I am an experienced Primary school teacher with over twenty years experience in EYFS, KS1 and KS2. I have made and used all of the interactive topic based lesson plans, power-points and resources in this shop with my classes. I hope you enjoy using them with your classes too.
I am an experienced Primary school teacher with over twenty years experience in EYFS, KS1 and KS2. I have made and used all of the interactive topic based lesson plans, power-points and resources in this shop with my classes. I hope you enjoy using them with your classes too.
Greek Gods and Goddesses comprehension cards. Set of 18. KS2. Each card includes information about a God/Goddess and up to eight questions for pupils to retrieve answers from the text. Simple layout for pupils to find information easily and an engaging picture of each subject on the card. Can also be used without the comprehension questions as a reference resource for pupils to research a God/Goddess independently.
KS1 & 2 Poetry review blank template. A quick review resource template for pupils to use to comment on poems they have read in class and as part of World Book Day or library events. Space to write a short summary, identify key vocabulary, repetition, rhyme and a space to rate/recommend the poem. Great to use in a class library for pupils to share ideas about their favourite poems and poets.
Knights and castles story template
KS1 Historical story planning template. A resource for pupils to use to plan their own ‘Knights and castles’ story writing. Includes a bullet point reminder of the rules for writing historical stories and spaces for pupils to develop character description, setting and ideas for the structure of their story.
Great to use following a History writing lesson, a visit to a castle or topic related drama lesson. Can also be adapted for most History topics eg: Norman Castles, Explorers, Travel, Romans, Egypt, Saxon Britain etc.
A KS1/lower KS2 power-point of 16 slides which can be used as one lesson or extended over a longer period.
Learning Objectives
To know
*what an invitation looks like.
*what information needs to be included in an invitation.
*how to set out an invitation
There is a warm up – different types of invitations and celebrations, partner activities and a final writing task. Included are examples of 2 invitations (Christmas and Halloween party) for pupils to use in the lesson to spot the key features and help Jojo correct her invitation (because no one has replied!). There are key questions to promote discussion and paired work. Also included is a simple invitation template for pupil use. Final task: write an invitation for a school Halloween fancy dress party. Pupils can also use the important information/checklist to give paired feedback after writing their own invitation. Slides 15(black and white version) and 16(colour version) are a Halloween invitation template for pupils to complete.
National Poetry Day KS1 and KS2 Assembly.
A simply written whole school assembly to cover the main aspects of National Poetry Day which can be used in the days preceding or on 3rd October.
Power-point of 27 slides which include:
Suggested music, video clip and hymns.
Short poetry task using suggestions from the pupils after listening to an audio sound effect. (Teacher instructions included in red).
What are poems?
5 short poems or extracts to demonstrate 5 different poetry structures.
Using figurative language and example extracts from poems. (alliteration, simile etc)
About National Poetry Day and the theme of ‘counting’ and some ideas to explore including song link ‘Count on me’ Bruno Mars.
Some ideas that people may do on National Poetry Day plus three suggestions for your school (class, individual and whole school).
Final prayer.
Links well with topics on poetry, figurative language, creative writing, famous poets, feelings.
How to write a party invitation with a Christmas focus. A KS1/lower KS2 power-point of 12 slides (including learning objectives) which can be used as one complete lesson or extended over a longer period. There is a warm up, two activities and a final writing task (to write an invitation to the school Christmas party). Included are examples of 2 invitations (birthday and Christmas party) for pupils to use in the lesson to spot the key features and help Tan correct his invitation (because no one has replied!). There are key questions to promote discussion and paired work. Also included is a simple invitation template for pupil use and a features checklist. Which pupils can also use to give paired feedback after writing their own invitation.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ fact sheet.
Page 1 Includes key events and important stages in the play broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and images.
Page 2 Includes interesting facts about the text, well known quotes and character information.
I have used this with pupils in Years 3-6 to help them retrieve information / develop their knowledge to write about a text 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.
KS1 or lower ability KS2 powerpoint. Collective nouns interactive lesson of 17 slides. Each slide supports learning through images and practise examples. Pupils have the opportunity to talk, suggest ideas and create their own descriptions for collective nouns. The final image rounds off the lesson with a paired one minute teach it activity.
Powerpoint of the most well-known of Aesop’s proverbs. KS2. 20 slides of images for pupils to work out the proverb. Each slide stimulates discussion to help pupils understand the meaning of Aesop’s messages. The full powerpoint can be used as a stimulus for a lesson exploring proverbs or specific slides can be selected to focus on proverbs or meanings linked to a specific lesson or topic eg RE, History, PE.
Dinosaur comprehension cards. Set of 12. KS1/lower KS2. Each card includes a simple information about a dinosaur and eight questions for pupils to retrieve from the text. Simple layout for pupils to find information easily and an engaging picture of each subject on the card. Can also be used without the comprehension questions as a reference resource for pupils to research a dinosaur independently.
Christmas comprehension cards. Set of 20. KS1/lower KS2. Each card includes a simple description about a Christmas related tradition, food or object and four questions for pupils to retrieve from the text. Simple layout for pupils to find information easily and an engaging picture of each subject on the card. Can also be used without the comprehension questions as a reference resource for pupils to research a Christmas topic independently.
Comprehension card topics: Snow, reindeer, Christmas tree, Christmas pudding, presents, Father Christmas, holly, robin, Christmas stocking, Christmas pyjamas, mistletoe, mince pies, crackers, pantomime, Christmas cards, Christmas cake, lights, Christmas dinner.
Groovy Grammar KS2 starters. Simply click a button on the first page of the power-point and get a starter! 169 starters aimed at KS2 pupils, each slide contains a grammar point for pupils to practise through a range of strategies including talk partners, mime, games eg ‘I spy’, ‘Kim’s game’, ‘And/But game’, Charades, Performing Punctuation and Ready! Steady! Teach! As well as practise sentences, cartoons, rewriting sentences, word substitution etc.
Grammar includes: recognising and using nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
Prefixes and Suffixes, determiners, pronouns, conjunctions, alliteration, vocabulary extension, expressions and their meanings, eponyms, changing the ‘mood’ of a sentence , apostrophe ‘s’, word order swaps, commas, speech marks personification etc.
I have used this as a start of the day activity as revision or sometimes as a lesson starter depending on the focus. The children love to choose the starter so I have a rota!
‘Nouns’ games. 36 quick starter activities to introduce or revise the use of nouns. Pupils can use the grid to choose a coloured shape which takes them to a linked starter. Activities include: memory games, alphabet lists, labelling, alliteration, cascades etc to help pupils understand common, proper, singular, plural, compound nouns.
Can be used with or without an adult depending on whether you want to complete a class or filler task. The activities are varies and include talk partners and written exercises which require paper, pencils, post its, a beanbag (for pupils to throw and catch). The grids/tables on the slides can be printed for pupil use. I prepared all of the slide grids that I wanted to use in advance and put them in a numbered folder so they would be ready when the pupils chose the slide.
Famous people set of 10 fact sheets.
Includes key events and important stages in their life broken into short easy to read sections with pictures and photos.
I have used these factsheets 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 them with a guided reading group and a set of questions linked to the topic followed up with a written comprehension exercise.
How to write a biography. Upper KS2. Set of five complete lessons with all worksheets and pupil resources. Includes a Biography checklist, sample biographies about Queen Victoria and Nelson Mandela, a blank biography spider-gram, blank planning templates (scaffolded) and a fact sheet about Mary Anning. The series of lessons include opportunities for pupils to give peer feedback and analyse two sample biographies.
I have used these with Y5 and Y6 and have also extended the unit to include famous people which the children asked for or who we were covering in topic work eg Louis Pasteur, famous explorers/sports achievers.
Learning objectives.
Lesson 1
• To explain what a ‘biography’ is in my own words.
• To name people who have had a biography written about them.
• To list the features of a biography.
• To identify the features in a short biography of a famous person.
Lesson 2
• To explain what a ‘biography’ is in my own words.
• To recall the features of a biography.
• To plan then write a biography about someone in my family and use the checklist to include the main features.
• To give helpful feedback to my partner.
Lesson 3
• To read a biography about Nelson Mandela.
• To use the Biography Checklist and identify whether the main features have been included in the biography about Nelson Mandela.
• To identify areas where the biography could be improved.
Lesson 4
• To choose a famous person for a biography.
• To plan your ideas on a writing frame and listen to the feedback about the features from your partner.
• To write an interesting biography which includes all of the main features.
Lesson 5
• To use the factsheet about Mary Anning, taking out information which would be interesting in a biography.
• To write an interesting biography about Mary Anning which includes all of the main features of a biography.
Improving inference skills for reading. KS1 pack of 34 short activities.
Each story activity is based around a simple everyday task or activity. The information is implied within the text to encourage pupils to extract meaning from clues and draw conclusions. I wrote these activities to help my class of Y1 pupils improve their ability to extract relevant information from text but I have also used them with older and SEN pupils. Can be used as a lesson warm up with the whole class, in a small guided group or with a target group and a TA.
12 Short story paragraphs (What is happening?) with prompts to develop pupil understanding of meaning within text based upon a character’s behaviour, conversation or actions.
10 short story paragraphs with prompts to develop pupil understanding of where people are or where something happened through inferred conversation and description.
12 picture prompt/ choices for pupils to extract an action or activity (using picture and text clues) linked to a simple question or sentence.
Fiction Writing Genres. Pack of 14 KS2 pupil templates.
Template genres include: Horror, Dilemmas, Adventure, Comedy, Fables, Greek Myths, Flashbacks, Fantasy, Playscripts, Sci-Fi, Historical (Knights), Raising issues, Mystery, Conversations.
Each template includes a bullet point reminder list of the rules for writing in a specific genre and spaces for pupils to develop ideas, character description, setting, the problem and the structure of their stories. Depending upon the genre there are prompts for descriptive vocabulary and phrases, character emotion and responses.
The templates can be used to develop story writing linked to most cross curricular topics and drama particularly Celebrations, Famous People, Explorers, Fairytales and stories, Animals, Greece etc.
I have used these templates with Years 3 to 6 and with HA Year 2 pupils.
Sun and summer: Bundle of 6 resources.
Resource 1. Sun safety complete powerpoint lesson. Written mainly for KS1 but can be easily adapted. Powerpoint of 17 slides which promotes small group and paired discussion about sun safety. Can be used as a complete lesson or adapted for an assembly. The first slides look at fun in the sun and lead into some simple facts about the sun following a short paired talk session to assess pupil knowledge. Pupils are encouraged to look at different photographs of the sun (sunset, sun rise, in space) and describe features. There is a very simple slide on Vitamin D and UV rays linked to health. The children can discuss how to protect themselves in the sun and when to wear sunscreen. The final slide is an example of a sun safety poster which pupils can use as a basis to design their own for the rest of the school (and which can be used as an assessment of their learning).
Resource 2. The sun and our planet. EYFS/KS1 power-point of 36 slides. 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 sun and how it affects earth. I have kept the information simple with a mix of slides and activities including a simple riddle, a short youtube clip, paired talk activities, a practical ‘ordering planets’ activity and an assessment challenge to make a booklet about the information learned. Each slide includes pictures which illustrate the key learning points. Useful alongside lessons or topics on sun safety, summer, space and planets etc.
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 explain how the sun affects our planet.
Resource 3. EYFS Weekly plan ‘The sun and the wind’. This is a weekly cross curricular plan for an EYFS topic based on Aesop’s fable ‘The sun and the wind’. It has been planned to include the learning and ideas for one week of teaching and includes differentiated planning in Literacy and Numeracy for HA, MA and LA groups. Includes non-negotiable vocabulary and linked learning activities in each area of learning. Links well with topics on ‘Being kind’, ‘Circles’ and ‘Weather’.
Resource 4. ‘All about the sun’ factsheet template. KS1 factsheet template about the topic of the sun. A resource for pupils to use to plan their own ideas for a non-fiction factsheet or booklet. There are heading prompts to help pupils develop ideas.
Resource 5. EYFS/KS1 summer picnic activity sheet. Learning objective : I can choose and name at least 8 things to put in a picnic basket.
A simple observation and identification activity for pupils before undertaking an out of school visit (to the beach, woods, park). Pupils draw what they will need for a picnic. There is a simple picture/word key at the bottom of the worksheet to help pupils identify 8 common items found in a picnic basket. Can be used as a follow up activity for topic work on ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’, seaside, summer, ‘We’re going on a picnic!’ by Pat Hutchins etc.
Resource 6. EYFS/KS1 Beachcombing activity sheet.
Learning objective : I can find and name at least 8 things found on a beach.
A simple observation and identification activity for pupils while on a visit to the beach. Pupils draw what they find in the empty bucket. There is a simple picture/word key at the bottom of the worksheet to help pupils identify 8 common items found on a beach.
Resource 1 Halloween powerpoint lesson. Fully resourced with 9 pupil worksheets.Learning objectives
• To know the origins of Halloween.
• To compare long ago Halloween customs, superstitions and rituals with those celebrated today.
• To create and perform spells and spine-chilling descriptions about Halloween.
• To work co-operatively with a partner or small group to discuss answers and ideas about Halloween and create a short role play.
Fun, interactive lesson which begins with pupil experiences of Halloween. Simple historical origins, customs and superstitions are introduced through riddles, mapwork, completing captions in speech bubbles, role play and idea showers. There are opportunities for pupils to complete structured written tasks and develop literacy ideas through writing spells (using ‘the witches’ from MacBeth) and short descriptions. The lesson includes nine pupil worksheet activities which link (optional) to the lesson and include a creepy picture description, Haunted house spine chilling vocabulary, witch / monster descriptive template, Halloween activity mat (jumbled words, wordsearch, maze, pumpkin decorating, draw the other half), a spell template, co-ordinates activity, Pumpkin acrostic poem template and a 32 card Halloween Quiz.
This lesson can also be broken into 2-3 lessons if all of the templates are used.
Resource 2: Halloween Quiz of 32 quiz cards
Resource 3: Horror Story Planning Template
Resource 4: Bats 2 week planning grid including learning objectives and ideas for a topic on Bats.
Resource 5: Bats Factsheet.
Resource 6: Halloween wordsearch x2
