characters is a fun activity for learning about symmetry. The challenge is to draw the missing side of the picture so it is the same on both sides. A grid over the image helps with drawing shapes and placing details in the correct place. You could also use a mirror, place it along the middle line to check in the reflection. There are 3 character designs to complete, two ice lolly shapes with no detail and a blank grid for creating your own designs. Colour and ink saving versions included. Children love to create a name for their finished lolly and for an extra challenge can design the wrapper using the blank grid. Check out the ice cream symmetry resources and other ice lolly activities by Teachers Telling Tales for summer topics or parties. This resource can also be purchased as part of the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.

A cool creative pack of ice cream goodies, ideal for summer topics or parties. Contains 3 activities: Ice cream cone symmetry. complete the pictures so the delicious dessert is the same on both sides (3 designs). ‘I dream of ice cream’ design your perfect ice cream template, single and double cone versions. Ice cream creative colouring sheets (4 designs). Great for talking about colours, flavours, toppings, preferences. There are similar symmetry resources featuring ice lollies in the Teachers Telling Tales shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ice-lolly-symmetry-12355898 You can also purchase this resource with other ice lolly resources as part of the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.