A fun, easy craft activity for celebrating Diwali (The Festival of Lights). Follow the instructions to make a diya out of salt dough and leave it to air dry for a few days. Decorate before drying (like the images provided), or dry and then paint/decorate. MAKING THE DIYA: Resources to assist with making the diya include: ♦ Teacher notes (with lots of ideas and hints). ♦ Recipe for your students to follow (makes 1 diya). ♦ Sequencing Cards – use as a recipe or as a sequencing task before making. These include pictures and text. WRITING TASKS: Two writing tasks are included as a follow-up to the craft activity. ♦ procedural / instructional writing (3 different templates). ♦ newspaper report writing (2 different templates plus an example). One of the newspaper reports is a fill-in-the-blanks template which is suitable for junior students. The instructions state to air dry the diya (takes a few days) but you could choose to dry it in the oven to speed up the process (details included in the teacher notes). WHAT YOU NEED: Flour, salt and water. Things to decorate it with (buttons, beads, shells, glitter, paint, etc). If you have junior students, this is a great activity for you to do with a buddy class who are a bit older. ********************************************************************** © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

NZ Essential Spelling Lists 1-8 Word Cards Words written in ‘NZ Basic Script’ font. List 8 – commonly misspelt words. Each list has a different coloured border. These colours match the lists in my other Essential Spelling List Resource – 5 words on a card. Click here to view. 10 words on each A4 piece of paper. ********************************************************************** © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Cursive Handwriting - copy cards and tracing cards. Included: ♦ Alphabet reference chart showing the letter formation of Aa to Zz. ♦ Word cards – 5 words per card. 3 cards per page. For looking at and writing in your book. Eg. write one whole line of each word. ♦ Alphabet tracing cards. Basic letter formation – lower case and capital letters. Letters and words. ‘Dotty’ letter font. For laminating and using a whiteboard marker on them. 1 letter per page. Note to NZ buyers: unlike my other handwriting resources, this resource is not made with the NZ handwriting font. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

A laptop / keyboard template for you to use however you wish! Suggestions would be to display things in the screen …. Computer rules, how to …, word of the day, reminder notices, etc. You could laminate it and write on it with a whiteboard marker or you could simply pin things to the screen. The templates: ♦ Grey ♦ Blue ♦ Pink ♦ Green ♦ Purple Designed on A3 size paper. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Celebrate the Māori New Year with this writing/art activity. Write a haiku poem on the feather template. Add colour and cut it out. Join the class feathers together to make a korowai (Māori cloak). Included: ♦ Haiku framework chart ♦ Example poem ♦ Feather template – with lines for writing ♦ Feather template – without lines Please note that information/instructions are not included for the making of the korowai. To see examples, please do an image search online (Matariki feather cloaks). The Haiku Poem: The haiku poem is a simple, 3-line poem that involves counting syllables. The framework is: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. Early finishers can use the feather template without the lines to create additional decorative feathers that can then be interspersed between the haiku feathers. Made on A4 size paper. Two feathers per sheet. ********************************************************************** © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

This is an easy, super-fun improvisation activity that you can do in the classroom with your students. The activity: Two students are acting out a scene … the teacher calls ‘freeze’ …. one of the actors is replaced by another student who recreates the pose … the new actor reads a short statement from a card that they get from the teacher and they begin acting out a new scenario. This resource contains: 120 statement cards. Comprehensive teacher notes. Loads of laughter is guaranteed! Simple and effective. Your students will love it! © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Do you need some handwriting goals for your lessons? Well, here is a set of 12 ‘handwriting target’ cards. Each card has a target board with a pencil/arrow hitting the centre. A word beginning with the letter ‘S’ is written next to it (eg size, slope, spacing, speed …). Fun and easy for your students to remember. Included: ♦ 12 target cards (2 per page) ♦ teacher notes (brief outline of the 12 target words) ♦ visual prompts for assessment (targets and stars) Great for: ♦ forming success criteria in handwriting lessons ♦ deciding individual goals in handwriting lessons ♦ as a wall display A great reminder for what students need to do to earn a ‘pen licence’. For a great pen licence template, click here The font used on the cards is ‘NZ Basic Script’. The letter shapes are the same as those recommended in the NZ Ministry of Education Handbook – ‘Teaching Handwriting’. ********************************************************************** © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Stick puppet templates (black and white) for the story ‘The Gingerbread Man’. Templates Include: * Gingerbread Man * Gingerbread Man – blank (A) * Gingerbread Man – blank (B) * Old Man * Old Lady * Cottage * Oven * Fox * Horse * Pig * Cow * Dog * Cat * Blank Template The old man and old lady templates do not have any facial features. Your students can decide what sort of emotion the characters need and then draw the eyes, nose and mouth. Great for story retell, oral language development, puppetry skills, imaginative play, etc. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Stick puppet templates (black and white) for the story ‘The Little Red Hen. Various animals are included due to the many different versions of the story. Simply print the ones you need. Templates Include: * Hen * Cat * Rat / Mouse * Pig * Horse * Cow * Dog * Duck * Goat * Wheat seeds * Packet of seeds * Watering can and plants * Wheat * Mill * Flour * Oven * Bread * Blank template Great for story retell, oral language development, puppetry skills, imaginative play, etc. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Great swimming pool game that helps with water confidence. Ship/Pirate/Ocean theme. 34 command cards to print and laminate. Each card has the command, a visual cue, and the action. Stand at the side of the pool, call out a command and hold up the card. Students complete the action. Continue in this way. You can play it where the last student to do the action is eliminated, or just keep playing and encourage water confidence and movement. A great game to play as a warm up activity or as a fun game at the end of a swimming lesson. Play with as many commands/cards as you wish. Suitable for all ages and abilities. Includes teacher notes and instructions on how to play the game. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Tortoise Flip Book for the story 'Esio Trot' by Roald Dahl. Variety of blackline templates so you can custom design your own flip book. Small and large tortoise templates. Blank shell templates as well as ones with text/patterns. Able to be used for general tortoise activities, not just with the story 'Esio Trot'. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

A fun set of word pattern strips. Use as a literacy task or make it part of your algebra unit when looking at patterns in math. This resource contains 12 x Strips to identify the pattern and continue it. 12 x Strips to find the missing word Pattern reference (teacher guide) Student recording sheet and teacher answer sheet (for the ‘find the missing word’ strips) A blank template for students to make up their own word patterns. The set of word pattern strips are provided in 2 different formats. Simply print the format you want to use. For example: • Cat, duck, cow, dog, camel, dragon… • Cat, duck, ___, dog, camel, dragon … So there are 12 different patterns and 24 different strips. There are many different possible answers for all of the word patterns in this resource, but the answer must follow the ‘rule’. For example, in the list above, any animal that begins with the letter ‘c’ would fit in the gap. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

A fun, effective art activity for your students to complete and give to their mother on Mother’s Day. It looks tricky …. but it is very simple! The artwork involves drawing a number of straight lines between the dots on a template. Your students will get a thrill when the curves just appear! Included: ♦ dotty template. ♦ template with lines (this can be used to show the completed design, or for a ‘colouring only’ activity). ♦ example of finished, coloured artwork. ♦ simple, clear instructions (with images). I have provided 8 steps to complete the line art. Each step is on one page. The instructions are suitable for displaying via a data projector so all of your students can refer to it and self-check. The Process: ♦ Draw the lines. ♦ Draw a stem, leaves, flower pot, etc. ♦ Write words/phrases in the petals that describe your Mother. ♦ Colour/decorate. ♦ Give to your Mother. This activity is also suitable as a general art activity. You don’t have to use it for Mother’s Day. Have a student that doesn’t celebrate Mother’s Day? No problem. They can make the flower and decorate it in a different way. Skill enhancement: ruling straight lines with precision. Keywords: parabolic curves, string art, line art, geometry, flower, math, ruler, straight lines. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

This art activity can be used for any theme, not just as a ‘lucky four leaf clover’. The activity involves your students ruling straight lines between 2 dots on a template. When they have finished drawing all of the lines they can give their artwork some colour. The example shows writing in each leaf, but you can change this if you wish. Included: ♦ Template – black dots ♦ Template – light grey dots ♦ Example ♦ Instructions ♦ Teacher notes ♦ Coloured example Level of Difficulty: Your students need to be able to use a ruler to draw straight lines between 2 points (the curves are made with straight lines … it’s like magic!). The designs can look more complicated than they actually are. Concentration is required, but the actual process is not difficult. Instructions: Simple, clear, easy-to-follow instructions are provided. One instruction per page (image and a sentence). Display the instructions via a data projector if you have access to one. Otherwise print and enlarge them and/or demonstrate on an enlarged template. Practise Tempate: A practise template is included for your students to practise ruling the pattern before you give them the actual template. Equipment: You need a ruler and a pen (black works best). Something to colour with (eg coloured pencils, watercolours, felt tip markers, chalk pastels, dye, etc) Size: The square is approximately 17cm x 17cm. Designed on A4 size paper. Keywords: St Patrick's Day, Ireland, Irish, string art, math, geometry, patterns, parabolic curves. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

A simple craft activity for your students to make to celebrate Waitangi Day. 1. Colour the flag on the front and the writing on the back. 2. Cut around the outside border. 3. Fold in half. Place a wooden skewer (or similar object such as a drinking straw) at the half-way point. 4. Glue the inside so the two halves stick together. Templates for these 4 Flags: * Flag of the United Tribes of NZ – the first national flag, adopted in 1834. * Union Jack – NZ’s flag after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. * New Zealand Flag – formally adopted in 1902. * Tino Rangatiratanga (National Māori Flag) – launched shortly before Waitangi Day in 1990. Refer to the images above to see 3 of these flags. 2 templates per A4 page. Sharp colouring pencils or fine-tip markers are best to use in this activity (especially for the NZ flag as the areas to colour are quite small). Approximate size: 13.5cm x 7cm when finished. ********************************************************************** © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

A set of 9 reference cards about the stars in the Matariki cluster. Each card shows the name of the star and the area of the environment that it holds dominion over. Please note that the domains may vary between iwi. 2 reference cards per A4 sheet of paper. ********************************************************************** © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Basic Number Recognition - using a dice (1-6) 4-in-a-row Gameboards ♦ Game 1 – recognising dotty patterns on a dice. ♦ Game 2 – matching a dotty dice picture with a numeral. ♦ Game 3 – matching a numeral with a picture of a dotty dice. Game 1 – Dotty Dice: A game for 2 players. Take alternate turns. You need one dotty dice and you each need counters (a different colour to your partner). Roll the dice. Find it on the gameboard and cover the picture with a counter. You win if you get 4 of your counters in a row. Game 2 – Dice and Numeral Match: A game for 2 players. Take alternate turns. You need one dotty dice and you each need counters (a different colour to your partner). Roll the dice. Look at the dots on the dice and find the numeral on the gameboard. Cover the numeral with a counter. You win if you get 4 of your counters in a row. Game 3 – Numeral and Dotty Dice Match: A game for 2 players. Take alternate turns. You need one dice with numerals and you each need counters (a different colour to your partner). Roll the dice. Look at the number on the dice and find a dotty dice picture that matches your number. Cover the picture of the dice with a counter. You win if you get 4 of your counters in a row. All 3 games are provided in both colour and black and white.

Colour Mixing – flashcards, activity sheets, game and reference chart UK and USA spelling included (colour/color grey/gray) Flash Cards - 3 different types: ♦ colour splodges and word equations ♦ colour splodge equations – work out the final colour ♦ colour splodge equations – work out the missing colour Activity Sheets - 3 different types: ♦ colour the last splodge of the equation (print in colour) ♦ colour the splodges and work out the last splodge of the equation ♦ colour the splodges and work out the missing splodge Game: ‘Four-in-a-row’ game - instructions and gameboard. All you need is a dice and some counters. 1. Player A rolls the dice. 2. Player A reads the colour mixing equation that is located under the picture of the dice on the left side of the board. 3. Player A finds the answer to the colour mixing equation on the gameboard and covers one of those squares with one of their counters. 4. Player B has their turn. 5. Players continue to take turns. The winner is the first player to get 4 of their counters in a row. The 6 colour mixing equations: red + white = pink blue + yellow = green red + blue = purple white + black = grey green + red = brown yellow + red = orange

Give your students a licence to drive a PEN-CAR. Your students will love these and will strive to earn one! This resource contains 2 files for different classrooms around the world – spelling of LICENSE and LICENCE. The pen-cars come in 5 different colours (blue, red, green, yellow, pink). Your students will find it difficult to choose which one they would like to receive. Included: ♦ Pen licence - Large (5 different colours, 1 to a page) ♦ Pen licence - Small (5 different colours, 4 to a page) ♦ Certificate - (1 to a page) ♦ Wall chart – for your students to write their name on once they have their licence. Two different templates. ♦ Teacher recording / tracking sheet ♦ Teacher notes A great incentive for great handwriting! Licence Details: ♦ Student name ♦ Date of issue ♦ Issued by (teacher's name) ♦ Licence number (just make one up) ♦ Classroom number ♦ Student signature © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources

Playdough Number Mats - Numbers 1-10 ♦ Your students make a playdough number and place it on the number on the card. ♦ Then they make some objects for the picture (a small picture in the bottom left corner of each card indicates what they need to make and place on the big picture). Make 1 spider for the web. Make 2 fish for the fish bowl. Make 3 cupcakes for the plate. Make 4 butterflies for the garden Make 5 buttons for the shirt. Make 6 sausages for the fry pan. Make 7 apples for the tree. Make 8 eggs for the nest. Make 9 worms for the pile of dirt. Make 10 candles for the birthday cake. The font used is ‘NZ Basic Script’. The number shapes are the same as those recommended in the NZ Ministry of Education Handbook – ‘Teaching Handwriting’. A4 size. © Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources