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.
There’s An Alien At Christmas
A fun story to read to your class this Christmas.
Zoggy, the alien, has been invited to Dan’s house for Christmas to join in the festive fun, but he doesn’t know what to expect. When he arrives, Dan is already tucked up in bed fast asleep, and there’s another visitor, a man dressed in white fur. Should Zoggy wake Dan and tell him? Zoggy is in for a few surprises.
Guinea Pig Education presents the Zoggy the Alien series about a cute little alien who lands on Earth. Will he be accepted? What will he feel as he tries to fit in with life on Earth? This series introduces inclusiveness as Zoggy finds out that he is loved and accepted. He is given help with all those things he meets like fear and anxiousness. Yes, these books are bang up-to-date, full of lessons to be learned and will be loved by children of 3 to 7 years.
23 pages
It’s Fun To Write A Diary About My Daily Life
This pack includes a real child’s diary, written by seven year old Ellie Mae. The child should read the examples and then fill in the pages. They should use the prompts to record details from their daily life, (from the school day or weekend events). The child can zoom in on anything that inspires them - giving facts and opinions and saying how they felt and why.
This series of lively work packs encourages children of 6-9 years to record their personal experiences in a diary. This will enable the child to practice their writing skills independently and to express their ideas freely. It will encourage them to write in more detail.
A diary is usually written in present tense. It is an informal piece of writing and may contain some colloquial English.
Diaries are fun to write and to re-read later. Older children will enjoy re-reading their old ‘news’ books, years and years later.
Encourage the child to write a diary everyday, once a week or just at special times, such as, Christmas or in the summer holidays, in the form of a journal.
19 pages
This work book includes 2 packs:
Write A Story Called ‘My Trip To The Frozen North’
This pack encourages the child to plan and write a detailed imaginative story. Use the prompts to imagine what it would be like to go on an expedition to the frozen north. The child is asked to make a plan, jotting down ideas under headings - when, where, what, who, how. They are asked to think of ways of developing the action, building up suspense and winding up their story with a suitable resolution. The child should write an opening that grabs the reader’s attention, making him or her want to read on. They should start the story by going straight into the action and write a moral for the last sentence.
Write A Story Called ‘Let’s Go On Safari’
The child is asked to imagine that they went on a safari holiday and to write the story. The child is asked to write three paragraphs. In paragraph one they should introduce the characters, setting and plot. In paragraph two they should develop the action and build up suspense. In paragraph three, they are asked to wind up their story with a suitable resolution. The child should write an opening that grabs the reader’s attention, making him or her want to read on. They should start the story by going straight into the action.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. In fact, the writer regularly dips into these packs for her own tutorial classes. With their lively ‘magazine style’ format, they are an ideal study aid to consolidate work on planning and writing stories and non fiction articles, expanding vocabulary and include many examples of children’s work. As well as this, the packs contain some very useful tips on writing techniques (as in writing simple, compound and complex sentences). The work in these packs will inspire children, who are practicing for exams, to write, and provide starting points for even the most reluctant writer, including those children with special educational needs and where English is a second language.
25 pages
This work book includes 2 packs:
Write A Story Called ‘The Summer Barbecue’
Ask the child to read Gareth and Gemma’s stories. Then, read the plans for these stories. Make sure the child sees that each sentence starts in a new way. Now, they should write their own story about a summer barbecue or alternatively, a trip to the supermarket, where things didn’t go quite to plan.
Lots Of Writing Tasks About Being Out And About
The child should read the radio script from Guinea Pig Radio and learn about dialogue, as presenters George and Christabelle chat. Next, the child is asked to write a text or e-mail to the shows feature ‘Love To Be There’, describing the most exciting places they have visited. Alternatively, the child could write a radio script of a phone conversation between themselves and the presenter, describing an incredible event they have experienced.
Next, the child is asked to imagine what the other listeners who contact the radio show are like. They should use their experiences to write some stories with characters, setting and plot.
Now, the child is asked to think up some outstanding verbs to add to the ‘I am’ list. The child will learn more about varying their sentences and the use of sub clauses in complex sentences.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. In fact, the writer regularly dips into these packs for her own tutorial classes. With their lively ‘magazine style’ format, they are an ideal study aid to consolidate work on planning and writing stories and non fiction articles, expanding vocabulary and include many examples of children’s work. As well as this, the packs contain some very useful tips on writing techniques (as in writing simple, compound and complex sentences). The work in these packs will inspire children, who are practicing for exams, to write, and provide starting points for even the most reluctant writer, including those children with special educational needs and where English is a second language.
27 pages
This is a two pack set including:
Brush Up On Capital Letters
Brush Up On Writing Sentences
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.
27 pages
This pack contains two resources including:
Plan And Write The Story Of Jack And The Beanstalk
Plan And Write The Story Of Sleeping Beauty
The 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.
Charming silhouette pictures illustrate each work pack.
A fun course to improve children’s literacy over the summer (7-11 years)
Ideal for helping children catch up, as well as keeping them amused over the holiday. Also available as a digital copy, to be shared via Google Classroom or similar platform. Please contact me for the link.
This pack is titled ‘Lets Go On Holiday’
It includes a number of fun writing activities, to inspire children to write. For example:
Look at some writing techniques used in persuasive writing
Answer the reading comprehension questions.
Learn some advanced vocabulary
Use the prompts and templates to make some persuasive holiday leaflets
There are lots of writing skeletons, prompts, model answers and hints and tips, to help children who struggle to put their ideas down on paper.
There are 4 summer themed work packs available In this series.
Out And About In Summer
Lets Go Travelling
Lets Go On Holiday
Lets Go Somewhere Exciting
This resource includes:
Write A Story Called ‘The Dragon Kite’
The child is asked to write a story, using the title above, completing the sentences by selecting one of the multiple choice options or using their own ideas.
Write A Story Called ‘The Stunt Kite’
The child should use The Story Planner to write their own story, called ‘The Stunt Kite’. The child is asked to consider the genre of their story. Will it be an adventure, rescue or fantasy story? They are asked to write three paragraphs. In paragraph one they should introduce the characters, setting and plot. In paragraph two they should develop the action and build up suspense. In paragraph three, they are asked to read the three possible endings and then wind up their own story with a suitable resolution. They should use the prompts to grasp some high level vocabulary.
Next, they are asked to read the poem and then have a go at writing their own poem, called ‘Flying My Kite’.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. In fact, the writer regularly dips into these packs for her own tutorial classes. With their lively ‘magazine style’ format, they are an ideal study aid to consolidate work on planning and writing stories and non fiction articles, expanding vocabulary and include many examples of children’s work. As well as this, the packs contain some very useful tips on writing techniques (as in writing simple, compound and complex sentences). The work in these packs will inspire children, who are practicing for exams, to write, and provide starting points for even the most reluctant writer, including those children with special educational needs and where English is a second language.
27 pages
This DIGITAL resource contains a link to access and make a copy into your google drive. It can be shared with your children and their parents via Google Classroom or similar platform. It can be used with the interactive white board.
This resource consists of 60 slides.
This resource teaches Phonic Writing Practice & Comprehension: initial sounds and three letter words. This work should be used alongside Mission Spelling Zero Violet Level One.
Link: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/initial-sounds-and-three-letter-words-unit-to-use-with-google-classroom-3-12412655
Introducing you to our brand new ‘Mission Spelling Zero’ scheme. Help your child/ren to take their first steps in reading and spelling, with this exciting structured course.
Mission Spelling Zero is a series of work in 7 levels, one for each colour of the rainbow, aimed to help young learners gain first reading and spelling skills.
First, let me introduce you to a new character that your child/ren will love learning with. He is an innovation – an alien from a distant planet – but a wizard when it comes to his computer skills. There is no problem he cannot solve.
Zoggy will introduce your child/ren to the initial sounds - in his own stories and then build on that base, teaching double consonant blends and vowel digraphs.
When your child moves up the levels of the rainbow his phonic skills will be a tool that will accelerate future learning.
‘Mission Spelling Zero’ also offers a new, exciting series of writing booklets – so your little learners can practice their hand writing skills, write first sentences and play the games which will consolidate their learning.
Let’s start reading and spelling with Mission Spelling Zero.
In this resource the child is first asked to match the popular pantomimes to their plots. Next, they should complete the sentence prompts and write about their visit to the pantomime or their favourite pantomime.
After this, the child should read the play script called ‘The Skull And Cross Bone’ and then continue the plot - writing about how the pirate crew of the Skull And Cross Bone go to Treasure Island. Next, the child is asked to plan and write their own pirate play. They should consider their characters, setting, plot (it’s action, suspense and tension) and think about how to keep their audience interested. After this, the child should write a pirate adventure story, about being shipwrecked on a desert island. There are lots of prompts to help the child write.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. Presented in a lively ‘magazine style’ format, these packs feature stories and non fiction texts to read. They include follow up activities that will inspire even the most reluctant writer, to write stories, letters, play scripts, diaries, poems, persuasive leaflets and more. More than this, the child will learn writing techniques including: simple, compound and complex sentences - connectives, grammar tips - harder vocabulary and punctuation.
Aimed at 7-11 year olds, these work packs provide excellent writing practice for those children preparing to take 11+ exams or S.A.T.s. They will also benefit children with special needs, or where English is a second language.
31 pages
This resource includes:
Plan And Write The Story Of The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Plan And Write The Story Of The Three Little Pigs
The 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.
Charming silhouette pictures illustrate each work pack.
33 pages
Includes:
Plan And Write The Story Of ‘Cinderella’
Plan And Write The Story Of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’
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.
Charming silhouette pictures illustrate each work pack.
29 pages
This resource includes:
Write A Story About Taking A Test Or Exam
In this pack, the child is asked to read about Melissa Montague’s dance lessons and to complete the wording for the poster. Next, they should read the recount (in first person) by a pupil at the dance academy, about her experiences taking a dance exam. Then, the child should write their own version, describing an exam or test they have taken - whether at school or after school and in any activity. The child should write in present tense and use dialogue to move the story along.
Write A Story Called ‘Sports Day’
Firstly, the child should write a letter inviting their parents to watch their school sports day. Next, they are asked to write the story of their sports day. The child should read the example ‘Sports Day’ and then use the prompts to write their own version.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. Presented in a lively ‘magazine style’ format, these packs feature stories and non fiction texts to read. They include follow up activities that will inspire even the most reluctant writer, to write stories, letters, play scripts, diaries, poems, persuasive leaflets and more. More than this, the child will learn writing techniques including: simple, compound and complex sentences - connectives, grammar tips - harder vocabulary and punctuation.
Aimed at 7-11 year olds, these work packs provide excellent writing practice for those children preparing to take 11+ exams or S.A.T.s. They will also benefit children with special needs, or where English is a second language.
This resource includes:
Write To Advise On Getting A New Pet
Write An Informal Diary On Your New Pet
This series of resources concentrate specifically on information writing, providing everything needed to stimulate a child to write. The child is taught to recognise the difference between facts and opinions. Each pack in this series concentrates on a different aspect of information writing including: writing to advise, writing to inform, writing to explain, writing to analyse, review and comment, giving examples. The child is taught 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.
Each resource contains starting point for writing, helping the child to form ideas, enabling him or her to structure their work and organise it into paragraphs. Attention is given to making writing more interesting by varying sentence types, using punctuation and good grammar.
Each work pack includes an exciting range of model answers and sample texts written by students and provides practice questions to test them. Common errors made by students are highlighted and corrected. They are packed with vital hints and tips to enable the student to be successful and gain good grades.
The packs are a very useful resource for teachers and save hours of time when preparing lessons or homework tasks. The specimen lesson plans and examples contained within each work pack will give the student ideas to build on and provide practice to develop their writing skills. Each work pack provides children with ideas for writing, especially reluctant writers who require starting points to write. Each work pack provides a safe topic that children will be comfortable with.
27 pages
In this pack, the child is asked to read Anya’s report for the T.V. broadcast ‘Save Our Tree’. They should read the different points of view of people who want to stop the tree being chopped down and then, they should add their own viewpoint. Next, they should use the prompt to write their own newspaper article. After this, the child should write a letter to the council. They should cut out the writing prompts and sort them into different viewpoints, to help them write their letter.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. Presented in a lively ‘magazine style’ format, these packs feature stories and non fiction texts to read. They include follow up activities that will inspire even the most reluctant writer, to write stories, letters, play scripts, diaries, poems, persuasive leaflets and more. More than this, the child will learn writing techniques including: simple, compound and complex sentences - connectives, grammar tips - harder vocabulary and punctuation.
Aimed at 7-11 year olds, these work packs provide excellent writing practice for those children preparing to take 11+ exams or S.A.T.s. They will also benefit children with special needs, or where English is a second language.
21 pages
This is a two pack set including test 5 and test 6.
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.
17 pages
A fun course to improve children’s literacy over the summer (7-11 years)
Ideal for helping children catch up, as well as keeping them amused over the holiday. Also available as a digital copy, to be shared via Google Classroom or similar platform. Please contact me for the link.
This pack is titled ‘Lets Go Travelling’
It includes a number of fun writing activities, to inspire children to write. For example:
Read the radio script and listeners texts/emails and develop a story based on one of their accounts
Answer the reading comprehension questions
Develop some sizzling summer day vocabulary and explore writing techniques, such as similes, metaphors, alliteration and personification
Use the question prompts to write about a holiday you enjoyed
Write about your dream holiday destination
There are lots of writing skeletons, prompts, model answers and hints and tips, to help children who struggle to put their ideas down on paper.
There are 4 summer themed work packs available In this series.
Out And About In Summer
Lets Go Travelling
Lets Go On Holiday
Lets Go Somewhere Exciting
A fun course to improve children’s literacy over the summer (7-11 years)
Ideal for helping children catch up, as well as keeping them amused over the holiday. Also available as a digital copy, to be used with Google Classroom and similar platform. Please contact me for the link.
This pack is titled ‘Lets Go Somewhere Exciting’ It includes a number of fun writing activities, to inspire children to write. For example:
Imagine you are organising a big show in your town this summer… plan the event… make a poster advertising it, make up some competitions, write a letter asking for donations for the fair
Answer the reading comprehension questions
Recount a visit to the show
Write a newspaper article on the show, for your school magazine
Write a story about an event that did not go quite to plan at the show e.g. maybe Dolly the sheep escaped…
There are lots of writing skeletons, prompts, model answers and hints and tips, to help children who struggle to put their ideas down on paper.
There are 4 summer themed work packs available In this series.
Out And About In Summer
Lets Go Travelling
Lets Go On Holiday
Lets Go Somewhere Exciting
A fun course to improve children’s literacy over the summer (7-11 years)
Ideal for helping children catch up, as well as keeping them amused over the holiday. Also available as a digital copy, to be shared via Google Classroom or similar platform. Please contact me for the link.
This pack is titled ‘Out And About In Summer’
It includes a number of fun writing activities, to inspire children to write. For example:
Plan and write a story, using the plans and model answers provided, called ‘The BBQ’
Answer the reading comprehension questions.
Learn some advanced vocabulary
Use the question prompts to describe a day out at the park or common
Write about another outing you have enjoyed
There are lots of writing skeletons, prompts, model answers and hints and tips, to help children who struggle to put their ideas down on paper.
There are 4 summer themed work packs available In this series.
Out And About In Summer
Lets Go Travelling
Lets Go On Holiday
Lets Go Somewhere Exciting
Learn Colloquial Expressions, Idioms And Well Known Sayings In Informal English
‘Improve Your English As A Foreign Language’ Work Packs save hours of time when preparing lessons for students where English is a second language . The packs are suitable for intermediary speakers of English, who want to improve their written English.
Each work pack uses our humorous comic character ‘the alien Zoggy’ to guide the student. They provide a fun light hearted approach to learning English (suitable for young learner of 8 years plus through to adult).
The work packs help the student:
To learn idioms and colloquial phrases used by fluent English speakers (which often catch the foreign speaker out)
To use the right preposition after the verb
To set out and write formal letters in English
To expand their vocabulary for speaking and writing, by replacing boring words with more interesting words
To improve their skills in English grammar
Each pack includes tuition pages and follow up exercises to practice the skills learnt.
By the time the student has worked through each pack, their command of English will be at a much higher standard.