Set of 128 fun activity cards for the pupils who always finish before the rest of the class. The activities are easy to organise (just cut out, laminate and put in a lovely box) answers can be written in a jotter, busy book or on activity paper. I put these cards in a box in an ‘Early Bird Tray’ with all of the resources the pupils would need eg. a couple of atlases, a tape measure, dictionary, dice, number spinners and some lined and plain paper. I explained the use of the tray to the whole class and gave a brief ‘10 second slot’ at the end of the day for any pupils to share their answers with the class. It was amazing how many finished their class work to get onto the Early Bird Activities! I have used these cards with Y2,3,4 and lower ability Y5,6.

Day of the Dead Mexican pp lesson with activities and worksheet resources. Learning objectives I know what’ El Día de Los Muertos’ means in English. I can say which language it is translated from and where the celebration originates. I know where Mexico is located on a map. I can explain the features on the Mexican flag. I can name the objects placed on the Day of the Dead altars. I can explain the symbols and rituals carried out by the Mexican people on the specific celebration days. I can describe how sugar skulls are made and why they are important. I can write a non-chronological report using my knowledge about ‘The Day of the Dead’ celebration. Includes six pupil worksheets, opportunities for partner work, simple map task and links to You Tube clips about the celebration and how to make ‘papel picado’. Great KS2 lesson as a stand-alone or as part of a series of lessons with a cross curricular topic eg Mexico, Aztecs, Halloween, Celebrations etc

Aztecs 3 Factsheets KS2 Factsheet 1 Simple facts about who the Aztecs were, where they came from, where they settled. Factsheet 2 Aztec gods and a brief description. Factsheet 3 Where the Aztecs settled and the end of their civilization. Includes key events broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 5 & 6 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous civilization in a range of genres (newspaper report, non-fiction report, letter or diary writing, fiction, etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

A simple scaffolding template for a pupil letter to a new teacher at the start of term. Can be used for Y2-Y6 depending on ability. Useful as a prompt for pupils to introduce themselves to their new class teacher . Structured to cover the main areas pupils usually want teachers to know about and can be used as a starting point for ‘Guess who?’ games and encouraging friendships between pupils with similar tastes and hobbies.

Florence Nightingale Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Queen Victoria Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

George Stephenson Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Mary Anning Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Samuel Pepys Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Neil Armstrong Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Rosa Parks Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Martin Luther King Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Guy Fawkes Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

Elizabeth Fry Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.

3 Biographies of Nelson Mandela simplified into three differentiated pieces for HA, MA, LA (Versions: 1= HA, 2= MA, 3= LA) aimed at Y2 & KS2. Each simplified biography is up to one page long. Can be used to identify features of biographies, to aid understanding of how to structure a biography and support content understanding. Also, can be used to support historical research when writing a diary, newspaper report, letter.

Florence Nightingale pack of 8 worksheets. I used this set of worksheets with class of KS1 pupils. Includes A4 factsheet of her life with pictures. Great to help pupils start their own research or to use as an information source for writing diaries/letters/newspaper article etc. Template and simple scaffolding for a handwashing leaflet for children to personalise. (Note will need to be cut and pasted onto landscape format for pupil use). Worksheet of Florence with speech bubbles to argue her case for being a nurse. This is a good introduction in preparation for drama or a hot seat activity. Scutari hospital improvements worksheet. ‘Cut and Sequence’ sentence activity of Florence’s life. Sort and stick the Victorian/modern day hospital items activity. Improvements Florence made to the hospitals worksheets with question space to formulate questions for Florence. Also good for preparation for a drama activity. I used this for groups of 4 pupils (in role as 2 reporters + Florence + modern day nurse) with the reporters interviewing Florence about her impact on hospitals and the modern-day nurse saying how Florence’s work has continued today. Hospitals and germ prevention pupil worksheet.

Florence Nightingale KS1 complete lesson(s) pp of 49 slides and worksheets. Slides 2-6 begin with a 3-clue riddle for the pupils to solve; Slides 7-8 are learning objectives and a class poll; 9-15 focus on hospitals; 15-37 focus on Florence’s life with supporting worksheets and opportunities for paired talk. Slide 38 - a link to Youtube showing the children how to make a lantern; Slide 39 - a link to a clip about Florence’s life (13 mins);40-46 Hygiene and hand washing and a leaflet activity; 47-49 Florence’s life and a fact sheet for pupil use. Can be used as a one-off lesson or developed into 2-3 lessons using all of the worksheets and activities. Useful to link to topics on ‘Keeping healthy’, ‘People who help us’, ‘Famous people’, ‘Victorians’. Learning objectives To recognise a photograph of Florence Nightingale and explain her job. To describe what hospitals were like during the Crimea War before Florence Nightingale’s visit. To explain the changes Florence made to hospitals and caring for the soldiers. To explain how Florence’s work in the Crimea has changed how nurses work today.

Mountain environments KS2 Geography pp of 27 slides. Complete lesson with talk partner activities, youtube clips, tasks and worksheets. There is a challenge activity and simple plenary/assessment activity at the end of the lesson. Great to link with topics on ‘Landforms’, ‘Explorers’, ‘Weather and climate’. Learning Objectives I must find mountain ranges on a map. I should recognise some of the features of mountains. I could describe mountains using geographical words. I must explain the definition of the words ‘summit’ and ‘valley’. I could explain different types of weather conditions on a mountain.

Halloween complete KS2 pp lesson of 57 slides. Learning objectives • To know the origins of Halloween. • To compare long ago Halloween customs, superstitions and rituals with those celebrated today. • To create and perform spells and spine-chilling descriptions about Halloween. • To work co-operatively with a partner or small group to discuss answers and ideas about Halloween and create a short role play. Fun, interactive lesson which begins with pupil experiences of Halloween. Simple historical origins, customs and superstitions are introduced through riddles, mapwork, completing captions in speech bubbles, role play and idea showers. There are opportunities for pupils to complete structured written tasks and develop literacy ideas through writing spells (using ‘the witches’ from MacBeth) and short descriptions. The lesson includes nine pupil worksheet activities which link (optional) to the lesson and include a creepy picture description, Haunted house spine chilling vocabulary, witch / monster descriptive template, Halloween activity mat (jumbled words, wordsearch, maze, pumpkin decorating, draw the other half), a spell template, co-ordinates activity, Pumpkin acrostic poem template and a 32 card Halloween Quiz. This lesson can also be broken into 2-3 lessons if all of the templates are used.