This resource comprises a picture-poem frame and a one-page guide for the teacher’s use. Both are in PDF format. The picture-poem frame features a huge ladybird (hand-drawn). Above it is an opening phrase: ‘This ladybird is’, inviting describing words on the short, thick lines in and around the insect. Below it, there is a line for a simile, with the starting phrase ‘He is as red as’. The sheet is designed for emergent writers and newly independent ones, also providing colouring opportunities. The guidance notes offer tips for preparing children for the activity, followed by lists of words and simile ideas to prompt for. Some thoughts about the colouring aspect are also included. Although principally a Literacy activity, this resource supports other areas of the EYFS curriculum too, such as Understanding the World and Expressive Art & Design. It has been been successfully tried and tested in classrooms.

This resource comprises a picture-poem frame and a one-page guide for the teacher’s use. The black-and-white picture-poem offers creative writing and colouring opportunities for young children, with a snail as the subject. The huge, hand-drawn snail allows plenty of room for describing words, to follow from the given phrase above, ‘This snail is’. They can be written inside the curls of the shell or anywhere else in or around the picture, except on the line below. Below, the starter word ‘He’ invites further description, statements or even a story. The activity helps children to process any recent learning about ‘creepy crawlies’ , ‘mini-beasts’ or their natural environment, while developing literacy skills, fine motor skills and artistic expression. The accompanying guidance notes (or ‘Guide’) lists suggested words and phrases to prompt for. There are also a few notes about the colouring aspect.

These 6 little pictures will bring text alive for a child, triggering ideas and enthusiasm. All are home-produced, originally as book illustrations. They comprise: candle (coloured), plume & ink jar (coloured), cobwebs, ghost, turrets, castle window (black/white - potential for colouring fun). Suitable for all ages.

Young children love colouring, and these ready-started sheets inspire critical and creative thinking as they work. The light dabs of colour provide spurs and guidance, drawing attention to detail, shape, pattern and colour-scope, as well as the interesting picture itself. The 3 sheets represent natural summer themes: a blooming, buzzing meadow, a beautiful butterfly, and a sailing boat on a wavy, fishy sea. Recommended for ages 4-7.

Watch out for the dragon - but what sort? Scary? Crazy? Hot and spiky? Red, green, wild, funny? Your Reception and KS1 children will be eager to express their ideas, both out loud and in writing. Never mind if their word is hard to spell - they can sound it out and give it a go, building confidence in their writing skills as they go. Not that dragons have to be scary, of course - ‘Watch out for the kind or friendly dragon!’ would be equally valid - as in: don’t miss him/her. The gender can also be changed. There are 3 versions here, of graded difficulty, the last inviting describing words for spikes and scales too, and ideas for the dragon’s favourite food. NB (1) Please note that my hand-drawn illustrations are sketchy. However, in my experience, children don’t mind or notice this. NB (2) Older/abler Yr 2s will welcome further lines, perhaps inviting similes, e.g. He’s as hot as a… or [colour] … as a. These could be squeezed in or written on the back, or the sheet could be manually adapted. More advanced versions coming here in due course.

These rhythmic rhymes focus on colour, one specifically on red, the other, various colours, each representing a dragon. Guidance notes are included with each, with suggestions for extra verses and setting to music/acting out. Their titles are: ‘Red is for Strawberries’ and ‘Colourful Dragons’. Some young children have difficulty identifying colours by their names, so these rhymes will help, with their catchy rhythms, graphic images and invitations for further ideas. These activities support the curricular learning areas of Literacy, Expressive Arts & Design, Communication & Language, and Physical Development.

Which words fit the topic? that’s the simple challenge here. Children have to read a selection of words to work out which apply to the given category (e.g. colours) and which ones don’t. There are 4 of these challenges, spread down the page, with colour variation for clarity and added fun. Able readers can complete these independently, linking or ticking relevant words with a pencil; less confident readers will need support (either one-to-one or group). Some words may be instantly recognisable, such as ‘red’ or ‘hot’, but others will need to be sounded out. Ideal for phonics learning and reading practice.

3 rhymes on one PDF file - only first one visible here. These 3 little rhymes bring phonics to life with story and humour. Animals feature in each one, making them fun to act out and easy to recall. Each rhyme has a particular phonic focus - ‘oo’, ‘ee’ and ‘u’ respectively, and would enhance any lesson on these sounds. The three-page document is for the teacher’s use, though independent KS1 readers would also enjoy reading them. Black-and-white, PDF. PLUS Here’s a beautiful lullaby celebrating the ‘ee’ phonic, by Rhodri Williams-Wandoch: https://soundcloud.com/rhodri-williams-wandoch/try-to-sleep

Engaging rhymes are great for introducing phonics, and for re-inforcing and making them meaningful. I’ve made up these 3 rhythmic, rhyming poems to enhance phonics teaching for the sounds ‘i’ as in ‘mice’, ‘ar’ and ‘er’. The rhymes feature mice (and their ice cream and rice slices), farm yard charms (cows in barn, chicks in yard, cat in cart…), and an action rhyme, twirling, whirling, swerving… like various moving things. Early Years and KS1 children will all enjoy and benefit from these rhymes, which can be listened to, chanted, clapped and enacted.

These 3 simple rhymes bring the mini-beast world alive for young children. Each offers rhyme, rhythm, descriptive words and scope for multiple activities: clapping, enacting, language-building, physical movement, performance, and preparation for any follow-on writing. The rhymes could also be set to music or percussion, or sung to a made-up tune. I made up the rhymes and have found them effective in my poetry workshops for Early Years and KS1. (Illustrations also mine.)

This dramatically illustrated writing sheet invites onomatopoeias (or ‘sound words’) and nose-linked verbs. Suggestions for these are listed on the Guide sheet, along with suggestions for embellishments and developments. It is best suited to Yrs 3-6, as a starter sheet for a poem or story on the theme. The humour and drama depicted in the illustrations, and the chaotically scattered writing lines, will motivate children to have a go. Thinking up sound words and how to spell them can be tricky, so for best results, build a word bank together first, and prompt as necessary as they write. The Guide will provide plenty of ideas. This is a home-produced sheet with hand-drawn illustrations, and has been successfully tried and tested in my poetry workshops. Both sheets are black-and-white, in PDFs format.

This resource comprises 3 sheets: a planet-themed picture-poem simile writing frame for KS2, a simpler version for younger/less confident writers, and a guidance sheet for use, with examples of full poems and suggestions for development. Children have the fun of writing their poems on a planet - or planet-shaped frame. This fires enthusiasm and ideas for the writing task, which involves description and similes, and whatever individual writers may like to add. They’ll also need to invent a name for their planet. The possibilities for description are wide open, as the two examples on the guide sheet show, so creativity can take off in this activity. A simpler and harder example is provided on the guide sheet, for Yrs 3/4 and 5/6 respectively. This home-devised, hand-illustrated sheet has proved popular and rewarding in my poetry workshops.

These punchy, fun rhymes each celebrate a colour, listing and describing different items of that colour in ways that bring it to life for children. The ‘green’ one is an action rhyme; the others are best read aloud. Invite further item suggestions for extra verses - they don’t need to rhyme, provided you can sustain the rhythm. Pick one of these to start a phonics, poetry or descriptive writing lesson. Children from Early Years to upper KS2 will find them thought-provoking and stimulating.

Rainy days can be fun when you’re being the rain yourself in a punchy action rhyme, and thinking up sounds and ‘doing-words’ to say and write - especially when writing them on an umbrella! Children who can’t write yet can colour the many-sectioned umbrella and contribute verbally. There are 2 short rhymes - actions provided - and 1 writing sheet with accompanying Guide for use/lesson plan. This resource supports Literacy, Expressive Arts & Design, Understanding the World (seasons and weather) and Physical Development. Rhymes are original, designs hand-drawn - home produced. PDFs. Here’s my poem ‘What is a Cloud’ (published): https://youtu.be/EOKVIktMh10

These inspiring and attractive writing sheets of birds in flight (3 graded versions) will enthuse your independent and emergent writers. After a stimulating input - watching birds, flying like birds yourselves and building a word-bank of action and describing words for them, they’ll love choosing their favourites to write on the flowing, wavy lines. There’s plenty of colouring to do, too. The Guide sheet offers handy ideas to bring in. Supports bird migration, autumn and journeys themes.

This 5-sheet resource comprises a castle picture-poem, easier/harder, and a castle-characters picture-poem in 3 graded versions. These are attractive sheets with lively, hand-drawn illustrations of old, cobwebby, crumbling castles, the graded ones featuring characters such as a ghost, king and queen. Children have the fun of writing directly onto the castles - a particularly vivid experience in the ‘My castle is’ activity. Describing words are invited on each sheet. These writing frames are self-explanatory, having starter phrases followed by thick lines for writing, with increasing opportunities for imaginative, expressive input on the graded character sheets. For ‘My castle is’, prompt for describing words such as: old, crumbly, tall, spooky, dark, haunted, spidery, cold, windy, grand, royal, huge, hard, rat-infested, ghostly, scary, massive, golden, fine, splendid, stone, rich, ancient, mysterious, creepy, abandoned, damp, shadowy, candle-lit, and ruined. On the Castle Characters graded sheets, encourage a range of personality attributions for the ghost, king and queen, such as kind, mean, cruel, crazy, gentle, friendly, and various colours. The ghost might be see-through, floaty, spooky or dancing. This is principally a Literacy resource, though it also offers scope for expressive art through colouring, and an intriguing window onto the past.

This intriguing poetry-writing theme, and the accessible, attractive worksheets, will motivate writers of all ability to think up imaginative description and similes. The Ideas Sheet, titled ‘City Lights’, is fun to use, with a spider diagram and scattered lines for adjectives and images. The poem frame, titled ‘Night Lights’, has plentiful space for writing, with clear, supporting structure, though able writers may prefer to use it as a launch pad for an individual approach. Both sheets are excitingly illustrated, with details to spark ideas. The Guide provides prompt suggestions for each and development ideas for the poem. The resource is home-produced and has been successfully used with Yr 3-6 classes. Black and white, PDF.

Rhyming couplets to celebrate the end of the school year with your class. Pick and build together, perhaps adding in your own contributions too. Set to music? Perform in assembly? Lots of fun and food for thought as well in these two pages of specially crafted rhymes. I’m a well-published children’s poet, and use my rhymes with children in my school workshops. They bring lessons and learning alive for children, also building self-confidence and PSHE skills. Please note: rhymes presented in random order. Here’s a summery video-poem, with music & pictures: https://youtu.be/wdQJtlPJpeQ

Let your class fly with these inspiring picture poems! Able writers can set their ideas sailing round a winding, looping line, developing ideas about the mat and its moods on the follow-on sheet. Younger or less confident writers can express their flying and floating concepts on straight lines, with structure to prompt and encourage. A 2-page teacher’s guide, with example poems to read out, is also included. This resource will melt away anxieties about writing, especially with the recommended warm-up discussion and enactments. Able writers, meanwhile, can use the light-touch frames to explore poetic techniques and approaches, letting their talents fly too! The sheets are hand-drawn and home-produced, so please expect spontaneity rather than computer-perfect lines.