Poetry & literacy resources by published children's poet.
I also lead poetry workshops for UK primary schools.
Website: katewilliamspoet.com
Book news - Squeak! Squawk! Roar! Animal poems - out 9th January '25. Publisher: Otter-Barry Books.
Poetry & literacy resources by published children's poet.
I also lead poetry workshops for UK primary schools.
Website: katewilliamspoet.com
Book news - Squeak! Squawk! Roar! Animal poems - out 9th January '25. Publisher: Otter-Barry Books.
FREE - DRAGONS writing resource!
Dragons are fun, exciting, and anything you want them to be. Children love to dream up their own dragon. This simple writing sheet offers a launch pad for actions and similes, and the GUIDE sheet provides a poem, ready-written by this author, a published children’s poet, to clap, chant and build together first!
Tips and extra ideas also included in the guide.
See also my many other dragon writing sheets and pictures here.
A thrilling picture-poem to write on a windy day.
Writing on wavy, whirling lines, children can express their sound and action ideas, with the starter line: ‘The wind went…’ Examples: whirling, roaring, racing, howling, moaning, whooshing, rushing, spiralling, pushing, tugging, bullying, teasing, buffeting, sailing, dancing, soaring, boom, shriek, rumble, mutter, flutter, whimper…
‘over the mountain tops’.
Opportunities for personification, onomatopoeia, and exciting action words. Similes could be added below the lines, e.g. howling like a wolf.
**SEE ALSO: ** - Sunshine poetry - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/sunshine-poetry-sun-similes-illustrated-12100615 , Clouds writing - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/clouds-poetry-writing-frame-guided-ks1-11974732, Stormy sea similes - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/stormy-sea-poetry-frame-guide-12043779 .
Dragon Haiku
Haiku poems are fun to write. This 2-page haiku-writing guide is dragon-themed, for open-ended creativity. It contains a handy GUIDE - for teacher, pupils or both - and a** SHEET** of partly written haiku with gaps to complete. Your class will then be ready to compose their own, in groups, pairs or individually.
Dragons can be whatever the writers likes - fierce, brave, crazy, funny, mysterious… Share ideas first. They can move in a myriad different ways too - prowling, pouncing, leaping, flying, dancing… The scope for dragon imagery is boundless too, but fitting a concept into a 17-syllable haiku can be tricky!
Haiku poetry frames and guidance for a range of topics. Trees, butterflies, oceans, birds and dragons feature in this bundle.
The haiku’s 3-line, 17-syllable format is more tricky to use than it looks, but it offers an engaging challenge that older children enjoy trying and sharing, with syllable-counting and a bit of adding up, as well as ideas and language to select. These frames, starter lines, prompts and warm-up recommendations will ensure constructive fun for all.
Dragons can be - let your students decide, filling the nine white slots in this colourful dragon picture. A pageful of word suggestions is provided for teacher’s use, when prompting and guiding ideas from the class. More words and phrases can be added around the dragon, too. An irresistable creative writing spur for children of all abilities, from approximately age 6, Yr 2, up to about age 9, Yr 5.
A simple but effective boost for both literacy work and Dragon topic work, and handy as a constructive time filler, any time.
Summer oak tree in full bloom, to colour in. The picture includes nesting birds, busy squirrels, a butterfly, two ladybirds and a tiny, dangling spider. This cheerful picture also includes sun, clouds, distant birds, flowers, grass, and falling oak leaves. An educational and enjoyable colouring activity for young children.
Lead your class into the wonderful, wild woods with this rich and varied array of descriptive words, similes and creature references. Draw from it for your own use and to prompt more suggestions from your students. This comprehensive list provides for every sort of wood, from damp and soggy to misty and mysterious, sparkling and scented, and twitching with animal life. The last column lists hints of creature and plant activity - squawks, squeaks, prickles and stings… Let your young writers roam this absorbing concept-bank to build their own ideas for creative writing, drama, art, music or speaking.
2 FIREWORKS frames - simpler and more complex versions.
These popular sheets call for action words - whizzing, booming, sparkling, crackling? - and more, for fireworks.
Both sheets also invite describing words for the night sky - dark, misty, moonlit, mysterious, pitch black, spooky, foggy, windy, chilly, cave-dark??
The harder version also requires 3 similes, but the structure is clear, with a repeated pattern running through, and structured phrases with gaps to fill.
Supports: seasons, celebrations, literacy, poetry, creativity, vocabulary, colour, night skies and firework features.
Firework writing frames, excitingly illustrated, for all ages - Reception to top Juniors - able writers using sheets as launch pads to independent poetry or descriptive writing.
Five writing sheets altogether:
2 graded ones for EY/KS1, 2 graded ones for Y2 upwards, and one for all ages - word gaps within an image of fireworks, inspiring expressive words and onward creative development.
This bundle supports: poetry, literacy, seasonal studies, celebrations, night and day, outdoors, colour, creativity, PSHE, and more.
‘Fireworks’ - an exciting firework poem by this author - published children’s poet - on firework photo background.
Celebrates the thrills, beauties, sounds and wonders of fireworks.
Read out to your class, invite variations, and set as format for poetry-writing challenge.
See my many other FIREWORKS reading/writing/colouringhttps://www.tes.com/resources/search/?authorId=23864398&q=fireworks&shop=katewilliams_poetry, +support video included with this download.
Windy Day poetry-writing sheet.
Creative writing frame on wild, blustery day theme, illustrated, with** teacher’s guide sheet.**
Format: poem in 4 verses, with gaps for action words, onomatopoeia and similes. Rhymes incorporated. Guide sheet provides completed example poem, with word and simile bank below, handy for quick reference when guiding and prompting students.
Able writers can develop the poem with follow-on verses, introducing their own approaches if wished, while those needing support will enjoy the simplicity of inserting their word and simile ideas into the gaps to make a flowing, rhyming poem.
More weather poem frames available in my catalogue too.
Squeak, howl, roar, rustle - there are countless exciting jungle sounds to pick from, and more to invent, when filling the lines on this lively picture. Hints of creatures and vegetation are sketched around the 12 writing lines to inspire ideas and add to the fun. Start by thinking up some jungle creatures and plant types together and making their sounds, perhaps listing a few, and encourage made-up words and sounded-out spellings. More examples: chatter, snap, hum, buzz, shriek, flap, yelp, crash, hiss, splash, croak, tweet, swish, crunch, bark. The sheet can then be coloured and displayed, or used as a stepping-stone to further creative writing, or enacted as a performance, or brought to life with percussion and musical instruments, or just used to celebrate a related topic.
8 exciting writing sheets to get your whole KS2 class writing for sheer fun! Some are guided, some come with graded variations, all are illustrated and child-friendly. Assorted topics, including - Space, Dinosaurs, Jungles, Midnight Woods, Exploring, Inventing a Vehicle, and funny ones - Keep Fit Activities for Martians + Menu for Sea Monsters. Bargain Bundle!
**What jungle creature am I? ** this poem asks, with prompts for all sorts of clues and poetic techniques.
Children forget they’re writing poems when there’s an exciting, exotic riddle to present and a whole class of others to guess. Jungle offers a wealth of possibilities, not just for creatures, but for creativity too. There’s also an anagram riddle suggestion below, to write on the sheet. Best for Yrs 3-6.
Massive bundle of beautiful, inspiring, creative writing & colouring sheets, all environment-focused, with meadows, woods, jungles, and seaside. A few global warming poems thrown in too.
Age recommendation: Infants-Lower Juniors; climate poems for Juniors.
Less than half price!
Seaside writing + colouring sheet for young children. Starter phrase - "The sea is " with wavy line for writing on, and a spare line below for writing or drawing. Lots of seaside items to colour in - fish, boat, bucket and spade, sandcastle, waves, shells, sand, seaweed, etc.
Teaches about seaside flora and fauna, oceans and boats, while developing expressive writing, creativity, active vocabulary use, and fine motor skills.
See my Seaside Writing, simple, mid and harder levels, for differentiation.
My published poem 'Stormy Sea’is a dramatic, simile-rich poem in 20 lines.
It’s easy to read and listen to, with rhymes and rhythm, conjuring up exciting images.
SEE ALSO - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/stormy-sea-poetry-frame-guide-12043779.
What We Found at the Seaside - published by The School Magazine, Australia, celebrates natural seaside wonders, in a flowing pattern.
15 short lines, starting:
Waves purring
wind stirring
gulls chuckling
crabs scuttling
spray splashing
fish dashing
Supports: poetry appreciation, poetry crafting, creative writing, ocean studies, nature, environment, green living, vocabulary, speaking and listening, and PSHE - calming and soothing.
These 10 rhythmic, rhyme-rich, accessible poems address nature, animals, and outdoor atmospheres, offering inspiration for creative writing and attractive introductions to poetry. Suitable for KS2, and some also for KS1.
Topics include clouds, trees, rivers, weather, seaside, day and night, community spirit, animals and birds.
Ten sheets, some containing two poems. Each sheet contains an illustration; some have coloured backgrounds too, as appropriate.
I’ve used a number of these poems in my poetry workshops to spur ideas.
Two of my poems feature on this one-page resource:
‘Can you hear the treetops?’ and ‘Our River’,
both published in The School Magazine, Australia.
The first questions the voices of the treetops and what they might be saying to each other; the second is a metaphor poem, depicting a river in its different moods. Both are easy to understand, yet mind-stretching.
The poems support nature study, poetry appreciation, creative writing and language development. Both are calm and cheerful, yet intriguing.