I have been teaching English, literacy and creative writing for 12 years now & have a passion for raising achievement in literacy. In my shop you will find resources for phonics, sentence building, prepositions, genre & personification as well as The BFG.
The resources are designed to help form understanding of the concepts in a fun and engaging way. Students with low literacy levels can feel intimidated by the academic expectations placed on them, however these resources are easily adaptable.
I have been teaching English, literacy and creative writing for 12 years now & have a passion for raising achievement in literacy. In my shop you will find resources for phonics, sentence building, prepositions, genre & personification as well as The BFG.
The resources are designed to help form understanding of the concepts in a fun and engaging way. Students with low literacy levels can feel intimidated by the academic expectations placed on them, however these resources are easily adaptable.
This genre conventions resource clearly explains what genre markers/conventions are using a grid and visual aids. The genre conventions identified in the resource are setting, characters, storyline/plot, props and costumes. Students are given clear genre convention definitions with accompanying images.
Genre conventions are characteristics or elements of a story that allow us to identify it as a certain type.
This resource can be used to introduce students to the concept of genre conventions or to recap on previous learning on the concept of genre markers. This resource is ideal for both Key stage 3 and key stage 4 learners studying creative writing, literature, media studies and film studies.
Learning Objective of Lesson: To understand what genre conventions are, using examples from books or films I have read or watched.
This resource will:
Provide a genre conventions definition
Identify and list the different conventions of a genre
Enable students to identify their own examples of genre conventions use from films or books they have consumed.
This genre conventions worksheet can be adapted for different learning levels.
This creating genre conventions resource shows students how they can use conventions to portray a particular genre of their choice. The resource contains a number of icons, each representing a specific genre for students to work from to fill their own convention descriptions in the provided grid.
By looking at the conventions used within a creative text we can identify its genre. Students can use their learning from previous resources in this series to build on their knowledge of genre conventions.
The icons represent the genres of Science Fiction, horror, fantasy, romance, musical and action. You can illicit students’ understanding of how these genres are conveyed through films they have watched or books they have read through class discussion and notes on the whiteboard.
This resource is ideal for both Key stage 3 and key stage 4 learners studying creative writing, literature, media studies and film studies.
Learning Objective of Lesson: To use my understanding of genre conventions to write convention descriptions in a genre of my choice.
This prepositions resource introduces the basic concept of prepositions to pupils in a fun and engaging way. The resource includes a preposition definition and images to engage the learner. It contains two cloze activities which upon their completion, serve as preposition examples in relation to the pictures.
I have used this resource with SEN KS3 pupils; however this is also suitable for KS2 learners and for the purpose of teaching prepositions in English grammar to EAL learners and ESL students.
A preposition is a word used before a noun (or pronoun) that tells you where it is in relation to something else. A fun way to extend prepositions for kids after completing this task is to ask pupils to make up their own sentences on the spot using the objects and prepositions they can identify around them.
Contains two worksheets.
This Lady Macbeth and Macbeth adjective grid consists of two differentiated grids with twenty-five adjectives each. The grids enable students to match the adjectives to the relevant character or under both if they believe it is applicable to the two characters. Students are required to fit the adjective under the character they believe is the best fit based on events and actions in the play. The Lady Macbeth adjective grid activity is perfect for testing students’ learning and understanding of the Macbeth plot and two main characters so far.
Alternative suggestions for use:
Students can justify their answers both verbally during class discussion and feedback.
Pupils can use their findings to create a written response about both characters with regard to their actions, motivations, desires and feelings.
Allow students to find synonyms of some of their words.
Are there any additional words that your students might add?
Students should be encouraged to use a dictionary for clarification or to find synonyms.
The Lady Macbeth adjective grid task is the perfect opportunity for your students to build a word bank.
A textual analysis worksheet focusing on the description of The BFG’s Cave. This resource allows students to analyse a simple piece of text and highlight relevant words in order to answer the comprehension questions.
It also includes a fun jar visual for a drawing task.
The Tortoise and the Hare Adjective Grid enables teachers to check for students’ understanding of the characteristics of both animals in the tortoise and the hare fable. Students match the given adjectives to the correct column which corresponds to each animal. Make this a practical activity by getting the students to cut and stick the words into the columns instead of writing them down.
Extension activity ideas:
Students can use dictionaries for definitions of adjectives they are unsure of.
Students can write definitions for the adjectives in their own words.
Students can demonstrate their understanding of the adjectives by putting them into a sentence.
This is an ideal visual resource for key stage 2 students or SEN Key stage 3 students.
This genre introduction worksheet is a visual based resource, designed to give students a basic idea of the concept of genre. It requires students to create mind map using the given definition of the genre at the top of the worksheet. This genre worksheet also contains four genre images to help students to generate ideas for their mind map about the different genres they know of through books and films that they have read and watched.
This resource is suitable for students at Key Stage 3 & 4 who are doing creative writing, literature analysis, media studies and film studies.
The resource can be extended to ask students in pairs or groups to come up with as many books or film titles from a given genre as they can adding a fun and competitive element to the activity.
These completed worksheets will also look good as part of a display.
This resource contains a grid of adjectives and descriptions which correspond with the characteristics of The BFG and Bloodbottler. The activity requires them to use previous knowledge or deduction to sort the relevant words/descriptions into the correct side of the table for The BFG or Bloodbottler.
*INCLUDES BONUS CHART OF NOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS FOR CHARACTER AND OBJECT DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE TEXT. *
This resource offers students the opportunity to vary and extend their vocabulary and further apply it to their writing for future lessons.
This Sentence starter worksheet is designed to improve literacy and sentence formation. The worksheet is designed to help students generate ideas for sentence building. It contains an image of a busy city, five sentence starters and a word bank corresponding to the image. It is suitable for KS2 students and KS3 students needing literacy intervention or with SEN learning needs.
How learners are supported:
The sentence building activities allow students to formulate sentences according to their own ability.
Provides scaffolding for sentence building using the picture as a stimulus.
Differentiation Suggestion for more able learners :
Students can create their own word bank
Students can write a first-person account of what it would be like to drive through or work in this city.
Pupils can offer directions to a person wanting to get to another part of the city.
In pairs students can create sentence starters for each other to finish.
What works particularly well with this sentence building resource is to show the picture to the students before giving them the worksheet. Allow them to create their own word banks. Then compare the words they came up with to the vocabulary in the word bank on the resource. Any surplus words can be used to create new sentence starters or for more ideas to build on their sentences.
These phonics activities focus on the oo, oa and ai sounds. They are designed to help students identify and differentiate between the long vowel sounds. The phonics worksheets include cloze activities for words containing the oo sound and allow students to identify and match oa words to their definitions. The ai phonics worksheet allows students to construct their own sentences.
These phonics resources help students to raise their literacy levels through engaging exercises which are accessible and allow them to increase their confidence levels before moving on to more advanced phonics sounds. This resource is suitable for KS2 learners as well as lower ability SEN learners at KS3 as an aid to help raise literacy achievement.
Contains three worksheets.
The resource offers a personification definition and gives pupils the opportunity to show understanding by giving their own personification examples using the provided images. The resource contains a verb word bank to assist students in constructing sentences and building their own personification examples.
The second personification activity includes a picture chart showing inanimate objects. This visual personification task has been designed to aid pupils with a range of learning needs/levels to successfully use the language device.
This resource has been used and adapted with pupils at both KS2 and KS3 across a range of learning needs. The picture chart on the second page can also be used as a differentiated task alternative to the personification writing task on the first page. The third sheet contains a personification based wordsearch containing weather words.
This thirteen page resource pack takes key stage 3 students through the foundations of creative writing. These are introduced to students through exercises and fun visual aids which stimulate a love of learning.
Includes:
Introducing the markers of a genre
How we identify genres through conventions
How to use this knowledge in order to construct and convey a specific genre through our writing
The introduction of common literary devices/techniques and how these are used to make writing more appealing and entertaining to readers
The application of literary devices/techniques through writing exercises and peer feedback
Multiple engaging activities for students to practice and demonstrate their understanding of the above creative writing concepts
Learning Outcomes:
Students will have an understanding of genre markers & conventions and how to create them within their own writing.
Students will be able to identify common literary devices/techniques.
Develop the skill required to formulate and use their own literary devices for a chosen genre.
Be able to identify literary devices in the work of peers and constructively critique their use of it in order to create genre.
Understand how to elicit the five senses in order to make writing more vivid and entertaining to the audience.
This Genre Identification resource allows students to use and build on their previous knowledge of genre conventions. Students will read six different paragraphs and analyse the language in order to identify the genre. They will offer written reasons for their choice. Students can highlight and underline key words in the text that pertain to the conventions of characters, setting, storyline, props and costumes that offer clues as to the genre of the mystery text.
Students can complete the identify the genre task as individuals using the grid or in groups using an individual sheet with each group focusing on one or two texts each and reporting their findings back to the class.
This resource includes two versions of the task. This identify the Genre task comes in a grid and in individual focus sheets to be distributed to groups of pupils focusing on one extract at a time. This will help you differentiate and strategise learning according to the abilities and strengths of your students.
Learning Objective of Lesson: To use my previous knowledge of genre conventions to identify the genre of a text.
Language Devices Poster Display
This language devices display visual resource contains 11 different posters and acts as a perfect English language display for your classroom. It introduces the concept of 11 language devices. Each poster contains the language device at the top with a written definition, an accompanying image forming the main part of the poster and a written example beneath in italics. This is a visual way to teach the various language devices to students and to remind them of how to use them while in the classroom. Now in order to make their writing engaging, all they have to do is look up at the 11 posters around them for language device ideas and implementation!
Supports independent learning.
Suggestion for alternative use:
Can be used as part of a group activity with each focused on one or two language devices.
The posters are as follows:
Simile poster consisting of the image of soap (peach colour coded)
Personification poster consisting of image of tree (green colour coded)
Metaphor poster consisting of image of witch’s claws (pink colour coded)
Onomatopoeia consisting of the image of speech bubble (black colour coded)
Assonance poster consisting of image of buildings (brown colour coded)
Hyperbole poster consisting of image of tiger (blue colour coded)
Alliteration poster consisting of the image of thali (orange colour coded)
Oxymoron poster consisting of the image of thief (colour coded grey)
Pathetic fallacy poster consisting of the image of gothic castle (colour coded red)
Imagery poster consisting of the image of image of crown and sceptre (colour coded green)
Sibilance poster consisting of the image of image of snake (colour coded yellow)
This Victorians ks2 nouns and verbs resource contains two different resources. It doubles up as a history resource with embedded literacy for ks2 students learning about the Victorians. One resource contains a noun and verb table categorising activity. Students will identify nouns and verbs, cut them out and stick them onto the correct column. The nouns and verbs that they will categorise all consist of Victorian keywords/vocabulary.
The second resource contains a passage about schooling for children during the Victorian era. Students will be required to circle all of the nouns they can identify and underline all of the nouns they can see. They will then arrange the words into the correct column on the grid below.
This resource is an engaging way to reinforce literacy while teaching the Victorians ks2 curriculum.
This Victorians ks2 childhood resource doubles up as both a history and literacy resource. It gives ks2 children an inside look at the health and living conditions of Victorian children. The first task is a gap filling exercise about the mortality of Londoners in Victorian England and how this meant that many Victorian children became orphaned. This Victorian ks2 writing task also introduces the idea of the workhouses. Students will select the correct words to fill the cloze exercise. For ease of printing and environmental purposes, this writing exercise has been printed twice on page one so it can be trimmed to size and easily distributed to students with less paper waste.
The second resource covers the topic of Victorian children’s toys. It includes six statements with multiple choice answers and a visual activity with images of four different Victorian children’s toys that students need to identify and spell. The words have been started for the students and they need to complete them with the correct spellings. This second resource is particularly accessible to student’s who struggle with their literacy and need scaffolded resources to help them access the Victorians ks2 curriculum.
These two resources aid comprehension, word recognition, spellings and new vocabulary.
Alternative suggestions for use:
For teachers wanting to differentiate, more able students can complete the Victorians ks2 written exercise on page one, while students needing more literacy support can work on the visual and multiple choice activities, unaided on page two.
This Victorians ks2 keyword resource is designed to introduce students to keywords relating to the Victorian era. The keywords are chimney sweep, poverty, debt, workhouse, bills and gruel. Students will match the keywords to their correct definitions.
The task is differentiated for those with weaker literacy abilities. The Victorian ks2 Keywords on the lower ability sheet already have their beginning letters, and/or end letters to help pupils identify and spell the words correctly, boosting literacy engagement.
Suggestions for extension activities:
Students can rewrite the Victorian keyword definitions in their own words.
Students can create their own sentences using each keyword.
This BFG language of empathy grid looks at how Roald Dahl uses language to show empathy for Sophie in The BFG. The resource consists of quotes which students will cut out and stick onto the correct category on the grid. The three categories are: the BFG is upset on Sophies behalf, the BFG is angry on Sophie’s behalf and the BFG is interested in Sophie’s backstory. This BFG language resource provides relevant quotes from the text that can be used to stimulate discussion and written work on the good traits of the BFG. It also allows students to use the provided quotes to support their own points about how the BFG sees Sophie as a human being and person as opposed to a piece of meet like the other giants.
Further suggestions for learning
Students can discuss the quotes and use them as concrete evidence on their points about how the BFG shows empathy for Sophie.
This resource can be used as textual analysis for an essay about the feelings and empathy the BFG shows towards Sophie despite snatching her from the orphanage.
This cloze activity focuses on the eating habits of The BFG and the other giants alongside other basic facts and enables students to draw conclusions on whether they are friendly creatures or not.
The resource also contains three open ended questions on The BFG’s perceived kindness, empathy for Sophie and the challenges of Giant Country as an environment for human beings.
A worksheet consisting of visual aids to help students create their very own picture of Giant Country.
Helps students to recreate setting by visualising it.
Includes descriptive text from the narrative.