Hi,
We are Sally and Amanda from Guinea Pig Education. We present a range of complimentary teaching aids and workbooks to use in your classroom or as homework – in both print and digital format.
We aim to raise reading standards and to develop literacy skills, with our ‘fun for kids’ phonic reading resources.
We also offer support for pupils aged 4-16 years. We highly recommend our comprehension and creative writing resources - which build confidence and develop imagination.
Hi,
We are Sally and Amanda from Guinea Pig Education. We present a range of complimentary teaching aids and workbooks to use in your classroom or as homework – in both print and digital format.
We aim to raise reading standards and to develop literacy skills, with our ‘fun for kids’ phonic reading resources.
We also offer support for pupils aged 4-16 years. We highly recommend our comprehension and creative writing resources - which build confidence and develop imagination.
Write A Letter: Practise Writing A Thank You Letter
First, the child is asked to practise writing an invitation to invite a friend to their party. Secondly, they are asked to write a thank you letter for the present they were given. They should use the prompts to help them write.
This series of packs contain prompts to help children to learn to write a first letter and to write down information using facts and opinions.
The packs are aimed at 6-9 year olds, though we advise an adult works alongside children in the younger age bracket. Each pack provides starting points to get even the most reluctant writer writing. The packs save time when preparing lessons.
33 pages
This resource includes 2 packs.
In this work pack the child is asked to read the text and to answer some questions. The last question focuses on the meaning of words used in the text and the child then writes his or her own non fiction piece. The child also works through punctuation exercises - putting in capital letters, full stops and question marks.
Let’s Practise Our Reading Comprehension Packs are a valuable resource to help the child practise essential reading comprehension skills. Each pack includes an article for the child to read and then a series of questions. They are ideal for use with 6-9 year olds, who have reached some degree of reading fluency.
The articles ask the child to retrieve facts, explain information and develop their own ideas as to what the writer is implying. Each pack contains vocabulary exercises, encouraging the child to search for words or phrases with the same meaning.
Each pack takes the form of a mini topic or project. Answers are included.
This pack will allow your children to look deeper into the account of Saul’s Conversion, while practising their comprehension skills.
Ideal Sunday School resource.
Includes a number of themed activities including:
A reading comprehension based on the bible passage
Creative writing activities
A craft
A drawing activity
With our bible work packs, kids will practise their comprehension skills and look deeper into their favourite Bible Stories and Passages.
32 pages
Prompts For Writing A Persuasive Argument In A Letter (GCSE English Writing Work Pack)
In this pack, the student is required to write in the form of an email, blog or letter, arguing on the subjects of - river pollution in a country park, protesting about a new proposed housing development and arguing against demolishing the local swimming pool. The student’s purpose is to write a persuasive argument. Their audience is the editor of a formal broadsheet newspaper or the council. In this resource, they will learn how to structure an argument into paragraphs and how to use language techniques. After working their way through this pack, the student can practise writing their own arguments on environmental issues.
These work packs provide essential creative writing practice for the new 2017/2018 GCSE English exam. They will help GCSE students prepare for their exam, whether they are students in years 9, 10 or 11. The packs provide practise in different forms of writing, for example, articles, blogs and letters.
These resources help students to write in a tone appropriate to purpose and audience. They instruct the student how to write from different perspectives or viewpoints and present a balanced argument. As well as, using appropriate tone and language. For example, learning to use: formal or informal register, language devices like rhetoric and groups of three and punctuation, such as variation of sentences for effect.
Practise Writing An Argument From Different Viewpoints For GCSE (GCSE English Writing Work Pack)
This resource provides prompts to help the student with writing discursive articles or blogs for their GCSE exam, with the purpose of arguing from different perspectives and viewpoints. The audience is young adults and adults on social media. Subjects include:
Should animals perform in the circus?
Should fox hunting be reintroduced?
Should chewing gum be banned from public places?
Should wind farms be built, which spoil our countryside?
These work packs provide essential creative writing practice for the new GCSE English exam. They will help GCSE students prepare for their exam, whether they are students in years 9, 10 or 11. The packs provide practise in different forms of writing, for example, articles, blogs and letters.
These resources help students to write in a tone appropriate to purpose and audience. They instruct the student how to write from different perspectives or viewpoints and present a balanced argument. As well as, using appropriate tone and language. For example, learning to use: formal or informal register, language devices like rhetoric and groups of three and punctuation, such as variation of sentences for effect.
Write About My Interests (7-11 years)
Answer the questions to write about the things that interest you or are very special. Try to explain why you feel this way.
This series provides prompts to get the child to write. It provides starting points to encourage children of all abilities to write - even the most reluctant writers. With this series they will be inspired to write stories, poems, play scripts, diaries, reports, persuasive leaflets and more.
More than this, the child will learn writing techniques; simple, compound and complex sentences, connectives and spelling, punctuation and grammar tips. There is an emphasis on improving vocabulary - looking at lots of better word choices: harder adjectives, more powerful verbs and adverbs.
19 pages
7 pages
These pages help with lesson planning and provide writing prompts, to write an interview between animals. Discuss with the children, ‘if animals could talk, what would they say’. Then, as a follow up activity, the children can think of two animals they know of and write down an imaginary conversation between them. The children can then draw a picture of their animals.
This lesson will take approximately 1 hour.
This resource is featured in the book ‘We Love Animals: Get Going With Creative Writing’ series.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers.
Written in a lively magazine style format, each pack provides a step by step guide to teach children how to plan and write an animal themed story.
The packs also provide starting points to write e-mails, letters, play scripts, diaries, reports and other non fiction texts.
The child will learn writing techniques; simple, compound and complex sentences, connectives and spelling, punctuation and grammar tips. There is an emphasis on improving vocabulary - looking at lots of better word choices: harder adjectives, more powerful verbs and adverbs.
This series is recommended for use with children between the ages of 7-11 and provides writing practice for those children preparing to take 11+ examinations or S.A.T.s. The packs will also benefit children with special needs, or where English is a second language.
This is a bundle of 13 resources for use at GCSE Level. These resources have been taken from our popular book
‘How Do I Improve My Grades In GCSE English?’.
Each resource concentrates on one aspect of writing at GCSE (14-16 years). The student should work their way through all the work packs at their own speed. Take the advice on board and we guarantee that students will gain a grade C or above in their GCSE English Language exam.
The examples contained within each resource will give the student ideas to build on and provide practice to develop their writing skills. The examples will show the student the standard of work they need to reach to do well in their exam. They will learn how to tackle a question to get those higher marks.
GCSE English Writing work packs include:
Practice in writing for different purposes and to reach different audiences.
Practice in writing from different points of view, including articles, blogs, brochures and leaflets.
Practice in different ways to set out an argument (PEE or PEA).
They will also examine language techniques.
This series provides a clear, concise revision guide to boost grade, written by a teacher and tutor who is familiar with the requirements of the new GCSE examination. It is so simple that the student can use it for last minute revision. The skills and requirements for the GCSE English language exam are very specific: retrieving information from texts, inference, analysis of language, presentational techniques and comparing texts are some of the skills needed. For writing, students are required to engage the reader and produce a response, which relates to the purpose and audience.
This book teaches students how to write using different purposes to inform, explain, argue, advise, describe, persuade, review and how to make the tone and register of their writing suitable for the audience. It emphasises the P.E.E or P.E.T.E.R technique, so students have a blue print (format) to work from; make POINT, give EVIDENCE, comment on TECHNIQUE, EFFECT and RESPONSE. This helps students to develop analytical skills for non-fiction tasks and responses in English literature papers. The students are also taught to use rhetorical techniques groups of three, speaking directly to the reader, rhetorical questions, inclusive pronouns as well as stylistic devices like similes, metaphors and high level vocabulary.
The aim of this series is:
To help every child gain a grade C in GCSE English.
To outline the requirements of the present GCSE course and to teach students to structure and organise a piece of writing.
To teach students to look for key words in a task and to plan a suitable response.
To teach students to use linguistic and stylistic devices.
To show them how to use rhetorical techniques.
To teach P.E.E techniques and to teach the analytical skills required for English language and literature tasks.
To teach good spelling, punctuation and grammar.
100 pages approximately
Can you spell the twenty tricky words in Santa’s Christmas themed spelling test?
The test consists of two colourful sheets with the twenty words to learn, twenty questions and a spelling transcript. It is based on the spelling tests given to 11 year olds in their SATs.
The spellings include words with: prefixes; endings; homophones; silent letters; soft g, as in ge, gi and gy; soft c, as in ce, ci and cy; words with ei, eigh,ey; suffixes as in ous and silent o.
20 pages
Read our illustrated version of the classic tale The Little Fir Tree, by Hans Christian Anderson, and answer the comprehension questions.
A thought-provoking activity that will encourage kids, age 7-10, to consider the importance of appreciating the things they already have.
21 pages
A clear, concise revision guide to boost your grade, written by a tutor who is familiar with the requirements of the new GCSE examination. It is so simple you can use it for last minute revision.
The skills and requirements for the GCSE English language exam are very specific: retrieving information from texts, inference, analysis of language, presentational techniques and comparing texts are some of the skills needed. For writing, students are required to engage the reader and produce a response, which relates to the purpose and audience. This book teaches students how to write using different purposes to inform, explain, argue, advise, describe, persuade, review and how to make the tone and register of their writing suitable for the audience. It emphasises the P.E.E or P.E.T.E.R technique, so students have a blue print (format) to work from; make POINT, give EVIDENCE, comment on TECHNIQUE, EFFECT and RESPONSE. This helps students to develop analytical skills for non-fiction tasks and responses in English literature papers. The students are also taught to use rhetorical techniques groups of three, speaking directly to the reader, rhetorical questions, inclusive pronouns as well as stylistic devices like similes, metaphors and high level vocabulary.
The aim of this book is: To help every child gain a grade C in GCSE English. To outline the requirements of the present GCSE course and to teach students to structure and organise a piece of writing. To teach students to look for key words in a task and to plan a suitable response. To teach students to use linguistic and stylistic devices. To show them how to use rhetorical techniques. To teach P.E.E techniques and to teach the analytical skills required for English language and literature tasks. To teach good spelling, punctuation and grammar.
109 pages
Make A Sound Book To Reinforce The Sound ‘og’
Make a sound book to reinforce the sound ‘og’. Cut out the templates in the pack. Place the cut outs on top of each other, so the story reads in chronological order. Staple the book together on the left edge.
How To Use The Pre Reader Work Packs
At Guinea Pig Education we believe children do not need to spend years learning reading skills; this innovative new scheme teaches children to read in just six months to a year.
A non reader should start with our pre reading material. The Pre reader work packs use phonics or the sounds in words. The child can learn a series of phonic sounds, which give him or her a ‘tool’ to work out nearly 80% of words in the English language. The other 20% of words will be learnt by looking and saying the words.
In these packs, the child (or group of children) will be taught to recognise initial sounds as in ‘b’, ‘d’ and vowel sounds as in ‘a’ - c…a…t. They will practise running sounds together to make words. The sentence maker will help him or her to organise the words into sentences.
The packs are easy to use with clear instructions, for the adult to use with a child (or group of children).
The structured material encourages the child to practise word building and sentence making using phonic sounds. To make learning a really fun experience, the material contains word games, like snap and bingo. The child (children) can move on when the adult is confident the sounds have been learnt.
Learn To Read With Phonics Pre Reader packs are designed to start children reading who have not done any reading before. They are a starting point for learning to read with phonics. Children can start at three or four, if they are ready to concentrate.
The Pre Reader packs introduce the 26 sounds of the alphabet, the skills of sounding out words with phonics and blending phonic sounds to make three and four letter words. The child (children) should practise the material each day and move on only when the child is familiar with the material. The course is structured. Each new sound builds on the one that went before.
Tell the child (children) to personalise the drawings, adding to them, using their own ideas. Play the games. Repeat the exercises many times until they know the words. They should have fun learning to read.
Assessment Test 3
Improve Your English Work Packs teach the child good English. They help improve the child’s punctuation, spelling and grammar skills. There are a wide range of packs to choose from, providing practice in sentence writing, use of connectives and parts of speech. The child will also be introduced to literary techniques - similes, metaphors and other stylistic devices.
The format of each pack is so simple. The pages are quick and easy to work through, so the child will learn fast and remember skills taught easily. Each pack includes a lesson plan, with structured exercises, including answer pages. Improve Your English Work Packs save hours of time when preparing lessons or homework tasks.
Included in this series, there are eight structured assessment tests, to test vocabulary, capital letters, punctuation, spelling and use of English language with answers.
9 pages
Information Writing is the essential guide for all students wanting to develop their literacy skills and improve their grades in English assignments and examinations. It is the third in the 'Teach Your Child to Write Good English series. Information Writing has been written by an experienced teacher and tutor with the needs of children in mind. This book concentrates specifically on information writing required by the National Curriculum, providing everything needed to stimulate a child to write. It is specifically targeted at Key Stage 2 and 3 (ages 8-14 years). However, it provides a useful aid for students taking GCSE at foundation level. It contains material suitable for SATS examinations, for those taking 11+ entrance examinations and for students learning English as a foreign language.
Information Writing will guide students through all aspects of information writing, as if they had a tutor by their side. Information Writing teaches your child to recognize the difference between facts and opinions. It concentrates on different aspects of information writing including writing to advise, writing to inform, writing to explain, writing to analyse, review and comment, giving examples. It teaches the child how a newspaper article is structured, how to write formal and informal letters, diaries, police reports, e-mails, biographies, autobiographies, interviews, book reviews and many more.
This book is designed as a starting point for writing, helping the child to form ideas, enabling him or her to structure their work and organize it into paragraphs. Attention is given to making writing more interesting by varying sentence types, using punctuation and good grammar. Information Writing includes an exciting range of model answers and sample texts written by children and provides practice questions to test them. Common errors made by students are highlighted and corrected. It is packed with vital hints and tips on gaining those top grades. Information Writing is ideal for working through at home or as a resource in the classroom. By working methodically through this book the students will grow in confidence and will learn to enjoy writing.
The ‘Mission Spelling’ series teaches children to spell using phonics, with the help of a lovable little alien, called Zoggy, who has come all the way from planet Zen, three million light years away.
Follow the adventures of Zoggy as he explores Planet Earth and guides your child through a structured course that contains a treasury of spelling activities. Including: words to sound out; words to build up; phonic rhymes to read, cover and write from memory; spelling lists to practice; and rules to learn together.
A “must have” series, which reinforces the spelling rules taught in schools. It is essential for all children who struggle with spelling and will enable reluctant writers to attain the skills they need to get their ideas down accurately.
110 pages long
Use the planning sheet to write a leaflet to persuade people to come and experience ‘Dolphin Day Out’. Convince the reader to go there, by using persuasive words and techniques.
An essential series of themed prompts to help children aged 9-12 years to practise their creative writing skills for 11 plus entry exams or S.A.T.S. The packs include an outline to help the child plan his or her own story, article, letter or play script and examples to build on, using harder more challenging vocabulary to stretch more able pupils.
9 pages
A comprehensive pack of subtraction practice questions, with answers, that are designed to help kids, age 9-12, get to grips with subtracting both small and large numbers. The exercises include questions on:
simple subtraction sums using number bonds
subtraction with 2, 3 and 4 digits using the column method
subtraction with borrowing from the tens or hundreds column
subtraction sums with missing numbers
subtracting in your head
problem solving for subtraction
We have devised these packs as a supplementary aid to learning maths. They have been created to help teach the problem areas that children struggle with most. Through my work as a tutor, I’ve discovered that children would have problems with particular areas in maths and would find it hard to get their head round difficult concepts. I found that most textbooks contained only a couple of pages of exercises to work through, which does not solve the problem. Therefore, I have devised some structured packs that deal with each subject in greater detail, giving the child loads of examples to work through. If they work through the packs ‘the penny will drop’ and they will grasp the concept.
Answers included.
49 pages
Our maths tests for home and school assess the mathematical ability of children according to their age.
If your child is 9, in his current school year, I suggest you work through Maths Test for 9 year olds. However, if you know your child has a higher or lower ability in maths, select a suitable test e.g. 10 years, 8 years.
As a tutor and primary school teacher, I have been administrating these tests for over 25 years to determine the child’s a!ainment in maths. I usually allow 45/50 minutes for a test. I also sit beside children who need help reading questions - but I encourage them to answer all questions without help, leaving out any they do not understand for a true score.
The tests contain especially chosen questions to test a wide range of mathematical concepts. taught at a particular age - number, measure, shapes, recording data. They examine your child’s ability to interpret different tasks: computational skills, reasoning skills, solving problems and recalling facts.
The raw score is your child’s mark out of the total number of questions, e.g. 50. If he or she scores 38 out of 50, he or she has got 76%. if you would like a standardised score to see your child’s average, please email guineapigeducation@yahoo.co.uk with your child’s raw score and date of birth in years and months.
Have fun doing the test. If your child is stressed, stop and resume the test.
36 pages
Our basic algebra worksheets are designed to help pupils, age 9-12, get to grips with simple algebra. The questions provide lots of practice in simplifying expressions, removing brackets, substituting a number for a variable and solving simple equations.
We have devised these packs as a supplementary aid to learning maths. They have been created to help teach the problem areas that children struggle with most. Through my work as a tutor, I’ve discovered that children would have problems with particular areas in maths and would find it hard to get their head round difficult concepts. I found that most textbooks contained only a couple of pages of exercises to work through, which does not solve the problem. Therefore, I have devised some structured packs that deal with each subject in greater detail, giving the child loads of examples and questions to work through. If they work through the packs ‘the penny will drop’ and they will grasp the concept.
Answers included.
51 pages
Cut up the story prompts. Muddle them up and get the child to arrange the story in the right order, with a beginning, a middle and an end. Ask the child to rewrite the story, adding their own ideas.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers.
Written in a lively magazine style format, each pack provides a step by step guide to teach children how to plan and write an animal themed story.
The packs also provide starting points to write e-mails, letters, play scripts, diaries, reports and other non fiction texts.
The child will learn writing techniques; simple, compound and complex sentences, connectives and spelling, punctuation and grammar tips. There is an emphasis on improving vocabulary - looking at lots of better word choices: harder adjectives, more powerful verbs and adverbs.
This series is recommended for use with children between the ages of 7-11 and provides writing practice for those children preparing to take 11+ examinations or S.A.T.s. The packs will also benefit children with special needs, or where English is a second language.
5 pages
