St. Nicholas. Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important legends in his life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 2-6 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about Saint Nicholas in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise. Useful to link to topics on Christmas, Christianity, World celebrations, Giving and sharing, Being Kind.

Mae Carol Jemison Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in her life as a US scientist and astronaut, broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 2-6 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise. Links well to topics: Space, Astronauts, The Solar System, Planets, Women in History.

The Solar System. KS2 power-point of 31 slides (including worksheets). This power-point can be used as a complete stand-alone lesson or as an additional spin off to related topics which encourage the pupils to think about the Solar System and the planets. I have kept the information simple with a mix of slides and activities including a short youtube clip, paired talk activities, 7 worksheets. Learning objectives • To know that the sun is the centre of the solar system. • To know some interesting facts about the sun. • To name the eight planets which orbit the sun. • To organise the planets in order of closeness to the sun. • To know the names of other cosmic bodies in the solar system. Worksheet 1: Facts about the Sun. Worksheet 2: Ordering the planets mnemonic. Worksheet 3: Ordering the planets cut and stick activity. Worksheet 4: Labelling the planets. Worksheet 5: Cosmic objects in the Solar System. Resource 6: Planets fact cards. Worksheet 7: Planets research activity grid. Each slide includes pictures which illustrate the key learning points. Useful alongside lessons or topics on sun safety, summer, space and planets etc.

Brazil today: Series of 4 KS2 power-point Geography lessons. Each lesson is broken into short focused activities. There are opportunities for pupils to recall prior learning, participate in a short quiz, take notes from a YouTube clip, scrutinise and compare population graphs and weather charts (included on slides), research native animals and use maps and atlases to locate Brazil’s key cities and geographical features. Each set of slides contain images to help pupils ‘get a feel’ for the geography of Brazil as well as simple cultural information such as greetings in Brazilian (Portuguese) at the beginning and end of lessons. Great to link with cross curricular topics such as ‘South America’, ‘Rainforests’, ‘Weather’, ‘The Amazon’. Lesson 1 Learning Objectives I must find Brazil in my atlas. I should recognise some of the features of Brazil. I could describe where Brazil is in the world using geographical words. Lesson 2 Learning objectives I must be able to spot the main features of Brazil. I should find and label the features on my map. I could write a description about two features. Lesson 3 Learning Objectives To identify the different climate zones in Brazil. To describe and explain the climate found in each zone. Geographical vocabulary (northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, equator, Tropic Cancer/Capricorn). To explain the temperature in different locations. To interpret a climate data and temperature chart. Lesson 4 Learning objectives: I must explain the definition of the term ‘population’. I should interpret the population table and suggest reasons for how the physical features affect where people live in Brazil. I could compare population information and explain how the population has changed in Brazil over 50 years.

Roald Dahl Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in his life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-6 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise. Useful for topics: Roald Dahl, Roald Dahl Day (13th September), Fiction books, Famous people, Biographies, Topics based around a Roald Dahl book eg ‘The Witches’, ‘The BFG’.

Harvest Assembly and supporting powerpoint. This assembly is complete but can be mixed or edited according to time limitations or pupil numbers/abilities. There are sufficient parts for 2 classes of KS2 pupils or pupils reading and taking acting/ speaking roles. The Assembly begins with a short introduction and information about harvest traditions and moves onto crops and grains harvested with a harvest Alphabet. The powerpoint has images which support the pupil text if you wish to use it. There are suggestions for well known songs and hymns at key points in the assembly. There is a prayer of thanks in the form of a poem which leads onto thanks to the parents/carers for their harvest donations. A short play depicts the theme of sharing with those who need it and moves onto supporting our planet and the climate issues it faces. (a summary of props is included on the playscript). The assembly ends with a ‘Happy Harvest’ where pupils can show their paintings or pictures as they read out short captions. My class made bread and we inserted pictures of the baking process (including the sticky hands and floury faces!) into the powerpoint. Also, the small recorder group played a short song and we took their photos and inserted them into the powerpoint. The children’s scripts were numbered so they sat in order of speaking (and moved if they had more than one part) and their script cards (their words) were mounted on Autumn pictures or collages made by the children and held up for the audience to see after speaking. I hope you enjoy this assembly and have fun with your children.

EY/KS1 Signs of Autumn Powerpoint Four lessons. Learning Objectives: Lesson 1 To know the names of the Autumn months. To recognise the signs of Autumn around me. Lesson 2 To describe weather changes in the Autumn season. To explain how the autumn weather affects some animals. To know what the word ‘hibernate’ means. To list animals that hibernate. Lesson 3 To name the grains which grow at Autumn time. To name some foods which are made with grains. To sequence the stages of making bread. Lesson 4 To be able to name different autumn fruit and vegetables and say where they grow. The slides include photographs of animals which hibernate (dormouse, bat, frog, grass snake etc) and do not hibernate but sleep at Autumn/Winter (squirrels, badgers, rabbits/hares). At specific points there are short paired talk activities and simple class activities with worksheets (and answers) for each lesson. There are BBC links – making bread and a survey worksheet for an Autumn walk. Cross curricular KOW /Science work on topics of ‘Seasons’, ‘Autumn’, ‘Animals’, ‘Nature’.

This Autumn bundle has 10 worksheets for KS1 pupils: Autumn acrostic poem templates. Autumn Acrostic poetry templates. Four blank templates with the headings Autumn, Scarecrow, Leaf and Farmer. Each poem has a corresponding word mat of Autumn words help pupils start a new line of their poem. The shorter poem templates can be used with younger or SEN pupils. Autumn months sentence work and an Autumn label to decorate. Fruit and vegetables. Matching to labels and saying where the vegetable grows (ground, tree, bush, hedge, field). Autumn survey for an autumn walk Autumn clothes ordering the clothes in the correct boxes (Autumn or Summer). The journey of bread. Picture sequencing. Grain foods. Listing food made from wheat, oats and corn (labelled image to help). Breadmaking ordering the statements. Hibernating animals. Dictionary definition work and cut and stick animals into categories. Activity mat. Fun mat with jumbled autumn words, a maze, symmetrical drawing, wordsearch. Useful to build into a lesson or for early finishers.

Pirate knowledge board game. For 2 players. KS1. Learning Objective To practise and remember important words (vocabulary) about Pirates. To work with my partner to remember facts and information about pirate life. To test my own knowledge. Learning objective and rules included. Pupils need a dice or a spinner and a counter each. This is a traditional style board game where the children work their way around a trail from start to finish answering the pirate general knowledge questions as they go. Correct answer wins 1 square forward, incorrect answer wins 1 square backwards. The first person to reach the finish square is the Pirate Champion! I laminated this game for durability and its increased size when I wanted to include up to 4 pupils in the game with an adult to support younger pupils. Useful as an assessment activity or a fun way of developing knowledge in a Pirates topic.

Close up picture quiz. Set of 20. Have fun identifying close up and cropped pictures of everyday objects, food and creatures which will challenge visual perception and creativity. Suitable for KS1 and KS2 as an individual, paired or group activity or competition. Do your pupils have an eagle eye?

End of Term One a day countdown fun. Have fun with your class in the last weeks of term with this list of exciting activities and rewards. Pupils vote for the following day’s activity from the list each day. The activity with the most votes is the class activity choice. Work through the activities and practice voting and democracy at the same time!

Transition Y6 End of year reflection activity to help pupils think about their time in Y6 and their next school. Can be linked to a range of year end activities including a stimulus for a Leavers Assembly, a diary extract or PSHE discussion.

Australian Animals fact cards. Set of 36 cards depicting an animal, bird, reptile or fish found in Australia and a beautiful photographic image. Each card includes a few key facts about the animal on the card. There are also 12 key word definition cards (predator, poisonous, marsupial, nocturnal, amphibious, carnivore etc) The cards can be used to encourage recognition of the animals and their features/characteristics. Pupils can use them as a sorting exercise or as a paired or group game to sort the cards under the definition words (make a Venn diagram, sort into a list, identify common features between animals.) Can be placed in the class library area or the ‘Early Finisher’ box/tray. A double set of cards (laminated) can offer pupils opportunities for fun games such as Snap and Pairs. I have used these to help pupils develop work on animals and their characteristics eg: writing a factual or descriptive piece about a particular animal or shared features of two animals or a researched paragraph about current issues relating to specific animal eg protected species. Can be used by Y2 -Y6 upwards. Useful for topics on Australia, Animals, Camouflage, Habitats etc.

Creative Writing. How to make an Ethiopian wish scroll. This factsheet tells pupils about the ancient African wish scrolls which are carried on a person (in a bag or tube around the neck or on a belt) after they have written a personal prayer, wish, affirmation, charm or talisman. There are simple instructions on how to make the scroll and some fun facts about the tradition. A great way to make writing meaningful and fun. Useful with KS1 and KS1 topics on Africa, Mental Health, Goal setting and Affirmations, Families.

Ernest Shackleton Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in his life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this factsheet with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about Ernest Shackleton in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise. Links well with topics on Explorers, South pole/Antarctica, Famous people, Ships and sailors, Frozen Earth.

Weather photograph pack. Set of 50+ beautiful colour photos on a power-point slide presentation. Includes extreme weather (storms, hurricanes, heatwave etc). I have included a slide of weather symbols and a worksheet of weather symbols for pupil use (eg for a weather chart or observation and recording).Slides 58-67 are photographs of weather instruments. Can be used for inspiring the start of a topic on weather or as a stimulus for speech and language development, creative writing and poetry.

Geographical features cards. Set of 60 cards depicting a physical geographical feature (natural and human) and a beautiful photographic image. The cards can be used to encourage recognition of the features. Pupils can use them as a sorting exercise or as a paired or group ‘guessing game’. Can be placed in the class library area or the ‘Early Finisher’ box/tray. A double set of cards (laminated) can offer pupils opportunities for fun games such as Snap and Pairs. I have used these to help pupils develop work on features eg: writing a factual or descriptive piece about a feature or set of features or a researched paragraph about current issues relating to a geographical feature eg: coastal erosion on Norfolk coastline, how the Grand Canyon was formed. Can be used by Y2 -Y6 upwards. Useful for topics on Geography, Climate and Weather, Coastal erosion, UK etc.

India fact sheet. Includes locational information and geographical features broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a country in a range of genres (newspaper report, non-fiction report, weather report or information text etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the country followed up with a written comprehension exercise. In geography lessons I have used this factsheet with a small group and asked the pupils to compare the physical and geographical features of India with the UK.

Anne Bonny and Mary Read – Female pirates. Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise. Linked topics: Pirates, Famous people, Ships and the Sea.

Edward Teach – Captain Blackbeard. Famous person fact sheet. Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos. I have used this with pupils in Years 1-4 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a famous person in a range of genres (newspaper report, biography, letter or diary writing, fiction, non-fiction etc). I have also used it with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise. Linked topics: Pirates, Famous people, Ships and the Sea.