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.
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.
Writing Discursive Articles For GCSE Creative Writing (GCSE English Writing Work Pack)
This resource provides prompts to help the student with writing discursive articles for their GCSE exam. The purpose of their writing is to argue from different perspectives or viewpoints and to create a balanced argument. The intended audience is for adults/parents and young people. Subjects include:
In Favour Of Zoos Or Not?
Is hosting a sporting event like ‘the olympics’ beneficial to a country?
Elderly people are not treated with respect.
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
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
Finish The Play Script: School Class Assembly (7-11 years)
Read the play script. Mrs Barker chooses to do an assembly on recycling and the children read out some information. Plan another assembly. Choose another topic? Find some facts and opinions on your topic. Use the information to write a play script for a class assembly.
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.
9 pages
This fascinating workbook is packed full of information about working conditions in Victorian textile factories. It is your job to finish the research and complete the various fun activities. You will need to ask questions, find information and interpret the evidence you discover. It includes lots of interesting firsthand source material.
The topics covered include:
Why factories were built?
Who worked in Victorian textile factories?
Child labour in the factories
Working and living conditions of factory workers
Factory reforms
Factory workers on strike
In this resource, your children will be introduced to Samuel Courtauld, a successful silk mill owner, in Halstead Essex. They will discover who Mr. Courtauld employed in his factory; the working and living conditions of his factory workers; how he responded to the Factory Acts and the strikes at his mill; and the local societies he established to try and improve the lives of his workers.
At the same time, your children will be encouraged to find out for themselves about life in the cotton factories. They will have to imagine that they are the owner of a cotton mill in an industrial town in the north of England. They’ll need to write their own job adverts, create posters to highlight the factory rules, and explain what the working conditions are like for workers in their factory.
Each topic covered in this pack is broken down so that it is easy to understand and all the information is presented in an engaging manner. The historical subject matter being taught is written up in the form of imaginary interviews, newspaper articles, posters and as speech etc. for the children to read. There are lots of questions to answer that will encourage your children to thoughtfully consider the evidence before them. They will be asked to look for clues in texts and pictures, to describe, to explain, to reason, to draw conclusions, to think critically and make their own interpretations. There are also creative writing exercises to do that will help children write their own narratives about each topic and to recall, select and organise relevant historical knowledge. Where information is missing, your children will be required to make their own enquiries and look up the answers to the questions online and in books.
This pack is designed to help support your children as they explore the Victorian era, deepen their understanding of this historical time period, and ignite their interest in history. It is suitable for children age 8-12.
47 pages.
PDF
This is a digital download.
Between the ages of 9 and 12, children have to complete Standardised.Assessment.Tests (Sats). To help them practise for these tests, Guinea Pig Education have produced a new series of grammar, punctuation and spelling booklets.
The Standards and Testing Agency states that the child has 45 minutes to complete the test, answering the questions in the answer booklet. There are different types of questions for them to answer in different ways. The space for their answer shows them what type of answer is needed. The child should read the instructions carefully. Some questions are multiple choice and only need them to tick, draw lines to, or circle their answer. For others, they will need to write their answer in the space provided. Numbers at the side of the page indicate the number of marks they can get for each question.
The tests in this booklet are based on the KS2 English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Assessment sample papers. It is important to try and complete them in 45 minutes, but it is their choice. The more tests they practise the quicker they will get.
38 pages
Use the story planner to plan and write a story ‘Moving To A New House’. Read the example to see how a story can be structured (opening, development of plot, complication, suspense and tension and resolution). Don’t forget to work on how the characters feel.
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.
6 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.
Cut Out And Write A Story Of Robin Hood
How To Use
Cut out the pages along the dotted lines and muddle them up. Now, ask the child to sort them back into the right order, so the story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Get the child to read the story. Then, cover it and ask them to re-write their own version, putting in more detail.
This series provides starting points to get young children, of 6-9 years, writing their own imaginative stories.
Traditional tales like ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ are used as examples to look at the characters, the setting and the plot and to show how to structure a story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
Children will learn how to brainstorm their ideas, how to put them in a plan and then set out their story.
Each pack provides writing challenges, asking the child to continue writing the story, developing their own ideas and to cut up stories to put in order.
15 pages
Assessment Test 8
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
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
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
Using Plural And Singular Nouns
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.
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.
Use the information on dinosaurs to write a newspaper report. Learn about facts and opinions, reported and direct speech.
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.
6 pages
The child is asked to read two articles on working dogs 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.
17 pages
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
Write a thank you letter for a present you have received. Use the example and prompt to help you. The letter is to a family member, so it will be chatty and informal. Use the vocabulary bank to help expand your vocabulary.
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.
5 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 attainment 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
