This rhyme bank and examples page will provide all the back-up you need to concoct verses about castle characters with your class. There are rhyme lists for King, Queen, Knight, Prince, Princess and Ghost, with an example verse for each on the next page. Tips for presenting and guiding are also provided. Bring history alive by inventing funny, crazy, spooky or beautiful rhyming couplets (or more) about the people who lived in our ancient castles, or bring your literacy or poetry lesson alive this way. I introduce rhymes like these in my poetry workshops, adapting the presentation to suit the different literacy levels. It’s an activity that gets everyone hooked.

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word or more to complete the phrase - ‘This rabbit has’, and having a go at writing it on the line provided. Colouring in the picture could be presented as a reward for the writing. If word ideas are needed, perhaps prompt for - a tail, ears (or big ears), whiskers, fur, fluff, a smile, grass, flowers (to eat), or 4 paws. Supports literacy, fine motor skills, colour differentiation, creativity and an appreciation of animals and nature. I also have a frog writing + colouring sheet: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/frog-writing-colouring-sheet-1-line-12045415

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word or more to complete the phrase - I can see…, after studying this multi-featured picture. They might choose ducks, a frog, a pond, a bird, flowers, a bee or a ladybird, for instance. They can then sound out the phonics and have a go at writing out the word(s), before colouring in the picture. This resource promotes literacy, creativity, fine motor control, a love of nature and animals, an understanding of the natural environment, and more. See my two higher-graded versions too.

“Castle treasure can be -” is the lead-in phrase on this attractive picture-poem - or writing sheet, and the accompanying word bank supplies the teacher with easy and harder words to prompt for. Draw out the words from children’s passive vocabulary, rather than handing out this list. There are plenty of other words to contribute too - these are just suggestions. The sheet can serve as a creative writing sheet for younger children, or a launch pad for extended writing, for older or more independent writers. Supports literacy and history.

This cheerfully illustrated woodland writing sheet invites emergent writers to think of a woodland creature - and perhaps a describing word to go with it, to complete the phrase: I see a . There’s an extra line below, for anything more a child might like to add. Colouring scope adds to the fun and interest. Supports studies of animals, woods, environment and seasons. See my 3 higher level versions too - easier, mid-level and hard.

On this cheerfully illustrated sheet, young children can fill in the gaps to create their own poem, or descriptive writing sheet. Titled, In the Woods, the first line invites a describing word for a robin, and the second line invites a choice of woodland animal (the picture offers ideas) and a describing word to go with it. They can then think up a verb, or ‘doing word’ for the squirrels, and describe the trees too. There’s a spare line for any extra ideas the writer may wish to add. See my other woodland writing sheets too, for harder and easier work. This sheet is fun to colour, interesting to write, and insightful about forests and their wildlife.

The Planet … is as bright as…, as hot as… and as spooky as… Each simile has a line for completion. There’s also a spare line for extras, and a follow-on verse about the aliens who live there - whatever features they may have. Children love this creative writing frame. Confident writers also enjoy the harder version, here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/planet-picture-poem-frame-ks2-guidance-sheet-11886984 See my other space writing resources too.

At our school we ___ and ___ , this sheet says, inviting action words for the line slots. These could be: play and learn, read and write, have lunch and play ball, eat and drink, dance and sing, talk and laugh, run and jump, draw and colour, make and build, cut and stick, make friends and have fun, or other possibilities. The extra line is for any further thoughts. This sheet offers support to newcomers to the school or class, as well as literacy support. They can express their feelings and reflect their experiences, while also trying out their writing skills.

This attractive writing and colouring sheet will motivate your 6-8 year-olds (approx.) to think up items of different colours and describe them, on the lines given. This will develop literacy skills, also promoting colour sense and appreciation. See my read-aloud ‘Colours’ poem and other colour rhymes (uploaded previously), for further support and embellishment of the activity.

These spooky, moonlit woods will capture the imagination of your class, and the simple poetry format will motivate creative input. The sheet invites similes to describe how dark, silent, still and creepy the midnight wood is, with a further verse to describe the moon - and anything else. Space is also provided for freestyle development. Recommended for Yrs 3-5 (or age 7 - 10).

Delicious, scrumptious, hot, spicy and tasty are words your children may choose to describe their school dinners on this sheet. Or, with your encouragement, they may think up many other interesting adjectives, such as wholesome, enjoyable, filling, satisfying, refreshing, chunky, gooey, crispy, chewy, and perhaps even tempting, nutritious, colourful and other thoughtful descriptions. As for their ‘magic food’ ideas for the last line - who knows what they’ll dream up! This resource supports both literacy and healthy eating drives, also offering end-of-day or term fun.

Schools are noisy places, and noises are fun to sound out and make up words for, as children will find here. Do their shoes go CLUMP CLATTER, CLICK CLACK or SHUFFLE, for instance? And how about all those dinner hall sounds? This sheet combines Creative Writing opportunities and all-round Literacy with a focus on school, helping children identify with it and develop their sense of belonging. An excellent end-of-term activity, gap-filler, writing prompt or onomatopoeia teaching aid.

This sheet combines poetry-writing with emotional outlets, supporting Literacy and PSHE simultaneously. If sadness, happiness, excitement, and one emotion to choose, were sounds, what would they be? Suggestions are provided on the Example Sheet, which will support teacher and pupils alike, also offering prompts for a warm-up discussion about feelings and what they’re like. This resource would support anti-bullying drives and other social issues, as well as providing openings for maturing children and teens to explore and share their own feelings and moods. The metaphors invited will stretch creative writing techniques at the same time. Encourage embellishments, such as adjectives and onomatopoeia.

Children love this activity. Dragons can be sizzling-hot, ice-cold, fierce, friendly, clumsy, graceful - whatever the individual child wants them to be, and their exciting features, shown in the illustration, are sure to trigger a colourful array of possibilities, as your class dash down their descriptive word ideas on the lines. They’ll need to turn the sheet round as they go to follow the line angles - adding to the fun! Encourage able writers to add in similes under the lines, as demonstrated in the accompanying guide. Suggestions are provided there for warm-up and follow-on activities, as well as for words. See my other resources for more dragon-focused activities and supporting posters.

The lively illustrations will draw children to this creative writing sheet, encouraging rich, expressive language. The given text will also inspire imaginative and varied descriptions of these familiar and popular animals. An example version is provided for the teacher’s use, with several suggested versions for each line. Perhaps read out one version and use the others as ideas to prompt for as needed. With the potential for fun and lively input and colouring fun, even less enthusiastic writers will be keen to get cracking on this creative writing sheet (or picture poem frame, if you like). While supporting writing development, the resource will also enhance animal and nature studies. Best for Years 2 and 3, and those in Year 4 needing extra writing support.

This colourful park picture contains ten mini-beast words for children to sound out and identify. The large, bright text and attractive picture make this an appealing challenge for young readers. Support one-to-one or in small groups, as needed. The resource will also support mini-beast studies. Suitable for beginner readers across KS1 and EYs.

This simple game spurs children to read or sound out the 7 words, so they can link them (by pen, pencil or finger) to the correct picture representation below. Some of the words also feature in my ‘Seaside Findings’ phonics game; using both in quick succession will reinforce learning. Suitable for all KS1 and Reception/EY. Able children can add further words and pictures, or write a follow-on sentence about something they have found at the seaside. Younger children can identify initial letters and their phonics, guessing words they can’t yet read, with the help of the pictures. This resource also supports seaside and ocean studies. VIDEO INSPIRATION x 2 (author speaking and reading her poems about seaside wonders): https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9 + https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMarEm9uVBDEGPTykSlkAfT6jdVArKlPen6X5lk1le7dqUc89gEztNjSO7V6qsxUQ?key=X0hIWmdaV1M0Q2lHYURKbDdIVFFPMTVBTWRUdkhn

Your class will love choosing a creature - squirrel, frog, owl? - to describe, using the prompts for rich description, action words and imagery. Then there’s the fun of trying it out on the rest of the class, to see who can guess it first. The children will be motivated to listen to each other’s verses - or riddles - too, and there’s plenty of scope for group interaction as the reader picks volunteers from around the room to try to idenfify their creatures. Tips are provided for writing the answer in code, and there’s an anagram to be written too, below. Great for summer term fun, combined with literacy skills- stretching and creativity. Best for Years 3-6.