Thanks for stopping by my shop. I am an experienced chartered primary teacher who has taught predominantly in Scotland. I also taught in England, Australia and in the Middle East. I produce a range of quality resources that provide depth and breadth. These resources should enhance the learning experience of pupils. There are many opportunities for active learning as well as structured tasks that consolidate and reinforce knowledge and application. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by my shop. I am an experienced chartered primary teacher who has taught predominantly in Scotland. I also taught in England, Australia and in the Middle East. I produce a range of quality resources that provide depth and breadth. These resources should enhance the learning experience of pupils. There are many opportunities for active learning as well as structured tasks that consolidate and reinforce knowledge and application. Enjoy!
This is a detailed PowerPoint about online blogs
LEARNING INTENTIONS are:
to learn about the various types of blogs on the Internet
to learn how to post to a blog appropriately
to define selected vocabulary connected with blogs
to independently post a review of a book on a book review blog site
I have uploaded several jpg files so teachers can see the resource more comprehensively.
Enjoy with your classes.
I would be delighted if you leave feedback.
A simple introduction to the topic Rainforests.
Photos to support simple text to encourage and promote discussion about this environment.
Ideal as a start to the topic - Rainforests.
‘Who lives here?’ PowerPoint introduces a ‘conversation’ poem about the creatures and habitat of the rainforest.
It provides a structured step by step lesson to support composition.
It also allows reinforcement of parts of speech, particularly verbs and prepositions.
Extended poetry task also provided for variety and possible differentiation.
Several verse examples are provided for clarity.
Rainforest booklet is provided for children to write their final draft for display or poetry portfolio.
‘Rainforest List Poem’ PowerPoint continues with a poetic theme and uses a simple format to motivate composition. This clear, concise and colourful presentation leads the learners step by step through the composition of a list poem based on a ‘rainforest’ theme. There is a grammar element throughout with an emphasis on nouns, adjectives and ‘ing’ verbs.
I find a poetic context an effective way to embed incidental grammar teaching.
Although the outcome is a simple list poem, it can easily be differentiated for older learners. This would involve extending each line using e.g. adverbs or an additional clause.
Children are encouraged to compose an opening line, closing line and’ list’ lines inbetween.
A Variety of Literacy Tasks based on a Pirate Theme.
Word mat provides useful words and phrases to support writing tasks.
Pirate Character Description Sheet with Writing Prompts and Graphics
Island Setting for a Pirate Adventure with further writing prompts
Simple Drawing Tasks
Label a Pirate
Sentence Strips
Mapping Task
Pirate Spelling - Whiteboard Tasks
A great additional resource to support and enhance a pirate topic. I would be delighted to receive feedback.
Traditional Tale Powerpoint Presentation-
Initial ppt. used to familiarise children with initial passage and to explore several possible continuations.
Provides questions for discussion & opportunities to discuss writer’s style, choice of vocabulary and structure.
‘Sentence Stems’ scaffold the continuation task for pupils. Further questions can extend task for extension work.
Poem is annotated to illustrate the poetic techniques used such as - alliteration, metaphor and simile.
It provides an easy to follow guide for the teacher to discuss the poem .
The children go on to compose about this subject or other subjects using the exemplar as their guide.
The imaginative poem ‘The Magic Box’ by Kit Weight provides a wonderful opportunity to appreciate, perform and compose a fantasy poem. These resources are presented beautifully to also evoke an individual written response from the learners.
THE LEARNING INTENTIONS INCLUDE:
to read, appreciate and perform a fantasy poem
to compose verses based on the model poem
to include descriptive and imaginative vocabulary within their verses
Within the pack:
Presentation A provides an initial starting point to read, appreciate and perform the poem.
It leads the learners through each verse and encourages them to appreciate the rich language of the poem. A web link is provided for learners to see and hear the original poet perform the poem.
It also provides visuals to help the learners understand and analyse the composition.
The initial written task is to compose 3 verses based on the model - learners concentrate on feelings, creatures, the natural world - What would they put in their box?
Presentation B provides an opportunity to concentrate on the final 3 verses of the model poem - the ‘impossible things’ verse, what their box is made of and where they will travel in their box.
I have provided opportunities for children to work with their talking partners to support their composition.
The final result should be very individual poems structured on the original poem.
A word mat is also provided to aid composition , a separate copy of the poem for annotation as well as a planning sheet. Within this presentation, there are slides that the teacher can use with interactive pens for shared writing to further support differentiation and an assessment checklist.
I have also provided a simple comprehension task which can be used to aid comprehension of the model poem if required. There are many opportunities for incidental learning e.g. grammar and word choice, particularly adjectives, powerful verbs, similes and alliteration.
Additional Tip : Print off nets of cubes and cuboids ( photocopiable card ) and ask children to decorate their magic boxes, then assemble them.
I hope your learners enjoy the poem and activities and would be delighted if you left feedback.
N.B. Ideally these resources should be used over several days
Humorous letter from teacher about:
‘unbelievable’ homework excuses
cut and stick activity for sequencing
letter starts for scaffolding pupils replies
pro - forma for 2nd draft or display purposes.
Two Packs included are intended to develop inferential skills in both reading and writing.
Pack A - 'Read between the Lines' incorporates :
15 differentiated passages
Literal and Inferential questions
True/False and ‘Don’t Know’ statements
to encourage close reading, skimming and scanning for details and reading for meaning.
Pack B - 'Over to You!' incorporates:
18 differentiated story starts - opening passages
‘Openers’ word wall
Prompts to encourage ‘quality ‘writing
Writer’s craft editing sheet to encourage continuation of events, characters and setting.
It is intended to provide writers with an initial start and to help develop a continuation of the writer's craft.
Ideal as a ‘short burst’ writing task or can be used for more extended writing tasks.
This unit explores the traditional tale: The Elves and the Shoemaker with online links as well as a comprehensive range of literacy tasks for your learners.
It contains:
speaking and listening tasks
reading the narrative
syllable tasks
handwriting tasks
sentence construction /ordering tasks
an art task
as well as oral retelling of the narrative.
A word wall is provided which can be used for further vocabulary development.
It places literacy within a meaningful context and allows plenty of incidental learning to take place.
A series of Mental Maths PowerPoint Presentations which can ideally be used as starter activities or plenaries. They focus mainly on numerical calculation within 100 and provide a 'quick fire' activity to promote mental recall. Children use mini whiteboards to record answers and each presentation provides answers which children can mark immediately as they proceed through the tasks. . Tasks include: adding, subtracting and fact families. There is an emphasis on presenting maths language in different forms like: add, count on, increase, plus, subtract, minus etc. There is no preparation required and the slides are easily edited to provide further practice.
A comprehensive pack of resources - non-chronological report writing
These resources include a:
1st presentation that introduces the general features of report writing in a colourful, child friendly format that clearly leads the learners through the signposts of the genre.
2nd presentation that continues with the assessment of reports including online link and differentiated checklists - peer and self editing.
Additional resources provide:
1) A clear concise and interesting model report on Egypt for learners to read, discuss, analyse, highlight and 'pull apart' - active learning.
2) An annotated report to provide the teacher with the main teaching points of the model report.
3) A colourful word mat with sentence starts and vocabulary to support report writing.
4) A mind map for the planning stage which is partially completed to support learners ( can be easily edited to provide less support).
5) Word strips with facts about Egypt - ideal for 'cut and stick' activities ( learners can categorise facts under headings in a carousel type activity)
This detailed pack of resources will support the learners thoroughly from the initial lesson on the structure of a report through assessment ,the analysis of models and finally to a finished piece that can be assessed and celebrated.
This pack contains a comprehensive presentation of the narrative/legend 'The Pied Piper'. I have included thumbnails that show some of the tasks included as well as the complete presentation.
It details the complete story with illustrations and teaching notes provided for each slide. It has sound effects as an additional feature.
Within the presentation there are a variety of literacy 'follow on' tasks that learners could complete after familiarisation with the story and related vocabulary. The tasks are varied with active learning ,some written outcomes as well as speaking and listening outcomes. This story is like most fairy tales a wonderful experience for children to revisit the past and has magic and mystery within. My learners have always thoroughly enjoyed it and it is wonderful for discussion because of the unique and unexpected ending. Whiteboard 'quick fire' tasks are within the PowerPoint as well as some online links for further exploration.
A series of Mental Maths PowerPoint Presentations which can ideally be used as starter activities or plenaries . They focus mainly on numerical calculation and provide a 'quick fire' activity to promote mental recall. Children use mini whiteboards to record answers and most presentations provide answers which children can mark immediately as they proceed through the tasks. A few of the presentations provide slides where the teacher records the answers below using an interactive white board pen. Tasks include: adding, subtracting, doubling, halving, multiplying by 10,100, finding simple fractions of numbers and some problem solving, There is no preparation required and the slides are easily edited to provide further practice.
This unit contains a series of writing pictorial prompts with accompanying word walls. It also has several accompanying written responses that can be analysed and serve as reminders to the children to:
vary their sentence starts
vary the length of their sentences
use the word wall when composing sentences about the picture
use capitals at the beginning of each sentence
use full stops, exclamation marks and question marks as appropriate
Connectives or 'joining' words are provided on each slide to encourage more complex sentences.
I use it on a weekly basis to provide a 'short burst' writing task which helps the children to produce 3-5 sentences. I vary the task by asking the children to respond to the prompt on their white boards as well as within their jotters. The pictures are clear, colourful and stimulate discussion before writing and can be easily edited and changed to reflect current topic etc. The models are provided so that the teacher can easily prompt the children to notice a variety of starters , use of connectives and adjectives. I colour code the sentences - green at the start of each sentence and red for full stops, question marks and exclamation marks at the end. The unit is an additional writing resource that requires little preparation and complements longer writing tasks.
The initial presentation provides facts and information about Saint Andrew the Patron Saint of Scotland whose feast day is 30th November. Each slide is clear, colourful and presents information simply to promote discussion.
There are two online links: one that shows a short clip about Saint Andrew’s life with an additional one that links to the lyrics and music of Saint Andrew’s Hymn.
The second presentation has a range of activities to allow choice of task depending on the age range of the learners.
They include:
a word mat to support factual writing about Saint Andrew’s life
a cut and stick activity with sea background for younger learners
a simple handwriting task
a mind map to support writing an extended report on Saint Andrew’s life
a colouring activity
The first presentation is ideal for an assembly to inform and raise awareness about our Patron Saint and to celebrate his feast day. The activities should follow on after the initial presentation has been shown and discussed.
I have also included a few additional jpeg files to show fellow colleagues a more comprehensive preview.
Writing a 5 line poem - CINQUAIN
The introductory presentation includes:
the signposts of a cinquain poem
models to read, perform and analyse
a planner for composition
several suggestions for poetry tasks/activities
an editing sheet
The four seasonal presentations include:
poems to read, enjoy and analyse
poems where vocabulary can be explored and highlighted
completed planners
blank planners for poetry tasks
These poetry activities also provide opportunities to explore vocabulary and consolidate grammar points.
Children enjoy this type of poetry task because once they have mastered the pattern of the poem, they can compose several with different topics.
The pack contains eight colourful presentations that provide clear direction and practice with:
Place Value - H T U
Place Value-Th H T U
Place Value - Using Dienes Material
Multiplying by 10
Multiplying by 100
Dividing by 10
Dividing by 100
Writing Numbers - Notation
All of the presentations invite the learners to participate fully with whiteboard active tasks. I have included several follow up worksheets.
These resources are ideal for introducing ,consolidating place value or as a complete revision pack.
Four bright , colourful presentations that deal with Position and Movement:
a) Early Position ( Revision or Introduction)
b) Compass and Rotation
c) Position and Direction
d) Following Directions
Includes active tasks that promote understanding , partner games and revision of positional words.